Over the Christmas holidays, which were all too brief, one of the most popular topics family members had to discuss with me was Sept. 15 – the day that Metroland Media declared bankruptcy and announced plans to cease printing of its weekly newspapers, going to an online-only model.
The conversation usually started like this:
“So, this Metroland mess doesn’t mean anything for you, right?”
After assuring concerned relatives that I am not in a situation like Cousin Eddie from Christmas Vacation, and that Midwestern Newspapers is a completely separate company and independently owned, said relatives express their relief that we are still publishing.
Most times, the conversation would move on. However, in speaking with one relative, he surprised me with the following statement:
“I’m jealous for your community.”
I must have looked surprised, because he elaborated on that thought.
“Your community still has a newspaper. It still has a voice reporting on local news, on local sports, features on local residents. We don’t have that now. We have a website that pumps a bunch of regional stuff out. I miss reading about town hall. I miss reading about local athletes. I miss reading about local events.
“I miss the paper.”
What surprised me the most about this revelation was that I didn’t expect it to come from this relative. This wasn’t someone you would consider the stereotypical newspaper reader – gray hair, no idea how to use a computer, no cell phone. This statement came from someone with two teenagers and is tech savvy.
We even broached the subject of the Online News Act and how Facebook has blocked news from being shared on its social media platform.
“To me, it’s no different than streaming songs on Spotify. Those artists get paid every time it is played, and news outlets should get something to compensate their efforts.”
While I had thought about this in recent months – how communities are now without local newspapers – I had not talked to someone who no longer has a paper to read each week.
Hearing this relative talk about what they no longer have access to – local news – was startling. And it also made me realize how fortunate our communities are.
We often take news for granted. We expect it to be there, and to be readily accessible. We live in an area of Ontario with several news sources – most of whom cover the “sexy” stories: fires, protests, feel good stories. You know, the clickbait.
But only local newspapers cover the grassroots issues, and when local newspapers disappear, those grassroots issues go, for the most part, uncovered.
With this being the first issue of 2024, my new year’s resolution is this: to do my best to ensure local news remains to be covered by this newspaper.
It is a lofty goal, and one that is possible because of dedicated readers like you, and our advertising partners. As I said last week in this space, without you, there is no newspaper.
Arthur Miller once said, “A great newspaper is a nation talking to itself.”
With that said, we can only be in so many places at one time, and we have yet to perfect cloning in the newsroom laboratory. If you have a story idea, news tip or community event that you think we should cover, let us know about it.
You can send me an email directly at mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com, call 519-291-1660 ext. 118, or drop into our office.
Thanks for reading and subscribing.
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Mike Wilson is the editor of Midwestern Newspapers.
