It’s not news that the ‘media’ tends to get a bad rap. Societal problems tend to be blamed on the so-called ‘media,’ a blanket term for any form of sharing information or ideas. There are many different kinds of media and they tend to get all lumped together.
Local, community journalism is the kind I believe in, and I’ll tell you what it means to me.
A local community paper has its thumb on the pulse of a town and shares the stories that matter to readers in a reliable and credible way, written by trained journalists whose reporting is balanced and fair and who have a vested interest in the success of a community. It also supports the efforts of community groups who are working to continue to make our community a great place to live.
Ponoka is a vibrant community, even through this current, ongoing crisis with COVID-19, and Ponoka News remains dedicated to shining a light on that.
Ponoka News is part of Black Press Media, which is doing everything it can to keep people employed so we can keep serving communities.
As an essential service, our journalists, advertising and production staff continue to be hard at work to bring you the latest updates, the information you need, and to tell your local stories.
I’ve now been with Ponoka News for a year now and in that time I’ve developed an even deeper affection for the people and town that my family and I have called home for the last few years. I also enjoy the work and would really like to be able to continue.
Times are hard on businesses right now though, and that includes your local, community newspaper.
Some papers have lost the majority of their income because they rely on a healthy local business community to support news coverage. All of us have made sacrifices, including at Ponoka News. Our editorial staff is working reduced hours as a necessity to keep our lights on and the presses going.
We are still committed to doing our very best to provide Ponoka with local news stories and features.
Ponoka News marked its 70th anniversary this past fall. It’s an institution in this community.
I may have been here for only a year, but the other members of our team have been here far longer, including our publisher Judy Dick, who has not only dedicated 36 years to Ponoka News, supporting local businesses by advising them on the best ways to make their advertising dollars count, but is an active volunteer in the community.
She deserves your support. Local, community journalism, that provides credible, accountable and reliable reporting of what is happening right here in Ponoka, deserves your support.
Ponoka News appreciates its loyal readers. Our website traffic gives us evidence that people have always relied on us for information, with a typical monthly traffic of over 90,000 page views. That reliance has ballooned since the COVID-19 crisis, with page views of more than 160,000 over the past 30 days.
Now more than ever, people need access to credible, reliable information, from local sources they can trust to help them navigate their daily lives.
We understand that other businesses are struggling just as much as we are right now, and that with the uncertainty of the future, they’re hesitating to advertise at this time.
That is why we are making an appeal to individuals, to please consider becoming a ‘Friend of Ponoka News’ by making an online monetary donation in an amount of your choice. If you’d like to show your appreciation for the role the Ponoka News plays in our community, you can make a one-time or monthly donation here.
Thank you for supporting local journalism.