Editorial from Wyn Jones
As much as we are a part of the political conglomeration known as HRM, we are still undoubtedly people of the Eastern Shore. Life is different here to that of our urban and city cousins. We think and respond very differently to the environment we live in. From Mineville to Ecum Secum, from Gaetz Brook to Upper Musquodoboit, we are collectively a community of communities, all of us with our own different set of interests, concerns, and priorities from that of the urban core of HRM.
Understandably, the media in the city cater mostly to their main population base. The rural regions of HRM hear and read much less of their own local news and of issues that directly affect us. This gives the Eastern Shore Cooperator its own special niche market with news and information that the main media pass over. We write and comment on issues that affect us directly. Our valued advertisers promote products and services that meet our immediate needs and, in the process, add to the growth of our community as a whole.
Producing a newspaper, especially a small local edition like ours, requires above all else, recognition from a supportive and growing readership if we are to thrive in a tough and competitive market. The Eastern Shore Cooperatoris what our name implies. We are a cooperative nonprofit venture and we feel strongly that the presence of a local monthly issue is vital to the community’s well being.
We deliver the paper free of charge every month to roughly 14,000 households. Our loyal and growing group of local advertisers provides much, but not all, of the revenue to operate and produce your paper. But it’s a fact of life in the world of community newspapers at every level that over the last decade or so, advertising revenues alone have not been enough to cover costs.
That’s why we started up our Supporters program this fall, the same type of program that is keeping papers alive and thriving across Canada. This program is increasingly essential to meeting the ever-rising costs of production: we already know that in March, we’re going to be hit with a whopping increase in our Canada Post bill—and we just can’t ask our advertisers for almost a 20% increase in rates to cover that increase.
We appreciate any and all of your contributions to support the newspaper. You can become a supporter for $5.00 a month, a sustainer for $10 a month, or a booster for $20 per month. If you wish, we will include your name on our gratitude list every month on our website. As a sustainer, you will also receive a sneak peak by email of up coming stories and as a booster you will receive an invitation each quarter to a light lunch with staff and our editor, Richard Bell, to discuss topics of immediate interest.
We welcome anyone with a voice and an opinion to submit articles of local concern for publication as a way of including and encouraging residents of the Eastern Shore to participate in making our paper as good and as informative as it can be.
As this is our final issue for 2018, and our Christmas edition, may we, the Board and the Staff of the Eastern Shore Cooperator, extend our wish for a safe and joyous holiday season and a prosperous New Year to all the residents of the Eastern Shore. And thanks again to our advertisers and our monthly supporters who make all of this happen.
Wyn Jones lives in Jeddore. He’s written for the Cooperator, sells advertising for the paper every month, and has just joined the Board.
