When the sale of Reminder Publications was made, the message was there would be no changes in the editorial direction for these community newspapers.

I’m very happy to say that is indeed the truth. No one has dictated changes to our content – in fact no one has even suggested anything.

We have had one major change in our physical format by converting to a broadsheet but that is simply cosmetic. That change hasn’t affected the stories or photos we feature.

The next change isn’t going to affect our editorial mission either, although it may surprise some people. In this era during which traditional local media – TV, radio and news – are contracting to various degrees, this company and its offerings are expanding.

Next week we will be introducing a new edition. The news for Agawam and West Springfield will be presented in its own newspaper and distributed to every home in those cities.

So, there will be an edition for East Longmeadow, Longmeadow, Hampden Wilbraham, Enfield and Somers, CT, another edition for Agawam and West Springfield and an edition for Chicopee and Springfield.

The Chicopee/Springfield newspaper will also have news from Holyoke, which is another expansion.

The Agawam/West Springfield news will be produced by Jordan Houston and Stephanie Trombley. I’m very proud of these two young journalists. Jordan has already been reporting from those communities and Stephanie is our editor for Go Local, which is also distributed in those cities.

Contact Jordan at Jordan@thereminder.com with your story ideas. She wants to hear about every aspect of life in those two communities.

For Chicopee, Springfield and Holyoke, if you’re not sending your press releases, story tips or photos to me, then please do. The address is news@thereminder.com.

We believe in local news – that’s not the “imperial we” – that’s a pronoun assigned to the staff of this company. Everyone here understands the need people have to know what is happening in their hometown.

Local news sometimes doesn’t get the attention it so richly deserves, but we at Reminder Publishing focus on the local. It’s been our hallmark for more than 50 years.

We – yes, all of us here – hope readers in Agawam and West Springfield will enjoy their new free weekly newspaper, as well as our readers in Chicopee, Springfield and Holyoke who will also see a change.

I have questions every day

Just when I think my young staff has properly kept me up to date with the shifting sands of social media I hear something that tells me I’m still far behind.

After an evening assignment I come home and mindlessly watch the TV. There is “Dancing with the Stars,” a show for which I have little interest but in my tired state I’m too lazy to try to find anything else.

A young woman named Alexis Ren was introduced as a “social media influencer.” Apparently she has more than 12 million followers on her Instagram account.

So being a geezer I frequently play a mental game called “Is this really a thing?” So being an “influencer” real? And apparently being an attractive young model who posts photos of herself meets the standard of being an “influencer.”

Hey who am I to argue with 12 million people?  My question, though, is how does she influence people and to what end?