The Apopka Voice hits another publishing milestone

Publishes its 7,000th article!

It all started with a parade.

Back in December 2015, The Apopka Voice published its first article - the Apopka Christmas Parade, and over the next four years, we are still writing the story of this community. They say that writers write, and that's what we've been doing.

This is the 7,000th article we have published!

In that time we have covered breaking news, business openings, traffic and weather and the news that impacts Apopka the most.

We've given you the ins-and-outs of the City Council, and shown you how politics can hinder or enhance a municipality.

We've inspired you on Sundays and informed you about all the news of Apopka seven days a week.

The The Apopka Voice would like to thank all of our readers for your support. 7,000 stories in less than five years is enough words to publish 45 novels, and it's because of readers like you that keep us going.

According to Google Analytics, there is an average of 30,000 unique visitors to TheApopkaVoice.com website every month. We also have over 6,700 likes on Facebook.

And solutions-based journalism is what we are striving for.

The mission of The Apopka Voice is to rebalance the news so that readers are exposed to stories that help them understand problems and challenges, but also show potential ways to respond. Most people would agree that some news outlets often provide a dismal view of the world. Readers come away feeling powerless, apathetic, and resentful.

And when a news-product makes people want to tune out and disengage, it doesn’t bode well for the news business — or for democracy.

We believe that journalism can do better.

The Apopka Voice is striving to provide a view of Apopka that’s faithful to reality. It will inspire engagement with audiences and be a catalyst for action in the community.

Solution-based journalism heightens accountability by reporting on where and how people are doing better against a problem. It removes excuses and sets a bar for what citizens should expect from institutions or governments. It offers a more comprehensive and representative view of the world, and it circulates timely knowledge to help society self-correct by pointing out responses that people and communities can learn from.

Photo by Mel Bolden

The Apopka Voice will bring that same attention and rigor to stories about responses to problems as they do to the problems themselves. And in doing so, we believe we can elevate the public discourse, spur citizen participation, and reduce polarization. It can strengthen democracy, and when added to the mix, can improve the overall quality and impact of the stories we report on.

What won’t change is our continuing search for the most compelling ways to tell stories. We will continue to put the fairness and accuracy of everything we publish above all else — and if we fall short, we will own up to our mistakes, and strive to do better.

We believe this is the journalism our community needs and our readers deserve. Original, independent, deeply-reported journalism is the fuel that powers a healthy and engaged community like Apopka. It's been the guiding vision for The Apopka Voice for over four years now, and today we renew that commitment.

And so, in closing, The Apopka Voice looks forward to the future of this growing and blessed community, and we are honored and privileged to tell its story every day.