My name is Josh Morrow and this is Part 2 of my story. A lot of people have asked me why I am supporting the Herald after the events of last election. I want to share that rationale with you on how this all transpired. Previously, the only media experience I knew was during my hockey career. Those memories were always positive and enjoyable. At times, I would intentionally go out of my way to be in the right spot at the right time but of course, would never admit that to anyone. Who doesn’t want to read about themselves and see a picture in the paper scoring a big goal or answering questions about why and how your team won or lost the game? It is every 16-year-olds dream. I remember how proud I was making the phone calls to make sure my parents and grandparents knew to read the paper or listen to the radio the next day. How perspectives change though from back then compared to 4 years ago. I suddenly found myself on the opposite end of the spectrum. Those pleasant experiences which were familiar to me as a teenager were now floating down the North Saskatchewan on a block of ice smashing and crashing into everything in its path. It was such an unfamiliar process and as always, a learning experience that I had to grow from. I am still a believer that your environment creates you and your identity. It really does shape you and allows you to adapt,whether that is for the better or for the worse. Something Darwin and all the Einstein’s of the world studied over time. A black eye, broken nose, fat lip, those are all things that heal and eventually disappear in a couple weeks, but putting ink to paper, lasts a lifetime. Unprofessional reporting not only affects the institution that it represents but taints and tars the entire profession. The truth is, if the Herald was still operated by the previous owner, myself and a large majority of people would have continued to boycott the paper. As time went on over the last 4 years, I noticed a real change. That change started with a group of energetic professionals who were driven and determined to keep local reporting alive and ensure a long tradition of printing continues in this community. At first, I was extremely skeptical whether it would succeed and if the right people would be in place to continue reporting fairly and honestly, as we all expect a newspaper to do. As the ownership changed over the past couple of years, I found myself inching back toward the paper. To put that into a visual, I was like a small dog that was kicked, extremely cautious and slow to come back. The reporting improved dramatically, the editor is professional, ethically responsible, and from what I can tell really loves his job and does it well. To me, this seems like a group of people who love what they do, are proud of the risk they took and genuinely want to do the very best they can to serve our community. You need a strong stomach and guts to invest capital, take on debt and purchase a business. A lot of you know those exact feelings. I guess, the lesson in all this is never say never. Things can change for the better and wounded relationships can heal. I can handle the black eyes, cut lips, broken noses, and sore knuckles but what I cannot handle is the lingering archive of bad ink. So as the journey continues, I will tell my story in the Prince Albert Daily Herald for you all to enjoy. Love me or hate me, you’ll want to read part 3 in next Thursday’s paper.
