No news is good news, as the saying goes.
Well, I beg to differ. In my business, no news is a disaster.That doesn’t mean I rub my hands together with glee every time calamity befalls in our city. Not at all. What it does mean is that I value all the things local news does — build connections, hold people to account, celebrate, inform and, perhaps most importantly, provide a venue where we, as a community, can hear and be heard.
This week’s edition of the Richmond News has a touching story about a mom weeping with joy as she watches her autistic sons surf for the first time; there’s a story about a council candidate breaking from the ranks in his support for marijuana dispensaries; there’s a disturbing court story about a teenage boy groomed for sexual exploitation; there’s a story about a company that went bankrupt and may have leaked thousands of Richmond customers’ credit card info; and yet another about a tour through Steveston history, a young mom auditioning for MasterChef and then there are the letters.
The point being, we’re all over the map, but that’s local journalism for you. Just like the community we aim to reflect, it illustrates the complexity of who we are.
I’m going on about this right now because next week marks National Newspaper Week. The theme this year is Newspapers Matter #NowMoreThanEver. The campaign hopes to remind Canadians about the important role newspapers play in our society today — self-serving, perhaps, but not totally out of line.
These are interesting times in the newspaper industry. With a president of the most powerful nation describing mainstream media as the “enemy of the people,” quality journalism really has never been so important. But hot-headed leaders aside, the greatest threat to newspapers in the long term is, you guessed it, the Internet, and all it has brought in it’s wake.
Granted, the World Wide Web is amazing, and here at the Richmond News, we couldn’t imagine doing our jobs without it. But it’s had an impact on newspapers financially and on readers in how they see the world.
One of the wonders of the Internet is that it allows like-minded souls from around the planet to connect and communicate — a beautiful thing, indeed. But we are also physical creatures and there is something about connecting to place that matters.
I think of it a bit like neighbours versus friends. Obviously friends are essential, people with whom we share interest, values, a laugh and a glass of wine. But neighbours matter, too. And it’s the very fact we may not have anything in common with them, apart from location, that can expose us to something new. A favourite neighbour of mine was a Muslim woman from Morocco. Our conversation one day about her decision whether or not to terminate her unwanted pregnancy, despite her devotion to Allah, was one I’ll never forget.
In a world of filter bubbles and echo chambers, local news goes a long way in connecting people and engaging citizens with the very real issues that surround them. With an election coming up, it’s something we need #NowMoreThanEver.
