The Eastern Graphic, Montague, Prince Edward Island
Excerpted from a speech given July 23 at the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors conference in Lexington, Ky., in acceptance of its Eugene Cervi Award, given to an editor who consistently acts in the conviction that good journalism begets good government.
I don’t have to tell anyone in this room that the last couple of years have been incredibly difficult as we navigate a new pandemic reality.
Covid compounded existing structural issues within media. Facebook and Google are not media companies, but they impact our ability to do the heavy lifting of local reporting. They have no loyalty to any community. Their singular goal is to suck as much money out of a town or country as possible. Because of it, the truth often falls victim as media organizations, of all sizes and form, slash editorial budgets or close entirely.
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| Paul MacNeill |
Radio, TV, cable, print; we’ve all been negatively impacted. But when small towns lose a paper, or even a single reporter, the impact on local democracy and community can be devastating. We’ve allowed social media to have their cake and eat it too, to the detriment of communities everywhere.
Now this is not meant as a doom and gloom speech. On the contrary. There are signs we are turning the corner. Many countries, including Canada, are pushing forward legislation to force social media companies to fairly share revenue from their virtual monopolies to ensure local reporters are always on the ground telling stories that need to be told.
It is easy in the weekly grind to forget how relevant and impactful our publications still are. When Covid hit, people flocked to their paper as a trusted local source of content. This was reassuring.
A reporter and I worked for a year digging into mental health and addiction issues on Prince Edward Island. Over four weeks we rolled out 40,000 words on 50 plus pages, with no ads – which shows how smart a publisher I am.
The impact was immediate. Question Period in the provincial legislature was dominated every Wednesday by Opposition politicians quizzing government about content we published earlier that day. Every other island media was forced to follow our stories. The premier promised change. He delivered it in the form of $4 million in new funding to supply free opioid and alcohol treatment to all Islanders in need. This will save lives.
For the first time in PEI history, a minister of the provincial government sat down with an Indigenous Islander and apologized for mistreatment he received from the justice system.
I’ve never experienced anything like it. It is by far our most consequential and impactful reporting. It turned heads, stirred public debate and forced politicians to act to support the most vulnerable.
It showcased the power of the printed word and the continuing power and relevance of newspapers to lead. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved. What I didn’t realize at the time is how much I needed to witness our relevance to Islanders.
Just surviving the last couple of years has been tough, and I tip my hat to every one of you who’ve kept your community informed at considerable personal cost.
My father, Jim MacNeill, carved a niche by doing what other media wouldn’t. Next to my daughters, this “business” model is the greatest gift I have ever received. His philosophy was hold those in power to account and defend those without voice.
Cover your community warts on all, he would say. I’ve added to that with build community by bringing people and ideas together, because I think the newspaper is uniquely positioned to champion new ideas and change.
Too often our industry worries more about following other media. We collectively suffer because of it. Why give readers a reason to leave because they’ve seen our news elsewhere?
In a dated, but still apt analogy, my father used to say, “If an atomic bomb drops 30 miles away in the capital of Charlottetown, I’m interested in the fallout.”
He wanted the local story for himself and his readers. It still applies.
I never met Eugene Cervi but I’m willing to bet he didn’t spend a lot of time trying to match stories produced elsewhere. His priority was local, unique, relevant, engaging content.
That’s what makes this organization so important, perhaps more so today than at any other time. In an age when journalism discussions are commonly dominated by budget, ISWNE (and, yes, I fall into that camp) talks content.
The legacy of those who founded this organization is a reverential drive to build community through content, including holding those in power accountable, regardless of fallout. It is a model that never goes out of style.
I know how fortunate I am to live and work in a place like Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province with a population of 167,000. It allows us to box way above our weight in influence and impact.
We’ve all spent a lot of time trying to figure what the future of community news looks like. I wish I had the answer. I doubt there will be a one size fits all solution. But there will be solutions.
It doesn’t matter if your community is big or small, rural or urban. The first measure of a newspaper’s success is always perceived community relevance.
Relevance isn’t always about investigative reports. It’s about reflecting a community back onto itself. This includes defending, cheerleading and wiping away tears, as well as holding truth to power.
It’s easy to play it safe. I’ve done it. But I truly believe that our competitive advantage has been – and will always be – our capacity to lead with ideas and passion and to fight for what we believe is right.
Gary Sosniecki, who presented the Cervi Award to MacNeill, said it was supported by the strongest set of nomination letters he had seen. PEI Premier Dennis King wrote in part: "Some might find it ironic that I would be recommending an individual like Paul, a persistent and constant critic of government, for such career recognition. In truth, never more so than now do I respect the job of journalists and those who work so hard to ensure the public accountability of those in positions of power. Often, he makes my job harder and my days longer. I would be dishonest if I didn’t admit that Paul is a regular pain in the neck for me, and I know he would take a measurement of pride in having me admit to that. At the same time, I remain steadfast in my belief that governing isn’t supposed to be easy. I believe that officials like me need to be held accountable and responsible, and that is only made possible through a fair, balanced, independent local media."
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