Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1468578
4 UCW MAY 25 - 31, 2022 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com EDITOR Emily Sussman editor@upandcomingweekly.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Hannah Lee assistanteditor@upandcomingweekly. com PRODUCTION MANAGER/ GRAPHIC DESIGNER Dylan Hooker art@upandcomingweekly.com STAFF WRITER Alyson Hansen Ashley Shirley Cindy Whitt Jason Brady MARKETING ASSOCIATE Linda McAlister linda@upandcomingweekly.com DISTRIBUTION MANAGER/SALES ADMINISTRATOR Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Margaret Dickson COVER Design by Dylan Hooker Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan St. P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: 910-484-6200- FAX: 910-484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and information on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for publication consideration, but assumes no responsibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distributed at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Army Airfield, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. © 2020 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Various ads with art graphics designed with elements from: vecteezy.com and freepik.com. PUBLISHER'S PEN 82 64 82 83 79 82 63 64 83 66 64 65 THU MAY 27 FRI MAY 28 SAT MAY 29 SUN MAY 30 MON MAY 31 TUE JUNE 01 87 67 81 64 86 64 88 66 89 69 91 71 Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Partly Cloudy Thunderstorms Thunderstorms Association of Community Publishers e privilege to vote is one of our most pre- cious rights as Americans. Yet, we fail to take advantage of this essential aspect of living in a free democracy. In Fayetteville/Cumberland County, our voting record is much worse than in other communities, and there are substantial reasons for this disturbing and frightening situation. For those of you who read this newspaper regularly, I will apolo- gize in advance because for over 25 years, I have commented and opined on this very subject dozens of times. I have articulated my concerns, and even though they have been acknowledged by prominent state and local public servants, all have failed to stimulate even the slightest attempt to solve or resolve the problem. So, once again, I will outline the sources of our low and apathetic voting turn- out. ese are the same reasons that inhibit our community from showcasing its assets and touting our quality of life. Part of the issue is that we have no local television station. Over two decades ago, Fayetteville and Cumberland County leader- ship failed to acknowledge the importance of having a local TV station. First, city and county elected officials preferred operating government in the shadows, away from the observing eyes of the public. Secondly, our lo- cal daily newspaper, the Fayetteville Observer, was enjoying a monopolistic heyday, parsing out and re-shaping the local news. ey garnered the majority of local advertising dol- lars spent by businesses and organizations. So, it didn't take long for them to realize the benefits they would enjoy from the demise of our only TV station, Channel 40. Unfortunately, the rest is history. All the major networks (ABC, NBC & CBS) jumped at the opportunity to corral this market of over 300,000 with a bonus of Fort Bragg. Other cit- ies saw the benefits and potential of this grow- ing market, while our leadership chose to ignore it. Why is this significant? Because as a media source, a local TV station is a hub from which all other media communications radi- ate into the community. Residents, visitors and guests rely on local network television for information, education and awareness. Without it, citizens have no collective way to effectively understand or know the people, issues and circumstances that affect their daily lives. So, you may ask, what does this have to do with our inherently low voter turnout? Everything. Especially when only 16% of Cumberland County registered voters turn out at the polls, as was the case with the primary election. Local citizens do not know about the people running or the community's problems. ey do not know the candidates who are running for elected office. With this being the situation, why would they come out to vote? It's not apathy on their part. ey don't have trustworthy news and information that local television provides on a city and country-wide basis. Without TV, it dilutes the effectiveness of other media resources: newspapers, radio and billboards, because there is nothing there to stimulate local interest and help "connect the dots." is lack of visibility makes it diffi- cult, if not impossible, to assess or vet political candidates. Low voter turnout is only one of the ill effects. is media void encourages a lack of transparency and invites corruption and misdeeds at all levels leaving a communi- ty vulnerable to disaster. Look no further than the Town of Spring Lake for the near-perfect example of what happens when a community is without a TV station or legitimate form of media. Jason Brady wrote a comprehensive report on the Spring Lake situation in last week's Up & Coming Weekly edition. Read it. News coverage discourages voter fraud and exposes ill-qualified candidates and, in some cases, those who are corrupt or have criminal intent. Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches make up the state of our government. e Fourth Estate (the media) is what is supposed to keep them in check by reporting their ac- tions to the American people. Without media, you invite tyranny. At Up & Coming Weekly, we continue to fill the media void to serve our community readers with news and information and to keep this from becoming a media desert. With your help and the grateful support of our partners and advertisers, Up & Coming Weekly will remain free on the newsstand and free to online subscribers. We also will remain a consistent resource for what to do, where to go and how to enjoy the amenities offered here in Fayetteville/Cumberland County. You can depend on us. With ongoing partnerships with the Caro- lina Journal, the Carolina Public Press and CityView Today, we are able to provide news and insights on important local, regional and state issues affecting our readers. ese three organizations, along with our own writers, reporters and editor, serve as the local media to keep you informed with honest, up-to-date news you can use and trust. Together we are proud to be a community vanguard against government waste and tyranny. Subscribe, write us, call us, support local and original stories, help support media and good journal- ism, but, most importantly, make an effort to seek out the truth. ink local, read local, support local. ank you for reading Up & Coming Weekly. Absence of local TV station feeds news and information deficit by BILL BOWMAN BILL BOWMAN, Publisher, UP & COMING WEEKLY. COMMENTS? BILL@upandcomingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. Photo courtesy of Pexels