Thanksgiving is coming up. Even though it might be different this year, it’s an opportunity to reflect on the good (and great things) we have in our lives, and hopefully, to come together with loved ones to enjoy a great time together.
As for this week, among other things, it’s national Fire Prevention Week; I’m definitely thankful for the men and women who serve as paid on-call and volunteer firefighters in our region. But it’s also National Newspapers Week.
Yes, it’s an opportunity for us to toot our own horn, and you’ll find testimonials from people in the community in this week’s paper and online at www.estevanmercury.ca. For me, it’s a nice reminder of how many people view our paper as an asset to the community. (And those people are a fraction of those who see the value of our paper).
I talked about my love for newspapers and my job about a month ago when I celebrated my 20th anniversary in the community, so I won’t bore you with a regurgitation of that shameless self-promotion.
But I will say this: I’m thankful for the opportunity that newspapers provide me each week to share the stories of our communities. And I’m thankful that people trust us enough to give us the opportunity to share those stories.
That’s a key word: trust. If you screw up a story, people aren’t going to trust you. And so they aren’t going to turn to you again in the future.
People who are ticked off aren’t going to read the paper, either.
We get the opportunity to share all sorts of stories. Someone sent us a cheer a couple of weeks ago for the colourful look of the paper and the diverse selection of stories. We definitely appreciated it.
And I guess that’s what I’m looking for each week: a variety of stories from a variety of people. I don’t want to be the paper that relies on the same 10, 15 or 20 sources each week. I definitely don’t want to have a paper that has nothing but pandemic-related copy.
There are too many people out there who do cool things and have great stories to tell and make a difference in the region.
But it’s not just our readers who deserve thanks.
I’m thankful for my sources, regardless of whether I talk to them each week or just once in the past 20 years. In the end, a reporter (or an editor) is only as good as their sources allow them to be.
I’m thankful for all of those who work on the paper each week to make this possible. If I had to sell ads (which drive our revenues) we’d be broke. If I had to answer phones or handle admin work, it would be a train wreck. If I had to layout the pages, well, it’d be such a jumbled mess that nobody would read it.
And having been a one-man news team for far too long in my life, I’m thankful to have a talented reporter on the team who brings a completely different perspective.
And then you have the people at Estevan Web who print the paper, and the carriers who deliver the paper to your home each week.
And, of course, I’m thankful for all of you who take the time to read this paper each week, even if I don’t say it directly. (And even though I might shake my head at some of the things that are said on social media, and I get frustrated when someone sends in a photo from their camera phone that is of the small size, because that’s how Facebook operates, I’m still thankful for these people, too).
Newspapers give you an opportunity to share people’s stories with depth and insight that other media genres don’t provide. If you don’t believe me, check out the story on the Derrick Motor Hotel on pages A8 and 9 of this week’s paper; nobody else would be able to do a story like that. While other mediums rely on the “now this” element, we’re endeavouring to bring so much more, because you deserve more.
Yeah, there’s a lot of reasons to be thankful when you’re a newspaper editor. And while I know all of you have so many reasons to be thankful, I hope a few of you are thankful for this paper that is delivered to you each week, and the effort that goes into making it possible.
