FITCHBURG — Creating a strong community takes everyone.
To help residents meet the people in their neighborhood, Ward 1 City Councilor Bernie Schultz will be hosting a Ward 1 Community Meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the North Conference Room of City Hall at 718 Main St. The meeting will be broadcast on FATV for those unable to attend in person.
Fitchburg’s Manager of Information Technology Trevor Bonilla and Sentinel & Enterprise City Editor Jake Vitali will make presentations, and then answer questions following their presentations.
Vitali believes this meeting is important to the community because having a strong newspaper is essential for a strong community.
“While print publications continue to face innumerable challenges, our commitment to the communities we serve remains as strong as ever,” Vitali said. “By speaking with members of our community, I hope I can foster a renewed spirit of collaboration for the Sentinel & Enterprise and look for ways that we can be the best community partner possible.”
Vitali adds that the most important aspect of this presentation for him is hearing people’s feedback and doing what he can to answer their questions.
“While I have never claimed to have all the answers, I am committed to providing North Central Massachusetts with a truly great newspaper that embodies the spirit of the communities we serve,” Vitali said.
Vitali is excited to speak about the hard work his team has done to provide great community journalism, spotlight the impactful stories they have produced, and represent the passion they bring to their roles each day.
“As the city editor for the Sentinel & Enterprise, I get to work with what I truly believe is the best team in local news,” he said.
Vitali graduated with his Bachelor of Arts in Communications with a concentration in Digital Media and Innovation from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in 2020. Prior to becoming the Sentinel & Enterprise’s city editor, he worked as the City Hall reporter for the Lowell Sun.
Fitchburg Councilor at-Large Sally Cragin says that the Sentinel & Enterprise is an integral part of the community, and she looks forward to meeting Vitali.
“As a second-generation journalist, and second-generation Sentinel & Enterprise columnist, it is essential we support a trusted news source, particularly in an era of unmoderated social media discourse,” she said.
Cragin believes that hearing from people who work for the newspaper will be very helpful for residents to understand how news is gathered, and the process of fact-checking and vetting that is part of reputable journalism.
“As an historian, I continue to be grateful for the Sentinel & Enterprise as they continue to provide journalism from the early 19th century until now into the early 21st century,” Cragin said.
