Shuttered by Snow

But like I said earlier, sometimes what’s old is new again. The COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 produced some interesting changes in how we kept the paper running. When no one is allowed to host events inperson, the phone becomes your friend again. When you can’t meet up with someone because they’re quarantined, mail is a great way to exchange information (though this time it’s electronic!). COVID also showed us how much the digital age has made things possible. During the height of the lockdown, reporter Stella Wieser reported stories, laid out pages and copy-edited proofs from her parents’ house in Fredericksburg.

Another highlight for the Watchman took place while Carthage and Panola County were buried in ice and snow in February 2021: We couldn’t print physical copies of the newspaper, but we were able to get out an e-edition and continually update our website so readers never went without the news they needed.