According to The Democracy Project, a joint initiative led by the Public Policy Forum and the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University, more than 340 communities have lost local news providers since 2008. The report also talks about 11 recent new starts in Canadian community news providers — and one of those mentioned is The Kamloops Chronicle.
One year in, it’s a heck of an accomplishment to still be standing given the current landscape. It’s an even greater accomplishment to be growing.
Here’s what the Kamloops Chronicle has accomplished in the last year: we’ve reported on local politics, politicians, companies, organizations, unions, acts of nature, our local economy, education, healthcare, crimes, infrastructure updates, our local arts scene, members of our community… and the list goes on.
We’ve contributed to the local record — history has been recorded here, we just don’t fully grasp the magnitude of it yet.
People have submitted obituaries for their loved ones, so their memories are able to live on…and their lives can be celebrated.
As for births, we don’t cover them yet, but who knows? Perhaps that’s an area to expand on down the road.
And more importantly, the Kamloops Chronicle has contributed to our local democracy —and it has done so in a way that’s (and I’m a little biased here) fair and balanced. Given what’s going on in other parts of the world these days, this is perhaps one of the Kamloops Chronicle’s biggest accomplishments.
If you look on the Kamloops Chronicle’s website, it explains why the Kamloops Chronicle came to be — Kamloops was lacking a local newspaper.
It also sets forth a sort of mandate on why our existence is important: “Local news is the heartbeat of a healthy community and a vibrant democracy.”
The Kamloops Chronicle is not going to change the world, but it will live up to its mandate. It will play a role in contributing to the heartbeat of a healthy community and a vibrant democracy.
We have done so in the past year and moving forward, we will continue to do so.