jhinkley@thealpenanews.com
I put that headline in quotes because it’s a phrase from “Sympathy for the Devil,” by The Rolling Stones, my second-favorite band of all time, and because the point of this column is to tell you, dear readers, a little more about me as I take the helm of The News from Bill Speer.
I’ve met many of you since I and my wife, News Lifestyles editor Darby Hinkley, moved here in July 2018 with our son, Mason.
But, as managing editor, my work hours kept me holed up in the newsroom long into the night, which meant most of my mornings were spent in bed, and I had fewer chances than I’d have liked to get out into the community.
Alpena News editorial
Through customer donations matched by the store, the Alpena Meijer raised $21,560 for St. Vincent de Paul of Alpena, the store said recently.
Through the store’s Simply Give program, Meijer matches shoppers’ donations, sometimes doubling its match to turn a resident’s $10 donation into $30 for St. Vincent de Paul.
“That just shows you how understanding and giving our community is,” said Cathy McClure, pantry coordinator at St. Vincent de Paul. “It’s been very, very helpful to the community.”
The Alpena fundraising was part of more than $7.6 million raised at Meijer stores across the Midwest through Simply Give. That equates to 76 million meals for food pantries across the Midwest. According to Feeding America, $1 equals 10 meals.
sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com
News Photo by Julie Riddle
Justin Hinkley, recently named publisher and editor of The News, poses in front of the building in downtown Alpena on Thursday.
ALPENA Justin Hinkley, the current managing editor of The Alpena News, has been named publisher and editor of the newspaper.
He will assume the new positions on Feb. 12, upon the retirement of longtime publisher Bill Speer.
Hinkley promises to continue the time-honored traditions of The Alpena News of providing readers what they want and deserve, with high-quality reporting, storytelling, and service.
“For more than 122 years, The Alpena News has been the leader in news coverage and the most responsive and effective advertising medium for Northeast Michigan,” Hinkley said. “We will continue to focus on local news reporting and providing quality advertising, both in our printed newspaper and our digital website, TheAlpenaNews.com. We take very seriously our role in informing our readers a
Alpena News editorial
The coronavirus pandemic has driven the Thunder Bay International Film Festival online, and we urge our readers to follow the festival there.
The festival begins Wednesday and runs through the end of the month. Single-screening tickets cost $10 per feature film or $12 per themed program or short program. A $100 Thunder Pass gives buyers access to all films, themed programs, and Q&A sessions.
The online festival will be different, and, like everything else the virus has taken from us, we’ll miss the event at the Great Lakes Maritime Heritage Center.
But, in some ways, the online portion will be better. Because the films will be streamed, viewers can watch them at their convenience, from anywhere they can get online. Because of that convenience, people may end up watching more films, furthering the festival’s mission of educating the public about our planet’s waterways.
Relevance is important in my line of work.
That is why the team here at The News always is working hard to keep you informed with information that is important for all of us.
Did you know that, last year, the local news reporters produced over 3,000 pieces of local news which included things like stories, photographs, and news briefs? Looking at just the three main reporters Steve Schulwitz, Crystal Nelson, and Julie Riddle they produced 1,110 stories, 1,056 photographs, 648 briefs, and 91 in-depth known to journalists as “enterprise” projects.
Those numbers do not include the contributions of a summer intern we had or two other reporters who no longer work here.