IT'S always nice to be reminded that people are fundamentally good.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Too often in the media we are consumed by what is wrong in the world, but that's the sad nature of news.
By its definition, news is something unusual or out of the ordinary, something unexpected.
Waking up, having breakfast and going to work does not rate as news in most instances; it's only when something different happens that it becomes interesting to others. And, in most cases, that something different is usually something bad.
Our own figures also tell us that bad news is well read. It's not that people like to read about car crashes or assaults, it's that human nature compels us to.
But it's also true that there are many more good things happening in our community than bad, and telling those stories is good for the souls of both the writer and the reader.
And in a social media world where we can receive feedback on our stories in just an instant, it's comforting for all of us to know that good news still gladdens the hearts of our community.
A case in point is Tuesday's report on a new food van service to operate from the Bathurst Community Op Shop.
The Sisters of Mercy will roster on to serve hot meals to the city's needy, made from goods supplied through the Bathurst community garden with help also from commercial supporters Coles and Harris Farm Markets.
It's a story that tells everything good about our community, a community that does not turns it back on people in need.
And the reaction to the story, particularly on social media, tells another great story.
Our readers rushed to show to their support for the food van by giving it the "thumbs up" on Facebook, with some also volunteering their time to help out.
It's a story we've seen repeated many times over.
Our reports on the wonderful Uniting Safe Space program always garner strong support on our social media channels, as do all our stories about local people doing well in their chosen field.
As a newspaper, we have a duty to report the bad in our community and our readers expect (and deserve) no less. But we're also constantly on the lookout for the good things people are doing, because our readers want to know that as well.
Bad news helps makes a newspaper, but good news helps makes a community.