It was 140 years ago today – on June 7, 1883 – that the very first issue of THE EQUITY was published. To mark the occasion, we have put together a special 140th anniversary supplement which chronicles some of the changes in terms of where, how and by whom this newspaper has been put together over the years.
As with anything that has been around for longer than we can remember, it is easy to take a newspaper for granted. To assume it will continue to be there in your mailbox each week, linger on your kitchen table until the next one shows up, and be part of your life indefinitely into the future. But it would be foolhardy not to take heed of what has become the fate of hundreds of newspapers, large and small, across North America within recent years.
Ask any community that has lost its paper. You’re likely to hear something akin to the Joni Mitchell refrain, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.
Blame the media moguls who have squeezed the life out of hundreds of small newspapers by trying to meet shareholder expectations for profitability, only to end up shutting them down. Blame the social media echo chambers that give us the feeling of being informed when all we’ve heard are messages from sources we have selected because of the comfort they give. Blame the political opportunists who build their power base out of a disinterest in facts, civil discourse and democratic decision-making – the stock and trade of any respectable newspaper.
Yet, somehow, we are still here. This has had something to do with the succession of people producing this paper, come hail and high water, over the past 14 decades. But it has had everything to do with you, the people who believe in it, who read it, who subscribe to it. People who advertise everything from a cord of wood for sale to a special on at the store. Who share the paper with friends and neighbours, who write letters to the editor whether to compliment or complain, who stop by our booth at the Fair to say you love to read THE EQUITY.
This is what keeps it going. And it is all that is needed to keep it going for as long as you want. As long as you continue to invest in your local paper, it will continue to reflect your community in its pages.
One of the great things about a newspaper is the variety of articles you are exposed to at a time. You may be interested in the hockey story, but chances are, right beside it, you will see an article about an important discussion at town council. Beside that will be an ad for an upcoming auction sale, and another promoting a musical performance at the school. And opposite that, a request for volunteers for a charity fundraiser. At a glance, we see ourselves in all our diversity, and together develop a shared sense of who we are, without even trying. And that is a big part of how, over time, we become and continue to be a community. It’s like magic.
We at THE EQUITY feel privileged to be the current stewards of this part of Pontiac heritage, and grateful for your continuing interest in our weekly offerings. Our wish, as we blow out the 140 candles, is that the magic will continue and the Pontiac will have a weekly newspaper for a long time to come.
Charles Dickson
