I was in junior high school when I started reading newspapers.
Every weekend when I was growing up, I picked up the Edmonton Journal, not just to read the comics and horoscopes, but also to read a new feature based around a map of the world with small news clips from around the world.
It showed everything from the highest and lowest temperatures over the past week and major storms around the globe and small, interesting news briefs. By the time I got to High School and university, I was reading the newspaper every day.
There’s lots of stuff clamoring for children’s attention these days and it can be hard for newspapers to compete with video games and TV.
When I spoke to a Calgary Grade 6 class last week, I was happy to see even a small handful put up their hands when I asked who read a newspaper, any newspaper.
I was asked to speak to the class by a student teacher at the school, Okotoks resident Hilary Derwantz, as her students are learning about newspapers in their classes right now.
Though only a minority raised their hands to say they read a newspaper, it was great to see how interested they were in newspapers. They kept me busy for 45 minutes asking question after question. What do editors do? How many copies of the Western Wheel are printed? Why did I become a journalist? Do I like my job?
They covered all the basics, but some of their questions delved much deeper. What do reporters at the Wheel argue over the most? How do we pick what goes on the front page? What were the most difficult events I’ve had to cover? How do reporters and newspapers deal with death?
(That last question came when a student referred to an article about a house fire and she asked what we would have done if someone had died.)
I brought a copy of the Western Wheel with me, as well as copies of our sister papers from Canmore, Cochrane, Airdrie, Rockyview County and St. Albert. Most of the students didn’t know small towns outside the city have their own newspapers. If there is one thing I could leave the students with, is an appreciation that communities of all sizes rely on newspapers to remain connected, and that there are more newspapers out there than the major dailies.
Much has been written about the future of newsprint in recent years and much is uncertain.
Publications have been forced to adapt to the advent of the internet as a major source of news and information for most readers and declining ad revenues.
Sometimes newspapers struggle even as they remain beloved, trusted sources of information. Even when Calgary’s Fast Forward, which was owned by the Western Wheel’s parent company Great West Newspapers, was forced to close its doors due to declining ad revenue, it’s readership remained strong.
Tomorrow’s readers are alive right today. Even if they don’t often pick up a newspaper on a daily basis, the students I met last week will someday become regular readers.
Newspapers need to be there for them, and I believe they will be – even if they look a little different than they do today.
When one student asked me if the internet has been good for newspapers, I answered yes, especially when it comes to getting news and information out quickly. I also acknowledged it has also brought significant challenges for the business of running a newspaper. For many in the industry, the response has been akin to throwing spaghetti against the wall to see what sticks. Some things have stuck, some have fallen to the floor and others are still wriggling along and we’re watching to see if they will succeed.
It’s up to us in the business to rise to these challenges. There is a whole new generation of readers out there waiting to pick up a newspaper – whether it’s a paper copy, an e-edition on a tablet or some new technology yet to emerge. They’re going to want to know what’s going on in their communities and the world around them.
I was glad to get the privilege to meet a few of them last week.
