And vicars, rabbis, imams and other faith leaders are either wary of their local media or unaware that the local newspaper or radio station would welcome hearing from them.
The resulting coverage often shows how faith plays an important part in the lives of many people. For Christians, for example, it showcases the positive difference made by churches in their local community.
The parliamentarians agree. They say, “Reporting on local religious festivals, community events and local charities can represent the lively reality of religious practice and experience in a way that is very difficult for national journalism to achieve.”
But the report also spells out the challenges to grassroots reporting. Advertising has been sucked away from local titles by the social media giants.
Area fire departments take part in recruitment weekend
Area fire departments take part in recruitment weekend By Brendan Straub | April 24, 2021 at 5:26 PM EDT - Updated April 24 at 6:11 PM
DEFERIET, N.Y. (WWNY) - âWe only have 4 people that are within close enough time to get a truck out the door within the 2 minute allotted state time,â said Richard Montroy.
Itâs a problem that Montroy, a volunteer firefighter for the Deferiet Fire department, says his department deals with daily.
Montroy says the department has 15 volunteers that live within a 10 mile radius of the station but they are trying to bring that number up.
FASNY has designated April 24-25 as the 12th annual RecruitNY Weekend.
âIn response to COVID-19, many firehouses across the state are choosing to organize a virtual open house or conduct other digital outreach in an effort to attract new volunteers,â states a news release from the organization. âSome firehouses, based upon local conditions, may still elect to open their doors to the public.â
The FASNY statement points out that âtodayâs firefighters are responding to more calls now than ever before, and these calls are increasingly diverse, between medical emergencies and COVID-19 calls to flooded basements, downed power lines, automobile accidents, and of course for fires. The pandemic has also added challenges surrounding training and new member recruitment.â