Welcome to the Sunday column no one asked for.
Nonetheless, here’s Nick-Knacks, the musings of a 27-year-old know-nothing who likes to hear himself speak more than anyone enjoys to listen.
Today, I ask a simple question — What’s the Daily Record’s purpose? Or purposes. Beyond the news stories, features and sports write-ups, what is the paper’s standing in the San Marcos community?
Our mission is simple: provide San Marcos with the news, sports and feature stories relevant to our readers’ lives; to hold government accountable for its actions and keep those in power in check; and to tell the stories of San Marcans (San Martians, if you so please) far and wide.
But as for the paper’s standing, maybe it’s best encapsulated by several exchanges at this week’s San Marcos City Council meeting.
The Daily Record has written multiple stories about the city’s efforts to prevent residential utilities from being disconnected during the COVID-19 pandemic. And most recently, we’ve written about the city’s Utility Assistance Program. But when it comes to ensuring more people apply for said program, one councilmember made it clear — go to other outlets to spread the story.
“By saying, ‘Oh, we put this on social media, we’ve put it on Facebook,’ well, you know that’s, maybe I sound like an old man because I don’t even really know, but that’s probably not where people are going to find out that information,” Councilmember Maxfield Baker said. “Like, is it on our Twitter as well? Do we need to make a Tik-Tok or something? Just to really look at all our options, right? Or, you know, when it comes to publicizing, maybe it’s worth putting an ad on KZSM, or KTSW, or the University Star, or promoting these in Spanish-speaking magazines or publications.”
Throughout the meeting, several other members of city staff and councilmembers mentioned the newspaper, albeit not by name.
So what is our standing in the San Marcos community? That’s a question better answered by the residents and readers.
But it’s clear, we have work to do bettering community engagement.
A newspaper is meant to be a mirror of the community — of the town — it lives in. There will be both good and bad stories. Stories of triumph and stories of grief. Those that shine a light on wrongdoings and those that celebrate local artists and musicians.
San Marcos is a wonderful community, and we at the Daily Record want to be its mirror. Help us do so. Email us or call us to share a story you find interesting that you believe should be told. Send in a letter to the editor. Consider subscribing to the paper either online or by home delivery — a subscription is only pennies a day, less per issue than a cup of coffee at your favorite San Marcos cafe.
Our promise is that our small editorial staff of six will work hard to become the news source you turn to — if it’s not already. But in that process we won’t be perfect. In fact, in its 109-year existence, the Daily Record, in all its various iterations, has never been perfect.
But that won’t stop us from striving to make our purpose clear: To be the mirror of the San Marcos community that it deserves.
One day at a time. One article at a time. One edition at a time.
Twitter: @Nick_Castillo74
