On Sunday afternoon, January 15, Edward French and Lora Whelan gave their audience a vivid peek into the history of The Quoddy Tides, their experiences as its editors and what is involved in producing a newspaper every other week, year-round. The three stories they presented, written over the years, and the enthusiastic discussion period that followed served to help attendees further appreciate the importance of local journalism as a way of strengthening and enlivening communities.
How do Lora and Edward manage to balance the objectivity they need as journalists with reporting sensitive matters about local residents they know and may bump into at the supermarket? “It’s issues, not people,” said Lora. Advice to aspiring journalists everywhere!
Thanks to Anne Stanley for her writeup above. For the record, in response to the question of sensitive matters, posed by Stanley during the event, French quipped with a smile, “I always felt that if I was walking down the street, and it was less than half of the population that crossed to the other side because they didn’t want to speak to me, that I was OK. But that I was probably in trouble if it was more than half.” Delighted laughter was the response from the room.
Of the event, Whelan commented, “We were so grateful to see the large and diverse audience come to our presentation. It was heartwarming to have such an engaged and thought-provoking discussion about community news and the role it plays in all our lives.“
Great news for Quoddy Tides fans and EAC community members—this program is available now for listening, via our YouTube channel; you can also access the file directly below.
The work of Eastport Arts Center is funded in part by a grant from the Maine Arts Commission, an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.