AUJRNL 4970
Tuscaloosa News Column
By Emily Shoffit
In the name of journalism, I gathered all the bias that I had against Tuscaloosa and its crimson-bleeding dwellers to step foot behind enemy bylines. I had only been to the city once for sport and while I enjoyed my time, fellow members of the Auburn family shared stories that would make any Tiger afraid to leave The Plains.
But I was determined.
Tossing myself into the belly of the beast, I found U.S. Highway 82 Alabama and headed north from Auburn on my Community Journalism Road Trip. I traveled through the country for about three hours before hitting a wall of shopping malls and buildings occupied by dry cleaners and payday loan businesses. Traveling through, feeling lost even though I had Google Maps directing me, I found the Tuscaloosa News.
It was one of the largest news buildings I’d seen. I traveled there in the name of community journalism, with some knowledge of the newspaper’s coverage of the tornadoes in 2011, but I thought surely this particular newspaper was far too big to embody a sense of ‘community.’ I was wrong.
In my short time there I learned about the role the Tuscaloosa News had on those days of devastation in 2011. I learned that the staff at the News put journalism first during a time that affected themselves and their families.
I learned that the Tuscaloosa News also helps other community newspapers by printing local papers from around the area. Finally, I learned that the size of the News reflects the size of their coverage area. Every day, they serve 10 counties by reporting the activities and actions of citizens and government.
My initial impression of the Tuscaloosa News was that it might be too large to have a true sense of community. But I learned that the dedicated staff here has a deep passion for their surrounding area and their audience.
Also, this particular Auburn student found out Tuscaloosa isn’t as bad as I thought.