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COLUMN: Pulling on my cowboy boots; Hello Cochrane

I've made my way from blustery Edmonton to Alberta's cowboy capital to bring you the news that matters to Cochranites
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Jesse Cole.

It’s not every day that you’re given the opportunity to change your entire life overnight, but that’s what I did this past week when I was offered a job as a reporter here at the Cochrane Eagle.

I’ve been in Alberta going on six years now. Originally an eastern transplant from everyone’s favourite centre of the universe (Ontario), I have spent the past half-decade in Alberta’s frigid capital city. I served as an editor and reporter for several community newspapers in the capital region. My time there instilled in me a deep appreciation for this province and all of the beauty and benefit it has to offer, but can you truly consider yourself an Albertan if you haven’t paid your dues in the province’s cowboy country? Of course not. So, I put on my Smithbilt and headed south.

All joking aside, I believe wholeheartedly in the importance of a robust and healthy community paper. In today’s climate of misinformation, distrust and globalized media marketing, the role of the community newsroom is more vital and specific than ever. Publications like the Cochrane Eagle are the last vestiges of genuinely local news — content from and for the community, rather than localized to it — and I am excited to be a part of that.

It’s also true that trust in the media has been eroded now more than in recent years and I want to be a part of changing that, too. In a hyper-partisan, polarized environment, the role of the community journalist in rehabilitating the relationship between the media and its audience is more vital than ever. As your community reporter, I will strive to earn, and more importantly, keep your trust.

Community newspapers are the voice of a small town. They hold authority overlooked by larger outlets to account, amplify the individuals and stories that make communities like Cochrane special and serve as the collective memory in an age when our attention span seems more akin to goldfish than an elephant.

I’m excited to get to know you, Cochrane. I hope I can meet your expectations and deliver the quality of reporting that you’ve come to expect from your local newspaper. As I continue to get my feet under me, I hope you’ll reach out with any concerns, ideas or questions — or just stop by for a coffee and a hello.

[email protected] 

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