The first article in the history of NanaimoNewsNOW was published on July 28, 2016. (NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

ANNIVERSARY

Editorial: NanaimoNewsNOW celebrates five years of local news coverage

Jul 28, 2021 | 2:26 PM

NANAIMO — July 28 marks a major milestone for NanaimoNewsNOW, our fifth anniversary.

In 2016, Pattison Media identified Nanaimo as an underserved news market with a growing community and several pressing issues requiring more attention.

A small team of reporters were tasked with a challenging and ultimately rewarding assignment: launch a new, online news portal with up-to-the-minute coverage of the mid-Island, to complement existing radio news coverage on 106.9 The Wolf and 102.3 The Wave.

Despite the Harbour City’s rising population, the number of journalists producing local news at the time was decreasing.

The Nanaimo Daily News abruptly shut down just six months before NanaimoNewsNOW published its first story on July 28, 2016 and there was a clear void left in the community by a daily newspaper which had served Nanaimo for more than 140 years.

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Justified concerns arose about less in-depth local news available at time when more resources were required.

NanaimoNewsNOW arrived at a critical time, immediately shedding light on a toxic climate at City Hall, featuring important coverage on the highly dysfunctional previous city council.

Insight and concrete facts were presented about the failed referendum to build a multi-plex at a time when misinformation was rampant.

The Nanaimo sawmill murder trial was also closely followed by many NanaimoNewsNOW readers.

Our staff have covered several municipal, provincial and federal elections, been on the scene of countless breaking news situations, reported on major police investigations, community events and profiled those making a difference in our community.

We were also immensely proud of our local coverage during the heights of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, producing daily updates focused on the Nanaimo and Oceanside communities, rather than all of Vancouver Island or the province.

Our goal was and will continue to be to provide news and information with a tangible impact for our reader’s lives.

The growth of NanaimoNewsNOW though wasn’t easy.

The broadcast media business is under increased financial pressure and paying for news in smaller communities is a proposition about as popular as building a bridge to Vancouver.

News outlets are adjusting to a landscape where technology continually tests the financial viability of television, radio and print journalism.

We feel it’s more important than ever to produce accurate, relevant local news at a time where misinformation can quickly spread online, especially in breaking news situations.

It’s vital to present accurate information from trusted stories as soon as possible before rumours start circulating.

A great example of this occurred recently with multiple social media groups reported a body was floating in the waters of Westwood Lake, which turned out to be a false alarm.

Producing relevant, easy-to-digest local news on a regular basis is hard work. It takes a team of dedicated, trained reporters prepared to fact-check diligently and value getting the story right as opposed to rushing to be first.

In the early days, our staff spent hours combing through style guides and transitioning our writing from time-condensed radio scripts to full-length feature writing. We learned (and continue to learn) to write engaging and informative headlines without click bait.

We made it a newsroom policy to go the extra mile and take our own photos for stories whenever possible, relying on a photo library or stock images as little as possible. We’re also constantly striving to add more video content to our platform.

We’ve expanded our presence online through different features, live-streaming key events in the city and actively engaging with commenters on social media. We know people consume news and information in different ways and we endeavor to provide those options on a regular basis.

It’s our loyal readers who have helped NanaimoNewsNOW grow into the platform it is today. As our audience grew, so did the number of tips as people realized we’re not a flash-in-the-pan news site that wouldn’t last.

NanaimoNewsNOW will be around for many years to come and we hope you’ll continue engaging with our product and helping to keep community leaders honest.

We thank you for your readership and support over the last five years and are excited to be a source of consistent, reliable information for years to come.

Join the conversation. Submit your letter to NanaimoNewsNOW and be included on The Water Cooler, our letters to the editor feature.

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