On January 8th, I became the new owner and editor of the Rocky Mountain Goat. As I’m still fairly new to the community, it seems fitting I should introduce myself and tell you what I plan to do with the paper.
I grew up in Terrace B.C., spending much of my time on my mum’s farm — which coincidentally, was home to multiple goats. From a young age, I remember being interested in the local newspaper, perhaps in part because I was a nosy child, but the paper also provided me with a sense of connection to the community and surrounding areas.
Before getting my start in journalism, I attended the Radio Arts & Entertainment program at BCIT. It was there I discovered my passion for storytelling and independent media.
After graduating from BCIT, I got a promotions job at Moose FM in Fort St. John and a few months later, I transitioned into the station’s newsroom. I became the first investigative reporter for the station’s digital news outlet, Energeticcity.ca, before moving to Valemount last fall to become the Goat’s civic reporter.
Upon my arrival, I quickly fell in love with the community and decided I wanted to buy The Goat to continue providing the region with the same high-quality, local, independent journalism it has come to expect since Laura Keil and Joe Nusse launched the publication back in 2010.
I believe local journalism is a public service and in order to properly serve the public, the stories we publish must be informative, accurate, and fair.
Going forward, I plan on continuing to expand the selection in our bookstore. I also hope to launch a podcast network through the Goat, which will include a weekly news podcast as well as a few other podcasts from local residents.
What are your thoughts? What would you like to see from The Goat going forward? Feel free to reach out to me anytime with questions, feedback, and podcast or story ideas at [email protected].
