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Way ahead of the newspaper game

Having just returned from a two-week vacation to Ontario with my wife and soon-to-be six-month old daughter to show off my two favourite girls to my family back home, I’ve come to realize how fantastic a job the Cochrane Eagle staff do at putting out

Having just returned from a two-week vacation to Ontario with my wife and soon-to-be six-month old daughter to show off my two favourite girls to my family back home, I’ve come to realize how fantastic a job the Cochrane Eagle staff do at putting out an authentic community-based newspaper every week.

Clearly, I am biased, but that’s OK, I’m allowed to be to biased…it’s my column, and it’s in my favourite newspaper.

Out of what has become a habit since I began working for a newspaper, I took a peek at all the journalistic offerings in the several communities we visited on our Ontario trip – Sault Ste. Marie (both on the Canadian and American side), Kingston, Ottawa and the various small towns in the Ottawa Valley.

If there was one thing that popped off the page of all the papers I looked at, it was the lack of community focus, and, particularly, the fact that this shortfall did not go unnoticed by readers.

When I asked my family members about the newspapers in their communities, many of them voiced their lack of interest in the types of stories being printed, saying there was little to no focus on what was happening down the street and more of an emphasis on world issues – something anyone with a television, computer or smartphone can get their fill of on an hourly basis if they so choose.

I’ve seen several papers over the years – in Ontario, B.C. and here in Alberta – that continue to make the mistake of cutting corners by grabbing random news stories off a wire instead of paying for a reporter to cover what’s going on in their own backyard, and newspapers that make this decision end up paying dearly.

Advertisers bail or jump ship because readers feel the same way my family does – why bother reading the paper if it won’t tell me what’s going on in my own community?

Seeing the type of product that’s being put out in many cities and towns across North America, it reminded and gave me a greater appreciation of what Eagle staff accomplish each and every week.

In last week’s edition of the Eagle, our editorial staff provided 49 local stories and photos…news, community, entertainment, sports…you name it. And that’s not including columns or our editorial.

Most of the weekly newspapers I looked at during these past two weeks couldn’t produce 49 community stories in a month let alone every week.

I will not name names, but my hometown weekly paper for the week of Dec. 11 offered its readers 12 local stories and photos…12. That’s in a community four times the size of Cochrane.

Back in the day, newspapers strived to reflect the communities they served, and most did an admirable job, but over the years have moved away from the very thing that makes them relevant.

I believe in communities like Cochrane, residents love to grab their weekly newspaper every week.

There’s something nice about picking up your copy at the grocery store, from your doorknob or mailbox, and maybe see someone you know on the front page.

Again, I know I’m biased, but it makes me proud that the Eagle provides the kind of coverage it does for Cochrane residents.

We aim to be everywhere. One of our reporters does more in a week than most other entire weekly newsrooms could pull off in that time. Our paper is something all our staff should be proud of.

Are we perfect? No.

Do we make mistakes or miss things from time to time? Yes.

Is there room for improvement? Always.

Do we try our hardest to reflect the community and residents of Cochrane and area? You bet.

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