William Fox: Readers, I want to hear from you

My colleagues at The Greenville News and I got an opportunity last week to meet with a local development group that pitched credible solutions to alleviate the Woodruff Road traffic mess.

We sat down with organizers of the BMW Charity Pro-Am golf tournament scheduled to tee off on May 15-18 to hear about ways the event benefits local philanthropies and showcases our community.

We spent an hour with Clemson President Jim Clements talking about the school’s efforts to attract the brightest students in the state and nation, rein in tuition costs and meet growing facility needs.

And we chatted with Mayor Knox White about the latest developments in Greenville.

As managing editor, I get the chance to meet a wide variety of leaders and engage them in broad-ranging discussions about issues that are vital to our community. Those discussions, always on the record when I’m included and frequently involving a reporter, help inform our coverage.

But what I’d really like are more opportunities to hear from you.

Since my last column, I’ve received dozens of emails, phone calls and voice mail messages and even a few hand-written letters from readers.

Some praised the additions we’ve made to the newspaper and our digital products. Some made suggestions for improvement. And some aren’t particularly happy with the changes, or have other frustrations related to delivery and service.

I’ve attempted to respond to each of you.

But sometimes a quick email or a brief telephone conversation leaves me wanting more.

So what I’d like to do is to go a step further and sit down with one reader each week for an extended period of time in order to learn more about what’s on their mind.

What are the challenges you face? What are the most important issues for you and your family? How can The Greenville News help you make better sense of the community around us?

What questions would you like us to ask leaders who play a role in shaping our community? Where do you stand on issues like funding for road fixes, downtown Greenville’s future, protecting our environment or the quality of our schools?

What’s on your mind?

If you’ve got an hour to spare and wouldn’t mind stopping by our offices on Main Street across from the Peace Center, shoot me an email and tell me a bit about yourself.

Each week, I’ll block out my calendar on a day and time convenient for you and we can chat. I’ll show you around the newsroom, introduce you to the team of journalists dedicated to putting together the daily newspaper and running our digital operations.

And if you’re here around the time of one of our daily news meetings, you’re welcome to sit in and offer your suggestions and observations about coverage plans and what we will publish in the next day’s paper.

I’m hoping so many of you take me up on this offer that I need to come up with a better plan. If it’s not popular, I’ll pivot and try something else.

And if you’ve got any suggestions on better ways to get your feedback, I’ll listen to those as well.

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