The omission is unacceptable — why no mention of Suanne Thamm in the News-Leader?

Thamm in 2019 with her book Saving Fernandina

It's been two weeks since the passing of the remarkable Suanne Thamm, yet not a word has been published about her in the Fernandina News-Leader.

In Fernandina Beach, history is not only preserved in its historic downtown, a civil war fort or cemetery — news media's responsibility is to record the lives of the people who were dedicated to documenting, preserving, and defending it. Suanne Thamm was one of those notable people.

It's disheartening that the Fernandina News-Leader — Florida’s oldest weekly newspaper and the historical record for the city — has failed to acknowledge the passing of Thamm, a dedicated local journalist, historian, civic volunteer, and unwavering advocate for Fernandina Beach.

Thamm, who passed away on June 27 at the age of 78 after a prolonged illness, left a legacy intertwined with nearly every major civic and historical endeavor in Fernandina Beach over the last thirty years. From co-founding the online news journal Fernandina Observer in 2012, to her extensive career with the U.S. Library of Congress, to her dedicated volunteer work on local boards and committees, Thamm embodied a life of public service, scholarship, and dedication to her community.

And yet, the pages of the News-Leader are absent any mention of her passing and contributions.

Her family submitted obituary appears today on the Oxley-Heard Funeral Home website https://www.oxleyheard.com/team/suanne-zuzel-thamm. Will the News-Leader at last publish an article?

This glaring oversight is an obvious failure of institutional memory and editorial responsibility. Thamm was not simply a writer for a competing news outlet, she was a key figure in Fernandina’s public discourse. Thamm, alongside former News-Leader reporter Julia Roberts, was a local voice chronicling our city government meetings when few citizens showed up. Over the years, Thamm tirelessly documented the very history the News-Leader claims to publish.

Her book Saving Fernandina 1972–78 documented the pivotal times when the city's identity and architectural heritage were threatened. She helped form our civic memory.

To disregard her passing is to neglect the impact of a woman who arguably did more to educate, involve, and challenge the citizens and leaders of Fernandina Beach than almost anyone else in recent history.

Whether this oversight was intentional or accidental, the result is the same — a small-town newspaper failing its community. In this era of shrinking newsrooms and vanishing local coverage, such omissions widen the growing disconnect between the press and the people it serves.

Could this oversight be attributed to the recent turnover of editorial staff at the News-Leader? Publisher Todd Frantz arrived in March without much knowledge of Fernandina Beach's recent history. Editor Tracy Dishman resigned, and the aforementioned Roberts left following a conflict over coverage of the local PRIDE parade.

This resulted in no staff members having the legacy knowledge of Thamm's significant contributions to the city.

The News-Leader still has an opportunity to make this right by authoring a meaningful tribute article to Thamm. There are plenty of folks in Fernandina that would share their thoughts about Thamm’s lifelong service and influence.

Suanne Thamm shared the stories of this city. Now, it's time for the News-Leader to share her story.