As I write this, it’s Tuesday afternoon, on our first deadline day. Phew, we made it!
I did a brief interview with CBC Radio this morning.
It’s always a little funny when the media makes their own news, wouldn’t you agree? When one news outlet asks another why they’re doing what they’re doing, it’s a bit like Chrysler asking GM about their new windshield wipers or heated seats.
Back to CBC, and while I appreciate the interest, their biggest question was why? Why take on a newspaper in a small town, in this day and age?
Let me try and explain.
Imagine, if you will, a tiny bell. It’s an imaginary bell, but it’s one that rings a tiny ring when I hear about a local story that should be told. Sort of like the bell in the Polar Express that rings in the first gift of Christmas, if you believe, you can hear the bell. If you don’t, you can’t.
During the years I worked in the newspaper business, I worked closely with my folks, but mostly, on a day-to-day basis, with my dad. We would often have conversations about this issue or that, these people, that organization, and so on.
Then, when we were out of the business, we would often find ourselves still having those same conversations, chatting about something unique that either of us had heard about a particular local person, family, or business.
“That would make a great story,” we would say to each other. I guess some parts of the business were hard to leave behind, that part in particular.
These days, that tiny bell still rings in my head, and I hope to honour that in the editions to come. After all, good community newspapering is at least one part magic.
So, why did we take on this small community newspaper, in a time when some publications are closing?
I could tell you it’s because we believe in the industry. But really, it’s because we believe in Golden.
