It’s been (rudely) brought to my attention recently that I’ve been reporting on this community for a decade. 

I arrived in Shawville to work as a reporter for THE EQUITY back in August 2016, one of the few members of my class at journalism school to land a full-time job in the field. I didn’t have a car back then, let alone a clue about what I was doing. 

The two reporters I started working with both departed by October, and with that, I began player-coaching as assistant editor alongside a buddy of mine from school, Chris Lowrey. If you go back and look at the stretch of papers starting in November 2016, you can spot the tell-tale signs of debutants faking it until we made it. 

I owe a lot to Chris for teaching me how to deal with people and how to stand up for myself when someone was being confrontational. The guy is built to argue. Debating with him about everything from editorial topics to what really happened on 9/11 sharpened my rhetorical skills, though the folks downstairs probably didn’t appreciate the amount of coarse language reaching customers’ ears. 

Another college buddy Donald Teuma-Castelletti joined the team for a spell, and I dare say the paper started looking professional in this period. 

Trump was first elected to office that fall. I remember doing streeters in the Valu-mart parking lot asking people their opinion on the matter. At the time it seemed like a ludicrous joke, one that’s gotten a whole lot less funny. 

Here I am, already in old man storytelling mode. Where does the time go? 

I worked with probably half a dozen other reporters during my first stint with the paper, which ended in June 2021, when I left to work at CHIP 101.9 in Fort-Coulonge. I owe a lot to the crew there, especially the manager at the time, François Carrier, for their patience with my horrific French and for teaching me about broadcasting.

I worked there for just shy of four years, before my return to the paper about a year ago (can’t get rid of me that easy). 

Having returned to print after a hiatus, there are many differences from when I began  my career. 

AI wasn’t really a thing back then, or at least it didn’t seem to be a threat to civilized society as a whole. Even social media, which existed back in the Jurassic period when I started writing professionally, seems to have invaded more and more of the public consciousness. 

Despite news organizations being banned from Zuckerberg’s platforms for several years now, it’s still where a huge portion of the population finds out what’s happening in their communities. Journalism as an industry wasn’t in a great place when I first joined the workforce, and it seems like its downward trajectory will continue for the most part.   

I’ve looked into taxidermy school and joining a monastery, but for now I suppose I’ll stick with what I know. Trying to keep Pontiacers better informed about their region has been my only real job, and while there’s plenty to be discouraged about, both locally and in the world at large, community news is still something I believe is valuable. 

Regardless of where the next decade takes myself, or this institution, I want to thank everyone that’s given me their time or shared their story. I’d also like to thank anyone that took the time to point out when I blundered. It’s embarrassing to issue a correction, but it’s worse to have no one care enough to point out your mistakes. I also want to thank my co-workers here at THE EQUITY for welcoming me (twice) with open arms. 

Ten years is a long time. I feel privileged to report on such a beautiful, friendly place. 

I’ll see you around.