For a Brookhaven Daily Leader reporter, people stories make better communities, and he urged Wesson Lions Club members to support the local newspapers that share them.
Whether it’s the Daily Leader, the Wesson News or the Copiah County Monitor, whether it’s a printed copy you can hold in your hands or available in a digital format on the internet, local newspapers shape a citizenry that knows what’s going on without fighting for information, Hunter Cloud told the Club at its March meeting.
Cloud said he started practicing community journalism in high school, worked on the student newspaper at Mississippi State and started his professional career at the Starkville News before going to Natchez and then on to the Daily Leader in Brookhaven.
Offering news about local government, schools, churches, road construction, charity events, special and family events, local business happenings, even pet care articles is important for communities served by their newspapers, but he said telling stories about people readers can get to know may be the most important contribution he makes as a community journalist.
“I cover events to which I am assigned, but I throw darts every day at a local map, go those places and meet people with stories,” Cloud said.
For Cloud, people stories make the difference.