New editor of LJ steps out at Noble Horizons

SALISBURY — About 50 people gathered in the community room at Noble Horizons to celebrate its 50th anniversary by hearing Lakeville Journal Editor John Coston speak on Saturday, April 30.

Coston, who has been at The Journal for about a month, spoke about the long history of The Lakeville Journal, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year.

“The Lakeville Journal stands tall in the annals of community journalism,” he said. “I stand on the shoulders of those who came before.”

He described his own life trajectory as well, going from college at Columbia University in New York, to a small daily newspaper in Watertown, N.Y., to the Hartford Courant, to the Miami Herald, and then back to New York City to spend 30 years at The Wall Street Journal.  “It was a big circle back to New York when I joined The Wall Street Journal,” he said.

After a retirement that turned into semi-retirement at the WSJ, Coston moved to his wife’s family home in East Canaan and became a working farmer, with sheep, chickens and donkeys. When he decided to try community journalism at The Lakeville Journal, he felt it completed another circle in his life.

Coston said neutrality in news reporting is a “big deal” to him and he really wants both sides of any story told. He noted he has to earn his credentials by working for the community, keeping the fundamentals of community journalism front and center.

“The newspaper should reflect the lives of its readers,” he said.

He also said The Lakeville Journal is here to stay. “The community saved the paper,” Coston said. “It’s very important this community has its own newspaper.” At a time when 100 newspapers a year are shutting down across the country, he said, the continued existence of The Lakeville Journal should not be taken for granted.

To contact Coston, email him at johnc@lakevillejournal.com.