THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604200143
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: John Pruitt
LENGTH: Medium: 73 lines
Would each of you who has seen your name or your picture in The Sun in the past 20 years please raise your hand?
Good gracious, that's a big chunk of the entire population of Western Tidewater - past and present!
Now, would you indulge us one more time and belt out a rousing rendition of ``Happy Birthday to You''?
Eat your heart out, Mormon Tabernacle Choir!
As you've already seen on today's cover, The Sun is celebrating its 20th anniversary. The first edition, then called the Suffolk Sun, appeared on April 15, 1976.
A framed copy - along with a framed copy of our first color edition, on July 20, 1990 - decorates our office walls. And much the way an old family photo elicits fond memories, Vol. 1, No. 1 reminds us of how much we've changed - and how little we've changed.
The Sun began with a promise that it would be ``a reflection of what's going on around you.'' That was a big obligation. It remains so.
I would be among the first to admit to varying levels of success. The very best measure remains reader reaction, which is still strong.
Two opinions are offered regularly: It's not a news paper because it's published only twice a week (down from three times weekly at one point); or, it's my favorite part of the newspaper.
To address the first: Because it isn't published daily, it's not news in the sense of telling you, for example, what the City Council did last night. But we still can make it news in terms of exploring local issues and telling you what they mean to you.
The upcoming elections are prime examples. For the past three editions, we've presented the views of the candidates in their own words, so you know where they stand on certain issues and how they envision Suffolk's future.
That coverage will continue until the election, along with coverage in The Virginian-Pilot - the ``big paper,'' as some of our readers describe it to differentiate from The Sun.
That brings up a key point: that The Sun is published as part of The Pilot, which some readers regard as the meat and potatoes, with The Sun being an extra treat.
Regarding the second opinion: It's music to my ears. When I first started hearing it, I thought it was a mere pleasantry, in the category with people who say they loved a book but didn't really read it.
I know The Sun is read because people I don't know come up to me in all kinds of places to express agreement or disagreement with my opinions, which appear regularly on this page.
Susie Stoughton and Frank Roberts, who write columns that appear on Page 2, routinely tell of reactions to their work. We all love that.
I learned early not to go to lunch with Frank. He's been here since the Sun started, and everybody and all their relatives seem to know him. Most of us try not to eat and talk at the same time, so lunch with him means cold food, even if it's not supposed to be.
Looking back on 20 years is the easy part. Just as the future vision of School Board and City Council candidates is what matters most to voters, The Sun's future role is what matters most to readers.
If you were editor, what would you do? Would you keep the twice-weekly tabs to supplement The Pilot's daily coverage? Would you publish it once a week to focus on neighborhood news? Would you devote the resources to the daily paper and drop The Sun?
In other words, is the growing Suffolk changing so much that the newspaper needs to modify its formula for delivering local news and advertising?
Or do we look forward to celebrating many more anniversaries of a publication that still strives to a reflection of our community?
Let's talk about it: 934-7553. by CNB