The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of this column and our Editorial page. The response to both has been even more positive than I had hoped. From phone calls to e-mails to comments on the street, it's satisfying to know so many of you enjoy a twist of opinion with your news. As one prominent subscriber told me, "That's what the paper was missing." For the past 52 Fridays, I have used this space to offer my personal take on the issues of the day. This has included: defending city council's $11,000 sponsorship of the Flin Flon Bombers given the team's economic and social value; calling it a waste of money for the provincial government to repair Parkdale as an elementary school given our dwindled population; arguing that trimming the Flin Flon School Board by two seats isn't worth the perceived benefits; and chiding drug dealers for harming our community and asking that you, the public, pass on any information about them to the authorities. Some weeks you have nodded your head in agreement. Other times you may have wondered how often I was dropped on my head as an infant (it was nine by the way... I checked). It's all good. Editorials aren't meant to have unanimous consent. They are supposed to offer differing points of view and prompt people to reevaluate their positions. I was initially hesitant to write an opinion column of my own. I didn't want to be seen as taking sides on issues that I must also objectively cover as a reporter. But it's not like it's out of left field for a reporter to wade into opinionated waters. Newspapers do it all the time. Reporters are mature enough to make a distinction between personal beliefs and objectivity. To be perfectly honest, when I write an article for any other page of this paper, my own views never cross my mind. My focus lay solely in getting the job done in a fair manner, which I hope I've been able to do. It's never pained me to give a voice to people with whom I disagree. Regarding the Editorial page in general, there have been minor concerns from a couple of readers of, shall we say, strong convictions. One felt we were left-wing by publishing contributions from the liberal Toronto Star and Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. Another argued just the opposite, pointing to Roger's Right Corner every Wednesday and pieces from the likes of the Canada West Foundation. Well, at least they're reading us. The truth is, I spend a lot of time deliberately seeking left-wing content, right-wing content and middle-road content. There must be balance. I'm just like you in that I strongly disagree with many of the editorials that appear on this page. Some have made me toss my cookies! But how I personally feel about them is irrelevant. Different voices need and deserve to be heard. On that note, I hope you've enjoyed flipping to our second-last page this past year. And remember, if you don't agree with anything you see here, feel free to send a Letter to the Editor so your ideas can also come out in the public forum. That's a big part of our job as a newspaper. Local Angle runs Fridays.
