Winning essays reflect on Jewish Review’s importance

By JEWISH REVIEW

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Earlier this year, in connection with the Jewish Review’s 50th anniversary, the paper announced an essay contest that asked the question, “Why do community newspapers such as the Jewish Review remain important for their readers and for the communities they serve?”
    
We were operating on the assumption that small community and ethnic newspapers remain important to their readers, even as the mainstream newspaper industry copes with a changing marketplace.
    
Small newspapers are also feeling the pinch of that changing marketplace and the current overall economic challenge, although industry reports have suggested that the small newspaper is better equipped to maintain its readership in these changing times.
    
Among our readers there remains an abiding need and even an affection for this small community newspaper.
    
We had hoped to receive essays from adults and children. In the end, only adults wrote.
    
We selected two that we thought were well and even elegantly stated. They writers are William (Bill) Hoffman of Beaverton and Joshua Burstein of Eugene.
    
Mr. Hoffman lives in Beaverton.
    
Mr. Burstein is the assistant dean and director for career services at the University of Oregon School of Law.