Knowing the community, telling its story 

“Ocala Gazette” editor and writer Susan Smiley-Height, left, shares a hug with Jenny Goodson, a teacher at Hillcrest School, while Smiley-Height was there to write about retiring principal Lori Manresa. At one time, Goodson worked with Smiley-Height and photographer Bruce Ackerman as a news assistant at the daily paper in Ocala. [Photo by Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2026

We are celebrating the sixth anniversary of the “Ocala Gazette.” It was on July 6, 2020, that our publisher, Jennifer Hunt, made the bold decision to start the weekly paper, in part because she felt there was a need for local accountability.

And she was right.

For 14 years, starting in 2005, I was part of the team at the daily paper, the “Ocala Star-Banner,” first serving as its magazine editor and then on the city desk as the local news editor.

When I came to the newsroom, there were 62 people working there. When I was laid off in late May of 2019, along with photo chief Alan Youngblood, photographer Bruce Ackerman, editorial page editor Brad Rogers and news assistant Lauren Thompson, there were five people remaining.

You have to know that when you send the local news editor home, there goes a lot of your close to home coverage.

The “Ocala Gazette” is continuing to provide coverage that includes reporting on local government, digging into disturbing incidents at the Marion County Jail, sharing news about area nonprofits and the ways they help people, sharing good news and more.

My favorite part of being a journalist of more than 30 years is the latter. Nothing makes me happier than reporting good news, whether it is writing about Sean Miller, Marion County’s 11-year-old Florida National Barrel Horse Association 1D Youth Champion or letting people know about things such as new art exhibitions featuring local artists.

Every day, my phone is buzzing with calls and texts from people in the community and my email in-basket is always full. Those are ways I stay in the “network,” as well as having developed numerous connections in my 21 years in journalism in Marion County.

I have depth of knowledge. In “insider” language, that could be construed as “knowing where the bodies are buried.” Not really. But you get the idea. Institutional knowledge about a community can have a profound impact when it comes to reporting and editing, helping clarify, avoid errors, give context, etc.

I consider it an honor and privilege to be a writer and editor with the “Gazette.” I believe we have an important role in the community, in part to shine a light into dark places but also to highlight the many wonderful stories and people that make us who we are in Ocala and Marion County.