When I was a kid, I would staple sheets of paper together and make up stories to put in my “newspaper.” My stories usually involved dogs instead of people, but I remember how much I loved writing, and that passion has never gone away.
I spent the first seven years of my life in Halifax, Nova Scotia. My family lived near Peggy’s Cove where we were surrounded by forest and rocky beaches with grainy sand. From Halifax my family moved to Airdrie, A.B. While I developed an appreciation for the ocean-like sway of canola fields, I never fully recovered from the resounding childhood realization that I was living in a landlocked province.
After graduating highschool I went to Mount Royal University in Calgary.
I decided to pursue what I had always loved doing and started the journalism degree program. The problem was that in university, there seemed to be an unspoken consensus amongst students that we (journalism students) had chosen to get degrees in a profession that was on it’s last legs. Uncertain about the future of journalism, many students openly discussed pursuing careers in marketing or communications.
Journalism looks different then it did thirty, twenty, even ten years ago. News has become undervalued, not because people don’t care, but because information is over-saturated and overwhelmingly negative. News comes at us from all angles, at all times of the day from all of our devices. It’s too much to process.
But in the information age, something else has increased in value: Good storytelling.
And not just telling; but finding, listening and sharing. Good reporters listen to the people in their communities and dig for the stories that really matter, whether they’re about a local art show, a highway crash, a wildfire or a local man saving a baby squirrel.
I’ve only lived in B.C. since May, but I’ve known for a long time that I wanted to be here. The diversity in people, geography, ideas and ways of life is perfect for me as someone who wants to tell stories for a living (real ones now.)
Getting a job as the editor and reporter for the Agassiz-Harrison Observer is a dream come true. Amongst the incredible mountain ranges and green fields of Harrison and the District of Kent, I get to tell the stories of the region to communities that value their local news.
I’m looking forward to reporting on the people, places, things and events that matter to you and your community.
Got a news tip or story? Email me at nina.grossman@ahobserver.com or tweet me at @AgassizObserver.