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Letter to the Editor: Thank You, ‘Peninsula Pulse’

For myself and the Door County community I want to give thanks for the Peninsula Pulse.

This is a time when community newspapers are vanishing before our eyes. Big corporations which have bought them up are stripping them down to gaunt corpses.

Community journalism was my profession for 30 years. I thought it a higher calling because journalism was vital to our democratic process. I saw the local newspaper as a mirror through which a community saw itself whole, a loom by which it wove itself together into a common spirit.

No more. Journalism itself, like politics, has largely descended into a tit-for-tat game: what to be afraid of and whom to blame. The advertising bases that supported newspapers have largely gone elsewhere. Communities are losing a vital organ.

Not Door County. As Gannett has “disappeared” the beloved old Advocate and its long, proud heritage, Dave Eliot, owner of the Peninsula Pulse, and his staff have defied the disabling trends. Eliot is a rare visionary, leader and civic entrepreneur. He has fostered the creation of a vibrant and beautiful community newspaper. I love it.

It engages the vital issues of the county in a probing, fair-minded way. It celebrates Door County’s unique personality and gifts, its land and waters, arts and music. Especially its people. It offers an open space for dialogue. Its advertisements are fetching and attractive.

I specifically want to cite three staffers. Jim Lundstrom, editor, writes intelligent, spicy copy on many subjects, including penetrating analyses of local issues. Dannhausen, a native, loves Door County and preserves its soul for us, especially in his intimate pieces on iconic people who did so much to make Door County what it is and have gone away from us. Villano’s photos are consistently the best I have ever seen in a local newspaper.

I commend the whole staff. The Pulse invites bright people to tell our stories with style. The design of its products is exquisite.

As an old codger who loves community newspapering, I know what we have and I know what it’s worth.

Tom Torinus

Egg Harbor, Wisconsin