Thank you for reading your way to page 22 of this week’s Outlook, unless you’re reading this online, in which case you should check out our e-edition.
By now, you’ll have noticed your community newspaper has gone through a redesign process – we certainly hope you enjoy it.
Outlook staff thought it time for a bit of a freshening of our look, pages and layout, but without detracting from the newspaper you’ve read and been loyal to since we began publishing in 2001.
Content-wise, since journalism is important to the communities we cover, the Outlook will continue to provide the quality stories, photos, Bow Valley information and advertising services that you, our readers and clients, need and care about.
The newspaper industry has certainly faced its share of challenges in recent times, partially due to the proliferation of online offerings, partly due to big media, in particular, losing its focus on what’s important.
What’s important, of course, is what is happening in your community.
If you pick up a daily newspaper these days, you’d be hard pressed to find out what’s happening with children in schools, or with local youth groups, volunteer groups and non-profit organizations, what community theatre and musical groups have on tap and often, what municipal government is doing.
Big media doesn’t mind stepping into a community when there’s a disaster, say, or crime spree, or something afoul with a government’s book keeping. But to cover a student science fair, what a ladies hospital auxiliary is working on, a performance at the Legion, details of changes to a town’s land use bylaw? Not likely.
No, this is where your community newspaper comes in. Staffed by locally based journalists and advertising specialists, what happens in our communities is of utmost importance.
Rather than heavy focus on professional sports, community newspapers cover minor and high school sports, recreational races and events, bonspiels, tournaments and the endeavours of all manner of amateur athletes, year-round.
Rather than Hollywood blockbusters, community newspapers focus on local community and school theatre, up and coming bands, choral groups, artists, skate club shows and dance schools.
Rather than reporting on Prime Minister Trudeau’s ramblings around the world, the Outlook focuses on issues closer to home, such as Mayor John Borrowman travelling to PyeongChang to take in Olympic events, pre-Calgary bid, or Mayor Karen Sorensen putting forth Banff’s case for being recognized as a unique tourism community within the province.
No matter what changes in terms of our look, the Outlook’s dedication to providing high caliber community journalism will remain the same.
