LETTER

LETTRE

 Thanks for keeping media alive

 

As a former journalist, now retired and living here in Quebec, I must tell your readers how fortunate they are to have a genuine local media, a newspaper in particular.  Ontario has lost hundreds of local papers and broadcasters and I assume Quebec the same, since most of these were closed by their corporate owners, usually headquartered in the USA.  It is mainly the localities with their own locally-owned media that have managed to keep their voices during the Great Pandemic.
    Many local shops were closed, or about to close, thanks to the inroads of social media's claims to reach audiences of millions, and then the pandemic struck.  Fortunately in Canada our federal government stepped up to the plate with a supportive program of grans and loans to help media survive. Our provincial governments (Quebec's, anyway) went a step further and actually used the local media to reach right into homes with cautionary messages on avoiding Covid infections.  The situation of the Bulletin was greatly helped by both initiatives, I am sure, although I wonder why it was one support measure only by each level of government? If the feds, for example, think it valuable to protect local media, why don't they actually use that media?   No doubt I have missed details, now being on the outside of the industry. But I do know how this (local) industry works -- from Cochrane, Ontario, to Swift Current, Sask.
    I haven't met anyone here in Aylmer who isn't pleased with our local media, so we might all add to this, that we're also pleased with both levels of government.  Imagine, we're pleased with a government action!  That has to be a record.
    Keep up your good work, Bulletin -- and our MPs and MNAs! Thank you all!
Don McKennie
Aylmer