061224_GYS_2024_WEB

78 2O24–2O2 5 GU I D E to Y E L LOW S P R I NG S 78 getting smaller, but I soon realized nobody else was really going to cover this,” she said. “So it was our story, and we just started to try to find out what was really behind this decision.” Investigative journalism hadn’t been a foundational element of the News’ tradition of reporting up to that point in its then-128-year history. Nevertheless, Chiddister said she thought that the News was up to the challenge of digging deeper into the reasons behind the college’s closure beyond what had been expressed in press releases. “I was a big fan of The New York Times, and their inves- tigative articles would have two or three writers on them,” Chiddister said. “And I thought, ‘Well, we have three writers — we can do that.’” She added, with a laugh: “Those were the only writers we had, but I thought we could do the same thing and I feel like, in our small way, maybe we did.” Over the course of a year, the News kept both local readers and alumni beyond the village informed about Antioch College’s suspension and then closure, publishing more than 40 articles on the college in that time. In the following years, the News continued to follow the college as alumni and former faculty members aimed to keep the institution’s torch burning via the Nonstop Institute, followed by the col - lege’s reopening in 2011 as an independent institution. For the News, those years of deep reporting meant the receipt of a J.D. Dawson Award for support of and service to Antioch College upon its reopening — but it also meant a shift toward more investigative journalism during Chiddister’s tenure. Series followed that dug into local government issues, like the proposal for Village Council to commit public funds to the construction of the Center for Business and Education, or CBE, commerce park; and investigation of Ohio Facilities Construction Com - mission, or OFCC, standards and requirements during a 2017 school facilities levy bid. The News also expanded into writing annual series on issues of local concern, such as declining diversity, water qual- ity and the ways that racism manifests in the community. “We realized we were find - ing out what a little paper can do — and it can do a lot,” Chid- dister said. For all a little paper can do — especially when it’s independent — there are also challenges that aren’t always apparent. For a reporter, it can be difficult to find the line between being an active participant in community and remaining a distant enough observer of its comings and goings to report on them — particularly when the News ▲ Legendary Yellow Springs News Linotype operator Lynton Appleberry, pictured here in 1958, who was famous for his on-the-fly editing of newspaper copy. The News used the “hot type” letterpress system to print the paper until 1991, long after most newspapers were printed using offset presses. Y S N E W S A R C H I V E P H O T O 937-322-8117  1125 N. Bechtle Ave, Springfield  www.BoxKingShipping.com  Full service design and print shop  We can pack anything and ship anywhere!  Shipping by FedEX, UPS & USPS  The Biggest Ohio State Buckeyes Gift Shop West of Columbus!