Doing our best in tough times

To borrow a famous phrase, the times they are a-changin’, including for newspapers across North America. In recent years there have been plenty of reports about closures, job cuts, dwindling readership and declining advertising revenue.

It’s a sign, we are told, that the public has become comfortable with online sources of news and information and, to top it off, more enamored with what’s happening to Britney Spears and Brad Pitt than would normally be considered good for one’s mental health.

All of this, of course, places print media on shaky ground. The most recent bit of bad news was reported last week by Torstar Corp., which announced 160 job cuts in a restructuring of its newspaper division.

There’s no denying it’s disconcerting to those who work for community newspapers and, as well, we suppose, to those who like to read them. But like another old saying goes, if we were to react with fear to every piece of negative news, we’d never get a damn thing done around here - around here being The Kings County Advertiser and The Kings County Register, which, by the way, have much to celebrate in spite of the above-mentioned negativity.

To get to the point, both of the community newspapers serving Kings County have proven themselves once again to be publications comprised of talented, hard-working and experienced staff. We know this based on the positive feedback we receive day-in and day-out from readers, but it doesn’t hurt that the staff of both papers have excelled also in the 2008 Atlantic Community Newspapers Association Better Newspaper Competition. Premier Awards Standing Finalists are Kings County Register sales rep Sheila Donovan for Best Advertising Program; Kings County Register cartoonist Jason Freeman for Best Cartoon; Margaret Wallace and Bruce Chisholm of the Kings County Advertiser for Best Circulation Promotion; reporter Wendy Elliott for Best Feature Series (in the Kings County Register); reporter Patty Mintz for Best Feature Story (in the Kings County Advertiser); Tanya Moore for Best In-House Car Ad in the Kings County Register; Kirk Starratt for Best News Photo (Kings County Advertiser); Sara Keddy for Best News Story and Best Resources Story (Kings County Register); Wayne Foote for Best Original Advertising Idea (Kings County Advertiser); Best Special Section (Kings County Register); and Alan Knowles for Best Use of Process Colour (Kings County Register).

Mike Kierstead of the ACNA said when announcing the finalists, “it is no surprise that community newspapers are alive and well in Atlantic Canada…. Editors, columnists and reporters from Atlantic Canada are certainly among the best that our industry has to over.”

Thanks, Mike, and thanks to our readers for your support and encouragement – it’s what keeps our staff movin’ and groovin’.

Winners will be announced Saturday, May 31.

Happy Earth Day!

Today, April 22, is Earth Day. What will you do to mark the occasion?

Here’s a suggestion: get out and clean up the garbage – the detritus of a long and brutal winter – that has accumulated around your home and/or neighourhood. It’s a simple yet satisfying project in which individuals, families and groups can take part.

You’ll feel good when you’re done (a bit of exercise is the bonus) and we can take pride in our own little corner of the world.