Helping us stay on top of big issues

wta021213lfsquare05.jpg Opening of the Masterton Town Square. Wairarapa Times-Age editor Andrew Bonallack.

IT'S a great realisation when two sides realise there are common goals to pursue.

I had an enjoyable morning breakfast meeting with the Lions and Lionesses of Featherston. They are clearly thriving clubs, which meant a reasonable audience for me as their nominated guest speaker.

It became apparent very quickly that my pride in endeavouring to make a difference as a journalist, and use the paper to model and demonstrate a community's good behaviour, is echoed in what the community wants for itself as well.

What I wanted to stress is that it's very easy for a community to take advantage of the media's enviable entitlement to 'chase down a story' - but we have to be informed. We have to be told about an issue.

People hear about an issue, and it resonates in their mind as a good thing, or a great thing, or an inspiring thing. Or it could strike them as a bad thing. These are honest emotions. It is right that you feel them. And if you feel them, it is likely that others - the readers - will feel them as well.

And if the newspaper knows about it, we have a chance to act. Many people operate in a sphere of "it's not our business", or are reluctant to be the person who speaks out. Those usual social inhibitions have been trained out of journalists. We step forward, we pick up a phone, and we ask: "why?"

It was clear there were some interesting issues for Featherston among the group I addressed, and I hope my paper gets a chance to pursue it further.

But it's a two-way street; reporters build their contacts but can't read minds. We just need to be kept informed. We always scan letters to the editor, seeing if there's something that we should champion. Another good idea is copying us in on letters to the council or your local MP.

Don't be shy. Reporters like covering the school fairs and the Christmas parade, because that's part of sharing the pride in a community doing good things. But they love exploring an issue, and making a difference.