On May 1, the Daily Herald changed ownership to FolioJumpline Publishing Inc. and became fully employee owned and operated. We asked our staff to share with you our thoughts on the importance of the paper and why they’ve stood behind us as we’ve worked through this process.
The importance of community
By Candi Hansen, office administrator
During my days in college I had always thought about my future endeavors and what career path was ahead of me. One thing for certain was finance and accounting. I started working at The Prince Albert Daily Herald in March 2013.
After becoming a mother I learned the importance of community. It takes a community to raise a child. Brining up your children with a community focus gives them an understanding of their part, which all of us have in shaping it. I am proud to work at the Herald for one major thing; we are now more community-oriented than ever! This is something that hits very close to home for me since me and my spouse have little boys, Dawson who is 4, Jaxson who is 2.
A daily newspaper I believe is needed in each community. It gives people a voice, brings social issues and news front and center.. and lets the community know what is happening. It also serves as a platform for change!
In December 2017 our sister paper closed, each month following more papers continued to close. It was a sad time for the newspaper industry. Instead of throwing in the towel and accepting defeat, my colleagues and I worked harder than ever. We stayed extra hours, ensured all our duties were done to the best our abilities, and told ourselves that this was not going to happen to us. We decided to take it over, run it ourselves and make the changes that we knew needed to happen. Each of us committed to making it work.
I believe there is one important element that we retain that other newspaper companies lack; we are employee owned and operated. We see the day-to-day activities and from this we know what is needed to make this work and how to run the paper efficiently as possible. I believe in myself and my coworkers and I am certain we will be here for many more years to come.
Growing excitement
By Erin Bergen, marketing manager
I am very pleased with the announcement of The Prince Albert Daily Herald becoming employee owned and operated! This is a huge step for this company and I believe that a strong local newspaper is very important to a community.
I started here just about eight years ago in August 2010. There have been many changes over the years since I started here, with the company itself and also with my job, but I have always loved working here regardless of whatever changes came our way. When we were thinking about buying the company ourselves, I never had a doubt in my mind that it would work. The overwhelming support the community has already shown us has been unreal and it continues to pour in every day.
We are so excited to be a local business here in the community, as it has been many years since the Daily Herald wasn’t owned by an out-of-town corporation. This is a very exciting time for us and we hope the community will continue to support us, while we try to support them.
We have an open door policy so we encourage people to call or stop in the office with ideas or challenges; this helps us grow even more as a business. The team we have here is absolutely amazing and we are just thrilled to have this opportunity!
I want to thank everyone who has shown us support throughout the past years, through this transition, and going forward!
Why
By Donna Pfeil, publisher
When looking at the rings of a tree each ring holds a story, records environmental history of fire or drought or the age of the tree.
Throughout time man has recorded and shared the stories of a community, recording the history of a society — Ancient cave drawings, poets reciting stories with rhymes in the streets, writings on papyrus of the ancient Egyptians — telling the stories to connect a community.
The fate of the Prince Albert Daily Herald has been in question since the Moose Jaw Times-Herald closed. The closure of our sister papers left us all in shock, uncertain of the fate of our paper. We could not let this happen.
Since the announcement of the employee buyout of the Daily Herald many rumours have still been floating about. Many months have passed since that announcement. As of May 1, the Prince Albert Daily Herald is owned and operated by the employees.
In the newspaper business we are considered young and inexperienced. While we are young, we prefer to think of ourselves as passionate and creative. Our print product is our passion. We believe in print, as nothing is more satisfying than the feel of the paper in your hand, flipping through the pages, filling in the crossword with a hot cup of coffee.
But we are young enough to know we need to offer more. We offer a multi-platform product to reach all demographics. We have upgraded our website with a link within our website to the Prince Albert Police Service and online flyers, and we are not done yet. The new PDF e-edition with clickable ads throughout takes you directly to your advertiser of choice. These are a few of the changes we have implemented before our takeover; now that it is ours we have no one holding us back.
Many have asked how we will succeed when corporations could not. This is why we will succeed; we are part of our community. Serving our neighbours, our friends and our readership through whichever medium they choose, as well as our fellow local business community.
We are focused on our community and giving back. The connection between the local paper and the community has been lost.
We are not here to make a name for ourselves. We are here to make the Prince Albert Daily Herald the community paper it was.
As for me, I delivered the paper when I was younger, one of my first jobs. I remember rushing home to get the paper out on time after basketball, having to knock on doors to collect subscription fees. My children deliver the Daily, and the weekly flyers. I remember being in the paper as a youth and my children appearing in the paper. The newspaper clippings are still in our photo albums.
But why do I feel so strongly about the paper? The local newspaper tells the stories of the community and the people within, it provides an anchor within the community, connecting a community on a personal level. Prince Albert deserves a daily newspaper. It’s too great of a city to be without.
We are a group of employees able to continue working at jobs we are passionate about, and we continue to providing a product we believe in.
