About a week ago, I realized that the Spark was coming dangerously close to failing one of its basic goals: creating an active (and interactive) relationship with our readers. As I’ve mentioned before, the standard model for newspapers — and, to an extent, websites — is very one-directional.
The basic philosophy at work is this: We, the media, are the ones holding the microphone, therefore we’re the ones you should be listening to. It’s our show, largely because we own the microphone and we own the soapbox we’re standing on.
Print, TV, radio — they all work this way.
With daily content provided largely by one person, the Spark was starting to veer into that same, deep-rutted path. The site was rapidly becoming about me and the things about Spartanburg that I found interesting — perhaps an under-reported part of the city’s culture, but by no means the only part — rather than the parts that interest all of you. It was becoming one-directional, and I was becoming the guy with the microphone, telling all of you what to think.
Something had to change.
So, in an ongoing effort to address this tendency, I’ve come up with an idea. The only problem is that it requires some bravery on the part of you, the reader. I’m asking you to take the microphone away from me from time to time.
I want you to step up on our Soapbox, and tell us what you’re thinking.
The idea is simple: Tell us your thoughts on a local issue that’s in your mind. It can be anything, as long as it’s about (or directly impacting) anything in our coverage area of Spartanburg County. It can be as simple as a musing on the growth of downtown to as complex as a dissertation on the impact of zoning. Wish we’d cover a show that’s coming up? Don’t wait for us to tell everyone — you can tell them yourself.
Think of it like an instant letter to the editor, or perhaps a cultivated community blog. In another way, it’s almost like a user forum, although without a lot of the hassle. Either way, we’re hoping it changes the dynamic around here a little.
So, how does this work? It’s easy. All you have to do to is fill out the form below with your basic information and tell us a little about the topic you’d like to discuss. We’ll post it so that other Spark readers can weigh in. It’s really that simple.
We’ll post these as we get them, so with luck we’ll soon have a lot of local voices being heard (or, rather, read) on the Spark.
Of course, there is some small print here: We do reserve the right to decline submissions, edit submissions for some kinds of content — hate speech and libel, for instance — and to make copy edits in the interest of overall clarity.
Steve Shanafelt
