Not standing still

This week’s paper celebrates (perhaps a little early) the approach of our 20th year with some exciting changes to our format and a renewed sense of purpose.

Working with Wellington’s own Don Heathcote, we have freshened up the design to be more consistent, clean and readable.

We have also shortened our masthead to state simply “The Times.”We did this to reflect the fact that, while we are published in Wellington, our readership and our news coverage extends to every corner, every nook and every bay in the County. In fact we are thrilled that our readership is growing beyond the bridges into Belleville, Quinte West and north.

The tree formed from a single line in our masthead is there to remind us that we are creating a living and breathing document each week—that we must strive to evolve and adapt along with our readers while continuing to be a dependable source of news and insight.

We’ve moved a few things around—but not so much that you’ll have difficulty finding your favourite columnist or feature. The much beloved poetry and art of Bea Lotz has moved to page nine. David Simmonds’s biweekly column moves up to page eight.

We are pleased Jake Hooker (aka John Kennedy) has returned. Jake and Elsie (Celine Papizewska) offer a new series comprising letters between the estranged lovers, set in Sloeville and beyond. Beware, this hardbitten duo have a knack for steaming up the pages of this staid newspaper. Reader discretion is advised.

We are also pleased to welcome Steve Campbell to our pages. Steve, as most already know, is a gifted and wildly funny writer and the publisher of County Magazine. Like the tree in our masthead, Steve has seen the County change over the decades. His insights into where this community is going and how we got here is a must-read for those who truly want to understand the County.

All in all, the changes that begin with today’s paper are a reaffirmation of the commitment that Kathleen and I made when we became its stewards in 2004: to offer high quality, original County-related content.

We invested in better technology.

We put in long hours attending council meetings and learning the workings of our local government. We found strong local writers like Robin Baranyai and Theresa Durning to offer balance and a range of viewpoints.You told us this was the newspaper you wanted. Advertisers took notice.

The Times has grown steadily these past few years, more than tripling distribution to 5,000 copies. Readership is likely much larger: often a single copy of The Times is read by three of four different people. Producing a paper people seek out means we don’t print newspapers to be left in driveways, clog up snow blowers and fill recycling bins.

Today, The Times is very much about the County and the people who live here. There is an edge to our writing.We don’t hide behind false objectivity. No one who puts pen to paper is objective about their subject—not if they care about their community. We write with a point of view and we encourage and celebrate letters and opposing opinions. That’s how a newspaper achieves balance.

Our readers tell us they make it a weekly habit to spend some time with us—even to plan their Wednesdays around us. That is the kind of news we like to hear—not that you agree or disagree, but that you read. That is what invigorates us and makes us rededicate ourselves to producing a paper worthy of this wonderful community.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca