The start of a new year often leads to a time of reflection. Both Jocelyn and I have taken time to think about this past year of owning the Martensville Messenger and although 2017 had its ups and downs, all in all, there were more positives than negatives. Being the owners of the local community newspaper has provided us with so many amazing opportunities that we otherwise wouldn’t encounter. The people that we get to meet, the articles that we get to write, events we have the pleasure of attending and best of all, we get to be an integral part of the community. Both of us are proud to call Martensville our home and because of this, we think providing the local residents with information about OUR community, is the best way to spend our days. We are so incredibly thankful for the support that we receive from residents, business owners, and the City of Martensville and we are looking forward to 2018 and what opportunities we will experience this year.
That being said, having a free community newspaper comes at a cost. In order to provide our local residents with information about our city, schools, sports teams, local organizations, and more, we rely on advertising to cover the cost that comes with this. Without advertising, we would be unable to continue covering what is happening right in our own community and that is something that we want to continue doing for a very long time. Of course there are other newspapers out there that you can find information about “local” events taking place in communities miles away, but our focus is on Martensville and that is something that we think is extremely important.
The year 2017 saw numerous newspapers across the country forced to close their doors due to the rising costs and stress of the current economy. This is something that we want to prevent, as we see the importance of having a community newspaper. During research this past year, we discovered that there have been numerous studies done that show how beneficial a community newspaper can be. Municipalities that were without a local newspaper showed a far lower number of volunteers at local events, as well as less attendance from the community at local events. Now, whether it is directly connected or not, these surveys also showed a higher criminal rate in communities without a local newspaper. Now we aren’t thinking that we can help to prevent crime by distributing a newspaper; however, if we can provide information to our readers that can help to keep them aware and safe, then we are okay with that.
In an age where digital convenience seems to be the popular option, we are adapting ourselves to be more modernized by working on our digital platform. This is an integral part of providing current information about what is taking place within the community. We plan to continue to work and improve upon our methods of ensuring that you are receiving up to date, local news coverage.
Recently, we did a Readership Survey to better understand what our readers want to see in their local community newspaper. Through this, we have plans to adapt our current set up to better serve the people of Martensville and provide them with the things that they want to see in their local community newspaper. Don’t worry, we hear you Martensville, we will bring back the Suduko puzzle permanently, we promise!
Now that we have completed our first issue of 2018, we want to once again thank Martensville for the support and hope that you all know just how grateful we are to be a part of this amazing community!
