Local News

In a column I wrote in 2015, I talked about how, one of my favourite things about my job is meeting the many unique people in The Standard’s coverage base. This week, I would like to go over why I like working for an independently owned community newspaper.

All of the news The Standard prints either happened in The Standard’s large coverage base, or affects those who live in our coverage base. According to a recent study by the Ryerson School of Journalism, local papers owned by chain newspaper companies are seeing a decrease in local news content.

As an independent newspaper though, we have a main office in Port Perry and report on the news and issues within the North Durham and Kawartha Lakes communities. Having that anchor, that main office, in the community is not something all chain newspapers have. Being based in the community allows a reporter, such as myself, the ability to hear local stories and to quickly learn the issues that are important to the community.

As a reporter in this community, I do my best to listen to everyone and ask the questions residents would like the answers to.

As I noted in my column titled ‘It’s who you meet’, I enjoy meeting the many different people in North Durham and the Kawartha Lakes, and have been privileged because of working at this paper to have met and talked to so many of those people.

It’s an opportunity I don’t think I would get, as often, working at a chain owned paper.

Of course, the rhetoric surrounding journalism has been that print journalism is dying; however, The Standard is still here providing local news and content to our many readers.

I am looking forward to continuing to report the news that is important to those in our coverage base.