This paper marks the last where I will be the editor of THE EQUITY.
The reason I’m leaving is, fundamentally, I don’t think I am cut out for the job. I was originally attracted to journalism because I wanted to cover politics and other adjacent issues, and while this job has definitely afforded me a lot of opportunities to do so, there wasn’t enough of it to keep me from burning out. As much as I found events and softer topics compelling, I’m too introverted to be great at covering them.
In terms of the actual editing of the job part, I’m probably a little too relaxed about and generally ideologically opposed to pedantic rules about language structure. I’m generally content if people can understand what I’m trying to say and not too much into showing off that I’ve memorized effectively arbitrary rules. Not a great trait for an editor apparently.
Finally, I always said I was going to stick it out for about a year and that’s what I did, so mission accomplished.
I don’t think I did a bad job, but probably a different person could do it better.
That being said, the feeling is bittersweet. On the one hand, I am happy to finally be getting some time off, but on the other, I will genuinely miss this community. I’ll miss the beautiful landscapes and lack of traffic, but more importantly, I will miss the people. There is a certain neighbourliness and social solidarity in the Pontiac that seems to be becoming increasingly rare in the world and it’s a shame that I will probably experience a lot less of it.
There were a lot of stories I loved writing and it is dissappointing that I won’t get to follow up on them. Seeing how the Pontiac efforts reignite its economy, whether the MoP will join the MRC Pontiac (at the very least one of the two should change its name to end this needlessly confusing situation), how the language issue evolves, how the bus strike ends ect… There are plenty of interesting people I didn’t get to talk to, and I’m sure I missed a lot of great stories.
Going back to politics, Quebec genuinely has the most interesting politics in North America. It is one of the few places on the continent where, for better and for worse, there is a little more flavour than the typical choice between astroturfed rightwing populism and unimaginative neoliberalism. So it’s a bit sad I won’t be able to cover that anymore.
But I feel it’s time to move on.
Over the course of the past 15 months of working on the paper, I have learned a lot.
First is that journalism can be a very difficult job in ways that might not be apparent from the outside. There are a lot of barriers- ethically, legally, culturally and otherwise- to getting the truth out. Time pressures and work/life balance can also really diminish your ability to put out quality work sometimes. You also seem to need a pretty forceful personality to try and get straight answers out of people, while also balancing that with the need to maintain a positive relationship with your sources. Journalists who do their job well deserve a lot of respect as there is a real art to the craft.
Second I learned a lot of facts from the stories I covered. The history of the Ottawa Valley, nuclear waste, algae blooms, floods, how the power grid works, the forestry industry, agriculture, and much more are all topics I now have a lot more knowledge than I did a year ago.
Finally, I learned a lot of life lessons from the people I spoke to. One thing that will stick with me is the use of the word ‘groundhog’ as a derogatory term. That’s hilarious.
But seriously, I‘ve spoken to countless people who are wise, hardworking, caring, funny and brave. I can only hope some of that rubbed off on me.
In conclusion, I want to thank all my co-workers over the year plus that I worked at THE EQUITY for helping me put out the paper. Without Dave Moore, Liz Draper, Breanna Adams, Kathy Westenberg-Hynes, Janey Duff MacDougall, Bonnie Chevrier, Zainab Al-Mehdar, Connor Lalande, Glen Hartle, Pierre Cyr, Eva Baldi and all the others who contributed to the paper, it would have been a lot worse; if it managed to even get produced at all. I also want to thank the community for all the help and kind words during my stay here. I hope to see some of you when I come back to visit.
Brett Thoms
Shawville May 30, 2023
