“New year, new you” is a message you see on social media or in advertisements a lot at this time of year, and I’m actually taking it to heart in 2021.
After two years as editor of the Quesnel Cariboo Observer and nearly two decades in community journalism, I’m stepping away to spend more time doing two things that have become very important to me – serving with the Canadian Rangers and working on the farm.
The end of a year that brought us a global pandemic, changed the way we do our work, shifted so many things in big and small ways and made us reconsider our priorities, our basic needs and our dreams seemed like as good a time as any to make a big life change. I also think the start of a new year is a great time for the newspaper to have its own fresh start, for someone to come in with new (and more) energy and new ideas. We made it through 2020, and now someone far better suited to the job can lead our recovery and help us find our way out. I look forward to seeing where the paper goes from here.
As I leave the newspaper, I want to thank everyone I have worked with at the Observer and at Black Press Media, particularly as part of our little regional team, for their inspiration and dedication, and I want to thank everyone I have photographed and interviewed. I love sharing people’s stories, and I am grateful and very appreciative to all the people who let me share their stories over the years.
I’ve always believed journalism is an important and noble job, and community journalism in particular plays an important role in our lives. Our community newspapers help us stay informed about local issues and help us learn so many interesting things about our neighbours. I’ve been lucky enough to witness a lot of great moments, both big and small, to meet a lot of wonderful people and to a learn a lot through this job, and I don’t take any of that for granted. There is a lot of good I can take away from this job, and most of that is the people and the connections I have made. Thank you.
look forward to continuing to follow the news and read everyone’s stories in the Observer, and when we are able have our traditional events again, I look forward to seeing everyone and getting a chance to experience them and participate even more, not just document them.
– Lindsay Chung
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