Apr 21, 2010- 2:54 PM
At Northern Life, we thoroughly enjoy the feedback given to us through our newspaper readership and online users.
Seeing words from contributors beyond the usual suspects (like politicians or career lobbyists) is refreshing and welcome.
There are people who have never written a letter to the editor before because they think, “Why bother? No one is going to read this anyway.”
This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Key decision makers in our community rely on local media to help them move forward with critical choices. They regularly turn to the letters and opinion pages in this newspaper and at NorthernLife.ca to gauge public sentiment.
The variety of viewpoints can be quite diverse. Each letter or article is published unadulterated (but is edited for length, clarity and libel), and gives the writer the opportunity to raise his or her voice on an issue that he or she considers important.
The letters and online comments that have surrounded the Vale Inco strike have been overwhelming. Keeping up with the feedback is overwhelming as well. But, there are a number of other issues that people are debating, from the state of our new one-site hospital to the choices made by our elected officials at city hall.
Every spring we hear from people about bears and the debate around the cancellation of the spring bear hunt. This fall, the municipal election will be on our doorstep, and we know opinions from our readers will be flowing.
Your contribution to our newspaper can be as simple as a picture and a caption that reflects an important community donation, or it can be a rapid-fire letter that hits policy makers right where it counts.
They throw up their hands, curse the leaders or players involved in the issues, and discontentedly wallow in defeat.
But there are avenues people can take to help a situation. Expressing one’s opinion in a letter to the editor is just one way to help. It gives people the opportunity to absorb another point of view and, perhaps, may sway someone with some influence to make a change and make things better for our community.
It doesn’t have to be a Pulitzer-prize winning letter. All it needs is a clear message that is written from the unique and valuable point of view of a community member.
Your contribution to our newspaper can be as simple as a picture and a caption that reflects an important community donation, or it can be a rapid-fire letter that hits policy makers right where it counts.
We love to hear from our readers and are proud to see their good works and thoughts reflected in our pages.
Keep up the good work, dear readers. This is your Northern Life.
Wendy Bird is managing editor of Northern Life.
