On Saturday, Prince George's daily paper will pass away. Of course The Citizen will go on - by the grace of God and Godbout, I will go on with it. But there is no softening this latest blow to local media: the logistics and costs associated with publishing more than weekly can no longer be sustained. I respect that decision and cannot disagree with its logic, yet I still feel the need to mourn so grievous a loss for our community and the region.
Some time ago, a younger, slightly less handsome version of yours truly awoke with the dawn to deliver these pages you hold in your hands. It was my first job and I was terrible at it, as the residents of North Nechako and the lack of tips I received over Christmas, can attest.
But I am just old enough to remember a time when papers were a fact of life, the limits to their publication based on population, not dwindling revenues thanks to Google and Facebook monopolizing online ads while avoiding taxes. If a time traveller had told me my writing was destined for greatness in The Citizen, I might have agreed but that same wanderer would have earned a heavy Thursday edition to the head for suggesting print journalism was destined to die.
Yet here we are at the end of all things, or "late capitalism" as it is often called. Certainly we are still stumbling around in shock from this century's awful start, with nothing really able to wake us from our stupor. But please note, the Citizen's creators and consumers are in the midst of the largest paradigm shift since the mills were amalgamated: first the smaller papers and then the bargain finder disappeared; now, the ink, pulp, and toil for local news or ads is all but finished.
Printed news and mass literacy are two of the few unquestionably good ideas humans have ever implemented. It bears repeating that digital devices aren't left in truck stops, coffee shops and offices for fellow citizens to access the news. Another barrier to accessing facts, opinions, and the market, especially in our politicized age, is bound to create more of the same turmoil. Yet that is what we are allowing to happen as print journalism becomes more unviable.
I can only suggest that what comes next be truly innovative, given the limitlessness of the internet's space. Podcasts or video content ought to be available to subscribers. Perhaps a creative section for regular book reviews, local art and photography, even short fiction or poetry might be in order. Our community is worthy of published content in all these areas - if it can't be justified in stand alone journals, let it exist together under one masthead at the local newspaper.
We were lucky to have a daily for so long, given our population, and I was proud to be in one of the few outside this country's major centres. Those days are now behind us all. There will be no more "blood into ink" here at home - an unrequitable loss for which no words will suffice.
