It’s about trust. Our relationship with our readers is built on transparency, honesty and integrity. As such, we have launched a trust initiative to tell you who we are and how and why we do what we do. This column is part of that project.

Newsrooms are shrinking across the country, the world, and yes, even in this very community.

The arrival of COVID-19 added fuel to the fire that is raging in the media industry. But there remains hope in the turbulent media landscape, and you’ll find it in the pages of your community newspaper and by the words written by the journalists keeping you informed.

While we may have a small force of reporters and editors delivering readers daily news and information to the websites of GuelphMercury.com, Cambridgetimes.ca, Waterloochronicle.ca, and Newhamburgindependent.ca, and weekly in the papers of their respective print editions, these journalists are a dedicated and passionate group.

World News Day on Sept. 28 is a time to reflect on the work they do to keep their communities informed.

“World News Day is about recognizing the people in the news and listening to how journalism has made a difference in their lives,” says David Walmsley, Editor-in-Chief of The Globe and Mail and outgoing Candian Journalism Foundation board chair. “It is about coming together across the continents and displaying support for journalists and their audiences who together, using facts and understanding, make the world a better place.”

Whether it’s digging into weekly council agendas, court documents, police services board meetings, COVID-19 dashboards, or sharing the stories of the people that make up the fabric of their communities, journalists work day and night to source, digest and inform. 

Let’s celebrate where we have come and where we are at in the news industry, and pay tribute to the people behind the keyboards, computer screens, camera lenses, and notepads, the journalists who are with us with a shared goal: to educate, inform, and keep our communities connected.

To our very own journalists: Graeme McNaughton, Jonathan Duncan, Ned Bekavac, Adam Jackson, Bill Jackson, and Bill Doucet, and the many across our Torstar community brands, you and your work are worth celebrating. Thank you for doing what you do.

Robyn Wilkinson is the managing editor for the Guelph Mercury Tribune, Waterloo Chronicle, Cambridge Times, and New Hamburg Independent, and part of our trust committee. Reach her at rwilkinson@metroland.com.