The Wimmera Mail-Times hosted its inaugural Community Journalism Day this week.
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Standing united with our sister mastheads across Victoria, the idea was to get out and about – either at community hubs and shopping centres or via live online forums – and talk to readers about what matters to them.
It was an opportunity to connect faces to the names of those who deliver the region’s news and sport.
But this was about so much more than us.
It was ultimately about you, the community – because without an audience, we wouldn’t be here and the Wimmera would be poorer without a local media authority prepared to report without fear or favour.
There there is one word that needs to be said to all those involved – thank you.
That thank you goes to our hosts for the day at Horsham Plaza, Horsham Newsagency, Cafe Jas and Cheeky Fox Cafe and to all those loyal readers who stopped by to meet our team, provide feedback, share news tips and to share their memories of the masthead that has been the voice of the Wimmera since 1873.
It was great to see the community take advantage of this opportunity to meet our team throughout Community Journalism Day. Your comments, opinions and tips matter and they continue to shape what we do every day.
The Mail-Times is many things to many people, so the diversity of queries and requests was not surprising.
In spite of the diversity of feedback our team received on Wednesday, it is clear that people look to the Mail-Times as their local news provider. This appetite for local news, in itself, tells us clearly what we have long known and have long strived to pursue – both in print and online.
The core reason for our business remains the same as it has since the first newspapers rolled off the presses in the late 1800s. We are here for you.
The team at the Mail-Times is proud and privileged to be reassured the community has a real sense of ownership of this masthead – it’s a sense that the Mail-Times matters to people, because the Wimmera matters to those who call it home.
The key lesson for our team is to go on delivering the first, the best and most in-depth coverage of what happens and what matters to our region – and that is our commitment to you.
Jessica Grimble, editor
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