A news outlet? Just for Abington?
Well at least, while everyone is stuck at home doing their part to help combat COVID-19.
These are certainly historic times. Other adjectives we could have chosen include unprecedented, frightening, confusing, uncertain, challenging, vexxing, depressing, and socially isolating. You may have a few other special adjectives that you prefer to use.
No matter how you describe what’s happening, one thing that’s needed is information. Trusted information. Information that helps make us smarter, safer, and better connected as a community.
Here’s what we see our purpose as:
- A trusted one-stop source for Abington COVID-19 information: Our town leaders — from the Board of Health to our school department to our first responders — have done yeoman’s work keeping us updated as the situation changes seemingly hourly. Please don’t unsubscribe from those Abington email or text lists you’re currently on — they’re a critically important part of the community information ecosystem as a whole. We’re just looking to set up a place where everything can be found later.
- A way to stay connected: Abington is first and foremost a community. It’s important to understand we’re all in this together. So we’ll be showcasing ways the town is responding to these difficult circumstances, from our local businesses to our families.
- A way to recognize the helpers: As Mister Rogers told us: “Look for the helpers. In times of trouble, you’ll always find people who are helping.” So we’re going to do that.
What won’t we be doing? Clickbait. No “What smurf are you?” quizzes. No magical cures. No sensationalism. And there will likely be no deep-dive exposes. (Sorry…they take a lot of time and we’re not set up for them right now)
Will this site continue once the emergency is over and our regular lives have resumed? Maybe. Maybe not. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. (Part of it depends if Abington residents find this helpful.) But since we have some spare time on hands for now, we hope to have some fun and provide a service to the town.
This is an evolving operation. We’ll continue making the site look nicer, and exploring ways to present news and information better. So be patient and feel free to pass along your feedback (and story ideas) to AbingtonNews@gmail.com
One more note: the founders of this site are involved and connected with a number of town committees and organizations. To remain a trusted source, we will be sure to disclose those relationships as appropriate.
~Rick Collins and Michele Christian