Daily News eliminates national Opinion columnists to focus on local

Dear readers,

We are making changes to our Opinion pages starting this week to better reflect our local community.

We will no longer publish syndicated columnists from across the country, instead choosing to focus on issues that are relevant to families right here in Northwest Florida. This will include local and statewide commentary on issues that impact your lives on a day-to-day basis.

Lisa Nellessen Savage is executive editor of the Pensacola News Journal.

Previous opinion column:Simple gestures can snowball, and wouldn’t that be nice

Opinion:Reports of newspapers’ demise have been greatly exaggerated

Let’s be frank, today’s culture wars and years of political rancor have changed many of us for the worse. National talking points no longer feed legitimate political discourse, but rather feed already solidified viewpoints that won’t be swayed by anything you read in the pages of this or any newspaper.

While we know this is a time when Americans are divided politically, we also believe that reasoned, respectful conversations in letters and guest columns about issues affecting our community are important. That includes having experts — including those at local nonprofits, universities, hospitals and businesses — adding context to local and state issues.

We are going to double down on those columns, seeking alternative viewpoints on issues that are happening right here in Okaloosa and Walton counties. Based on the number of local letters and columns we receive most weeks, we believe they will fit in an expanded Sunday Opinion section, so we are eliminating our daily pages throughout the week.

We will instead put that focus and attention — and print space — toward stories you won’t find from syndicate writers from the Washington Post, New York Times or other national publications. These include stories that dig into what’s happening at City Hall, what new restaurants are coming to the area, local high school athletes, the latest on the housing market and environment and other issues important here in Northwest Florida.

To be clear, we aren’t giving up on publishing letters and columns written by local residents and community leaders. We appreciate that people care enough to send us their thoughts about local issues for possible publication. In fact, we would like more of those.

Starting this week, you’ll see a weekly column from Northwest Florida Daily News Content Coach Dusty Ricketts. But we also encourage stakeholders in our community to weigh in on important issues. You can send those proposals directly to Dusty at dricketts@nwfdailynews.com.

We expect those columns to be civil and tightly focused on solutions to the issue at hand, rather than on degrading someone else’s beliefs. What do YOU think, that’s what readers want to know.

We will also continue to expand throughout the Panhandle our CivicCon series, a partnership between the Pensacola News Journal and Studer Community Institute to bring national experts to our community to provide ideas and solutions to help make our community an even better place to live. Those speakers are chosen specifically to provide the best research on topics Northwest Florida communities grapple with as we grow.

CivicCon is livestreamed at pnj.com and on the Daily News Facebook page, and you can find a replay of every speaker at pnj.com/civiccon. Readers are encouraged to join us in person for the live audience, where I host a Q&A with our speakers largely driven by your questions. (Our next speaker on June 12 is Dr. Dana Suskind, whose work is focused on the neuroscience of early childhood development and how parents can use that information to help every child reach their potential. Register on Eventbrite.)

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