Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Your fine editorial on “The value of a newspaper” (Oct. 10 issue) should be required reading in the middle and high schools.

Growing up in Kilmarnock, a daily ritual of my parents was reading the Richmond News-Leader. As children, we were encouraged to participate in the paper’s quizzes such as “Test Your Horse Sense.” It was then that I developed an abiding and deep respect for the value of newspapers. I have been reading newspapers for 75 years.

The functions of a newspaper given in your editorial are immutable. The newspaper conveys important and interesting information, it fosters a sense of “community,” and it illuminates the workings of our democracy. The newspaper has a responsibility to its readers to bring objectivity to its reporting. Here, I feel that the Gazette-Journal excels.

Cogent arguments can be made for online news sources. What you get from a newspaper, however, is a panoramic view of what is hap...