07/14/2025
Community Paparazzi Lesson 8: The Role of Paparazzi in the Community: Anyone can do it.
When I was studying journalism in college, we learned one of the roles journalists play in society is setting the agenda. We decide what gets reported on, what people read/hear/watch, how it is delivered, what biases and logical fallacies are weaved in, and so on.
One of my goals with this Community Paparazzi page is to set the agenda. My agenda is to promote local, small businesses by telling their stories, giving them a signal boost, and letting consumers know these way-cool members of their community are doing way-cool stuff.
This is important because large corporations have huge marketing budgets. They have name recognition. They have trained staff to do their social media posts. They have the knowledge and skill base to work the levers of the free market. A lot of mom-and-pop businesses or nonprofit organizations don’t have those tools. They rely on word-of-mouth advertising to compete with these conglomerates.
Small, local businesses are important because they give our communities unique identities and keep money circulated in the local economy. When you buy from a mom-and-pop, you’re helping that family pay their medical bills or send their kids to summer camp. You’re keeping those tax dollars in the same locale where roads get repaired and sewer systems get updated. When you buy from a large chain, you’re padding the wallet of an out-of-area CEO with a cushy compensation package filled with stock options and equity awards.
My passion for local businesses started during my trip to France in 1987. I was 17 years old and my cousin, who lived over there, wanted to take me to the local mall because I was American and she wanted to show me how modern the country had become. I was disappointed because I had malls back in Reno where I lived. I wanted to go do things I couldn’t do in the States. I wanted to do French stuff.
Then in 1990 or so, I was living in Sacramento, California and my parents, who still lived in Reno, would come visit me. We’d always go to Trader Joe’s and Denio’s Farmers Market because they didn’t have those things in Reno. Shortly afterward, Reno got a Trader Joe’s and my first thought was, “Now my parents don’t have a reason to come to Sacramento. Oh well, at least we still have Denio’s.”
Ever since then, I have tried my best to patronize local businesses as often as possible.
And another thing: There is so much negativity in our news feeds nowadays. It’s as if the mainstream media is intentionally setting an agenda that is trying to divide us. We don’t need that. I’m trying to correct that course and promote the good things going on in our society and each community’s unique identity.
It isn’t just about my personal community that I live in now (Ashland, Kentucky), but all the communities where my feet land. I’m a perennial transplant and I will bloom where I’m planted. And you can do it too.
If you see something good being done in your community, if someone does a kind deed or offers a comforting word, post about it on social media. If a local businesses has a really a cool product or a restaurant makes your favorite dish, post a picture. Give small, local businesses the signal boost they desperately need. Word of mouth can go a long way if we all do it.
