Journalist reflects on his service to community

Posted Jan 5, 2012 By Steph Willems

I'm not good with goodbye's even on the best of days, which makes writing a farewell column to my readers all the more difficult.

But that is what this column will be. Reporters may be the face of a publication within a community, but like employees of any business, they are just as vulnerable to the everyday workings of the business world. That's simply the nature of the industry and free enterprise as a whole.

Over the last two years it has been my pleasure to serve the people of Nepean and Barrhaven, the latter community being an area I watched grow and mature even before I entered the world of journalism. I use the word 'serve' because I do see reporting as a public service, albeit one that doesn't offer the securities of the official government PS. Any reporter who doesn't see their job in this light is doing a disservice to his or her readers.

During my time at the EMC I have covered such a wide variety of events and met a staggering number of individuals deserving of coverage and community support, listing (or naming) them would take more space than these pages could handle. Rarely did a week go by without encountering a breaking story or personal interview that left me eager to get back to my computer, consult my inner lexicon and carefully decide which words to use to describe the experience.

A friend attending school in Toronto recently sent me a Facebook message remarking on the number of times he saw Barrhaven listed in online news coverage. That's something to say for a suburban community in Ottawa, especially coming from someone residing in the Centre of the Universe. In the journalism world, hours are often long and accolades in short supply, to the point where friends might ask why you put up with it. That's where the public service part of the equation comes in. Reporters, like artists, keep doing what they're doing because of a passion to facilitate community-wide knowledge through the accurate dispensing of information. Knowledge is power, they say, and keeping up to date with current events and neighbourhood happenings - knowing the issues - allows readers to harness that power.

Then there's the emotional level. Reporters often go that extra mile and give up their weekend or evening not because they're required to, but because they want a story to be covered, because the person, group, event, issue or cause profiled deserves exposure. Without it coverage and exposure, the eventual outcome of the story might not be as happy a one as could be.

As part of a community, a community journalist plays a role and occupies a place just like a resident with a street address in the neighbourhood in question. A sense of community - or 'belonging', if you will - is the biggest 'perk' for any journalist. After all, don't we all want to belong? If face-to-face interaction isn't your thing, then journalism likely isn't for you.

I'm reminded of my biggest accolade, which ironically came hot on the heels of the news of the business transaction that led to my departure. I met with a Kanata resident who showed up at my office one day - Flora Mesher Riley, a native of Labrador who was raising funds for her brother's cancer treatment back home - who was appealing for help in her quest. It was the third brother of hers to contract cancer in the last three years, and the emotions she wore were clear to see.

Having visited Labrador twice before and knowing the sincerity of those living there and the trust they place in others, I was glad to be able to help in any way I could. Advance coverage of two fundraisers followed, and after meeting family members who drove to Barrhaven from Goose Bay/Happy Valley at one of the events, Riley and the Mesher family thanked me for my assistance.

I was surprised when she arrived at my office one last time to present me with a plaque she had had made, officially thanking me for my generosity.

It was something that never occurred during my career, but I was nearly moved to tears by the sincerity of the gesture. Admittedly, I was a little embarrassed at the attention, as the spotlight is never supposed to be shone on the reporter by the subject of the story.

However, it served as a reminder, not just to myself but for everyone else in the room, that being a reporter is truly a public service and not just a job - that real people with real problems and concerns are the focus of our work, and that exposing them to the generosity of their own community can be rewarding to everyone involved, including ourselves.

To everyone who took the time to answer my questions over the past two years, and to all those who treated me like part of the community, thank you. It was a pleasure to serve the communities of Nepean and Barrhaven, and the warmth and generosity exuded by the residents I met was the best payment I could have received.