It hardly seems like any time at all that I left the Tribune, but in fact it is three years almost to the day since I closed the door on the Managing Editor’s office for what I thought was the last time.
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Now, in one of those quirky twists of fate, I am delighted to find myself back at the Trib, firing up my old computer and putting pen to paper (metaphorically at least) even if it is just for a short period.
I am here for just a couple of days a week, basically to lend a hand while Oliver broadens his vision with some travel (an activity I heartily recommend for young and old alike).
Many things have changed since I left the Trib to explore the world of poetry and literature and return to the farm. Our offices have moved to Meehan St, our computer systems are updated, our processes are different, but in many ways things are still as they were.
The Trib still acts as the cement that keeps the local community together. We still report on local news, views and snippets. We still hold those in authority to account and give a voice to the citizens of Yass and surrounding districts. We still seek to report the truth without fear or favour. We still seek to support our community in its many and varied activities.
The Trib serves an important function, but it is no secret print media around the world is struggling. While advertising revenues have dropped, the cost of quality journalism has increased. It is expensive to have someone dig out material someone else is trying to hide. It’s expensive to try and cut through the political spin, to check facts, to work out the difference between a scoop and someone with an axe to grind. But without such journalists, our society as a whole suffers. A free press dedicated to shining a spotlight on those in power is essential for democracy.
If you get your news sources from a variety of media, you soon notice that it is often newspapers that set the news agenda for day. Radio and TV often pick up on what is in the papers.
While the internet can be a great source of information from people on the ground in a breaking news situation, it can be hard to verify facts and sift through the opinion, of which there is an endless supply. You can’t read it all. How do you determine what is worth reading? Traditionally editors have filled the role of filtering out the rants, the incoherent and the plain offensive. Much of the internet is un-edited. There also seems to be the (mistaken) belief that defamation laws do not apply. People hide behind pseudonyms and don’t seem to realise users can be and have been sued for internet defamation.
The Trib does not pretend to rival the Sydney Morning Herald with investigative journalists like Kate McClymont. But then the SMH can’t rival the Trib for reporting on local issues around Yass Valley. The Yass Tribune is the only newspaper in the world dedicated to serving the needs of the Yass Valley.
So I am very pleased to be back as a local journalist, reporting on issues that affect our local community. I have come back because despite the pitfalls of the 24-hour media cycle, which I believe encourages sloppy journalism, I believe in the importance of local journalists informing the local community about local issues. Local people, local issues, local highs and lows: that’s what it’s all about.
