An newspaper's opinions pages have traditionally been venues for a mixture of newsroom generated comment and comment from the readership through letters to the editor.
In the ever burgeoning world of the Internet, reader feedback has become increasingly focused on website "comments" and responses to online polling.
While standing behind our belief in tradition, we are still loath to be left completely in the dust.
With that spark of competitive spirit in mind, this week we have launched a discussion feature on our Facebook page. This week we ask readers: A 2011 news story that put the Battlefords under the national media microscope was a Statistics Canada rating that had the community topping the Violent Crimes index. What would you say to convince those who have heard this report that the Battlefords is really not such a bad place to live?
It is our hope that asking a provocative new question each week will get people talking about the issues in our community - downtown revitalization, homelessness, crime, CUPlex development and a host of others - while supplying their own comments instead of simply clicking on a poll choice.
It is our job to provoke comment and to listen to what our readers have to say. We are hoping readers will continue to take advantage of the letters to the editor forum, while also participating in the online discussions.
It is our intention to feature some of the responses to our questions in the newspaper, and we would also welcome suggestions for questions you would like to see debated. Send your ideas to newsoptimist.news@sasktel.net.
To get in on this week's discussion, visit www.newsotpimist.ca and click on the Facebook icon at the top of the main page and check out our weekly website poll.
