Service Club Sees the Value in Local Journalism

Members of the Rotary Club of Neepawa range from farmers to lawyers, and teachers to town councillors. What they have in common, aside from a motivation to serve the community, is that many of them have been approached by Neepawa’s new civic journalist about their various activities and areas of expertise. That is what led to the club inviting Rrain Prior to come talk to them about the Local Journalism Initiative and what it brings to Neepawa, along with an update on the current state of the television station.

Prior started with the origins of the program and how NACTV, the local television station, became involved in it, but soon segued into the specific ways in which the program has been working in the community and how it can continue to do so going into the future. The station had never previously employed a journalist, although it certainly endeavoured to cover the news of the town, and the number of new programs covering the town’s institutions and its specific achievements, challenges, and issues, has flourished over the past year.

Rotary members were interested in the way the program functioned independently of the federal government, its original funding body, and about some of the more significant programs and topics that have come up recently. In turn, Prior offered some ways in which club members could become more involved in the process of civic journalism, aside from having been excellent interview participants.

NACTV has also recently been undergoing some upgrades and renovations, including the audio system in the studio, and Prior revealed an upcoming project to build a new media booth at the local arena.

While this session had a civic journalist presenting the LJI program to a local service club, an upcoming interview miniseries from NACTV will turn the tables and give five service clubs, including the Rotary Club, a chance to talk about their history and accomplishments in the town as well as challenges they face in the current environment.