By Colin Burrowes
By the time this is printed, the election will be over and we’ll be able to lay off the columns telling you to go out and vote and go back to the columns telling you what to think. Thank goodness for us media folks.
Actually, I do think highly of people who dedicate their lives to the media. I think it’s an important role that they play. Whether they are just letting you know what events are happening in the community, telling a story about a unique character in town or letting you know what the people you elected are doing – it’s all important.
That’s one reason why I’ve found Kincardine to be a unique small town. Other towns I’ve worked in have had one, maybe two, or at most three media outlets. Here in Kincardine, you have a couple of newspapers in print, one online, an FM radio station, and community TV. I’m probably missing something but I’m new to the community.
At the first council meeting I went to in Kincardine, the media was represented by about six or maybe seven people. I think that is great. In this internet age, it’s impressive to have this much media dedicated to a community and as I learn more about the town and meet more of the town’s movers and shakers, I am finding that this much media helps the town maintain an individuality.
Of course, I’d say I find small town media important, it’s my chosen field. But, think about what it’s like in other small towns, where the only sources of media are national, or from the big nearby cities, and that’s all you get so you don’t hear about your community blood drive or events at your local library or the results of a fall fair ambassador competition.
These things may not sound like much and sometimes we take them for granted, but in towns that are losing their local media, they lose some of that sense of community that small town people love to brag about. We love to tell people the benefits of a close-knit community, even when we complain a bit about people gossiping too much. Local media helps hold that community together.
It’s a pretty long commute to a city from here, and I know full well what winters are like in this area. My point is that some towns are losing their local media and just becoming a satellite of a larger community where their media is centred, they are becoming bedroom communities and all the action happens somewhere else. I’d like to think that won’t happen to this little town.
Most people like to belong, and things like the Kincardine Independent help build that community. All the media in this town help build its strong character. Kincardine is a great community, but you already know that because you can read about it, listen to it and view it. Then because you know what’s going on in the community, you are able to get out there and participate in it.
I’ve been so surprised by the number of events in this community. Kincardine is a literal festival bonanza and I think that’s amazing. There is so much going on that we need to spread the word about, and I’m happy to be helping to do that.