Sugar Mountain - Shawn's Sense with Shawn Loughlin

And, we’re back. Twenty years is a long time and while I’ve spent all of it with The Citizen, I didn’t become the editor until May, 2010 (technically the acting editor there for a bit). When I started, I was working under Bonnie Gropp, who had been the editor since February, 1992, when I was just nine; she had worked as a reporter for three years.

 

Bonnie would leave almost exactly 18 years after being named the editor. As I’m now in my 17th year as the editor of this fine newspaper, I still have a bit to go until I can be called its longest-serving editor, but it’s not far off. 

 

(Here I should be clear about the tenures of people like Dianne Josling and Joan Caldwell, in addition to Keith and Jill Roulston, who all have given their lives to this organization.)

 

This seems like an important chapter in the story because becoming the editor is when I took control over managing the content in The Citizen - assigning stories, editing them, in addition to writing my own, and deciding what went in and what didn’t and where it all went.

 

After Bonnie departed, I don’t think Keith saw handing his beloved newspaper over to me as the logical next step. I had only been there for a few years and still had a lot to learn. Yet, one night after he interviewed a prospective editor, I stayed late and asked that he consider me. He didn’t end up hiring anyone else and returned to the editor’s role for a few months. I managed things as we hired Denny Scott and essentially started learning, on the fly, the work of being an editor. Most of the things I was doing were on the administrative side, but Keith helped guide me towards success on the other side, telling me what is needed to be an editor and where I needed to improve.

 

Then, after a few months, Keith said he was impressed with how I had been growing into the position and he made me the acting editor.

 

The road has not been without its hiccups. I’ve made mistakes, I’ve learned along the way and I’ve certainly grown and improved. We’ve had successes and we’ve had failures. I still remember sitting in the old Queen’s Bakery when Denny rushed across the street to tell me we had been named the best newspaper in Canada for our circulation class.

 

Having said that, being the editor of The Citizen can be a stressful position at times. There are balances to be struck, necessary planning and the acceptance of potential legal complications. If I don’t do my due diligence, get sloppy or button up my details on a story that proves to be contentious, that’s a lawsuit that could end The Citizen and put everyone out of a job. That responsibility is not lost on me; it’s always in the back of my mind.

 

Being one of the very few editors of this fine newspaper has been one of the pleasures of my life, just as serving the members of the community has been an ever-changing joy.

 

***

 

Since I became the person who sends the pages to our printer every week, I am now the one who sees the pages for the last time. As  a result, I don’t often read through the printed edition, as I’ve already done so many times, surely able to remember where everything is.

 

Imagine my surprise when Deb handed me a paper to check over as I left the office on Friday. It was humbling and emotional to read the story that ended last week’s edition and to know the way people see me in the community and the impact I’ve had on things here.

 

Thanks to Scott, Deb and everyone featured in that great article for their role in providing a special and unique surprise on an occasion that demands contemplating the passage of time and what’s been accomplished within it.