A busy month for MCP

By Rob Alway. Editor-in-Chief.

Disclaimer: It is my general belief that as a journalist it is my duty to be an observer and not be part of the story. However, while I am owner of Mason County Press, I believe that this service belongs to each of you, our loyal readers. For that reason, from time to time, I think it is important to update you on important milestones and events in the life of MCP.

It is with mixed emotions that I report to you that September was a record breaking month for Mason County Press. Sadly, the cause of this increase in readership was mostly sparked by the tragic murder of Michigan State Police Trooper Paul Butterfield. While it is my desire to write stories that tell about the good in people, life is a mixture of good news and bad news.

It is the vision of Mason County Press and its parent company, Media Group 31, LLC, to be the most trusted and reliable source for news and information in the market we serve. Our mission is to be committed to providing news and information for Mason County with quality, integrity, accuracy and fairness, at no cost to the reader.

There are two key factors that make Mason County Press a success: Our readers and our advertisers. We have seen records in both those areas in September.

The month ended with 130,986 views to the website, a 90% increase compared to the month of September. With that in mind, our viewership has increased every month since MCP was created in January 2012 and our most recent numbers have hovered in the 60,000 to 70,000 views-per-month range.

We also saw a significant increase in Facebook followers. I always say that Facebook is the portal to MCP. A large percentage of our readers rely on their Facebook news feed to direct them to stories on www.masoncountypress.com. On Sept. 2 we had 3,297 Facebook followers. Today, as of 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 1, we have 4,703 followers. We also have a loyal base of Twitter followers at around 850.

As with every story we cover, I always have our vision and mission in mind; the coverage of Trooper Butterfield’s death was no exception. I tried to put out the most accurate information available at the time as quickly as I could. Sometimes the story wasn’t always straight in the early moments of the incident. I was relying on multiple sources, non of them were official.

As the evening progressed, I was able to get more accurate and more official information. In the days that followed, I continued to do my best to cover the story. I will continue to cover this story until justice is served.

The day and age of waiting until the next day for news is past. People now rely on the Internet to receive information – and they want it quickly. Web services and social networks can be valuable tools to communicate quickly. In Egypt, they were the backbone to a revolution. There is also a heavy burden to assure the information is presented accurately and also tastefully.

I am relying on you to help us assure those things happen in the future. When there is news happening, I welcome self-appointed moderators and editors to help assure we are doing our best. During incidences of high tensity, such as the police shooting, it is not always possible for me to keep an eye on the Facebook and Twitter feeds. If you see something that needs to be corrected, deleted, or moderated, the best course of action is to text me and send me a private message (preferably to my personal Facebook account because my handy iPhone will then alert me). My phone number is 231.757.3202.

Please also remember that this service is free because many Mason County businesses advertise on our site. Please be sure to patronize our advertisers and always mention to them that you saw their ad on Mason County Press!

Thank you for being part of the MCP family.

– the editor