A look at 2010 - from a Source perspective
By Kyra Hoggan
The Year in Review story for 2009 was so easy to write – I could be glib and tongue-in-cheek while lampooning a maniacal pot lobby (not the sane, reasonable proponents, just the nutbars who penned missives offering to find out where I live and “knock some sense into that fat, empty head of yours.” Yikes!). I could be amused, if nauseous, revisiting the now-infamous “deer fornication” story, or I could be sentimental and charmed by how many people read our annual interview with Santa Claus.
Such was the subject material of the top three stories in 2009 – and 2010 couldn’t have been more of a departure from its predecessor.
Of the top 10 stories this year, numbers 1, 3, 4, and 6 dealt with the search for 19-year-old Zach Larsen, who went missing June 6 and whose drowned body was found June 21. Few stories have cut me as deeply, and as personally, as this one did. I thought about calling up his mom this week, so I could let readers know how she and her family are faring – the search and media coverage touched the hearts and minds of thousands. But in the end, I just couldn’t. The important person in this story is Zach, and causing his loved ones even a heartbeat’s more pain seemed too great a price to pay for a follow-up blurb in a news piece. Unjournalistic, perhaps … but there it is.
I can only remind readers of what his family told me – that Zach would not wish to be remembered as a tragic figure, but rather for the joy with which he lived, and that he brought to those around him.
(Click on the headlines below to read the stories)
(Missing Castlegar man’s body found in river; Search continues; RCMP ask the public to quash rumour mill; RCMP: Giving up on Zach Larsen not an option; Search and Rescue stands down, but police “not giving up”).
Moving from tragedy to heartbreak, the second and tenth most-read stories were about 29-year-old Josh Evin, a local entrepreneur and internationally revered skateboarding icon, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in the early morning hours of June 13. (Body of local man recovered from Kootenay Canal; Memorial services scheduled for Josh Evin)
The eighth most-read story dealt with the aftermath of these two searing events, called A community coping with crisis – the aftermath for Castlegar.
I suspect the city is, in many ways, still reeling from the blows we took this summer through the loss of two of our beloved sons … but 2010 offered up at least some comic relief to lighten hearts and minds along the way.
(If you’re feeling like you might have whiplash from that abrupt segue, then you have some sense of what reporting in this city felt like in 2010).
The final three stories that made our readers’ top ten list were all cops, all the time …and while one of the three was serious (Shambhala 2010 sees almost double the arrests/charges compared to 2009), the other two were, in my humble opinion, side-splittingly funny.
Number 7 (Local radio stars end up on wrong side of law) told of police storming into Mountain FM radio station during the popular Drex & Johnson radio show, at which point they …well, if you want to know the punch line, click on the link.
And story 5 didn’t just tickle my funny bone – journalists across the country and around the world thought they’d died and gone to reporters’ heaven last September, when they heard about the bears guarding the grow op out in Christina Lake (EXCLUSIVE: Interview with officers who raided bear-protected grow op).
When I finished interviewing the cops involved, there were tears streaming down my face …but this time, tears of laughter. I particularly enjoyed the bit about the raccoon and the pig. And so did readers, if the number of hits is any indication.
Just as a side note – making our top 10 list this year, independent of our own coverage, is RCMP Const. Dave Smith, whom we agree deserves honourable mention for most herioc show of restraint in 2010 … watch this You Tube video and decide for yourself if we’re right (there are two videos, Part 1 and 2. Part 2 will pop up when you’re done viewing the first).
The only surprise for me in this year’s hit list (forgive the pun), is the number-one op/ed (opinion/editorial) piece (OP/ED: Feminism: we’ve come a long way … but we’re not even close to there yet). I penned it back in March, using feminism as launch for defending men’s rights. It got a fair amount of mail, but I never would have thought it would take this year’s top spot.
Which brings me to my favourite aspect of reporting in Castlegar this year, aside from the delightful, and colourful, people with whom I get to interact.
It’s a wonderful change of pace, after more than a decade in print journalism, to know for sure which stories captured my readers’ attention …to know exactly how many people clicked on a given headline and how long they spent perusing the piece. It makes me feel far more connected with my community, and helps me tailor coverage according to what readers want, not just what I think they might want.
It’s been a real roller-coaster of a year … but not a joyless or unrewarding one, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing the journey with me.
From all of us at The Castlegar Source and Lone Sheep Publications, wishing you a joyful, prosperous and safe 2011.
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