It has been a lot of hard work bringing the Appalachian to life, but we here at Wreckhouse Press Incorporated are very excited to join your beautiful communities. It’s been almost 10 years since you’ve had a newspaper, and we aim to be a much more relevant source of local news covering your accomplishments and recording your history for generations to follow.
I’d like to begin by telling you a little bit about our company.
Wreckhouse Press Incorporated is owned and operated by myself and my sister, Rosalyn Roy. We are based in Port aux Basques, our hometown, and where she once worked as a journalist until that newspaper folded.
We launched our community newspaper, the Wreckhouse Weekly, on August 10, 2020 in the midst of an ongoing global pandemic. We were an immediate hit, which surpassed even our most optimistic projections.
Our newspaper is dramatically different in appearance than any other newspaper you have likely seen, and that was a deliberate choice on our part. We produce a full colour paper every week, and we don’t use the typical newsprint or the same size. What we offer you is easier to read and easier to hold and won’t leave sooty ink all over your fingers.
We also tend not to bother too much with news thats irrelevant to you. If you are anything like me, you don’t care about whats happening in St. John’s council, or Gander airport, since it doesn’t really impact your daily life. What matters to you and to us is local news. Our focus is your region and your region only, from Port au Port, the Crossing, Kippens, Stephenville itself, all the way out to Robinsons and North Branch.
Our mandate is what our industry refers to as hyper-local news. Everything in our papers is intended for and about the people based in their coverage map, not Bob and Joe from Cupids who are great guys but who you are unlikely to run into at the grocery store.
Of course, there will always be news releases that may have bearing on the area, but our local reporters will be available to attend events, listen to council meetings, interview your neighbours and profile citizens of note. We’ve done this for a full year, quite successfully, with the Wreckhouse Weekly and we look forward to doing the same thing with the Appalachian.
We are very much looking forward to providing you with informative, researched and accurate information each and every week.
That is my pledge to you.
In return, I ask for your support and patience as we grow your newspaper from a newly hatched idea into a full grown phoenix.
Accurate and relevant information is more important than ever in the time of “fake” news, social media madness and rumours, and willful misinformation. Our best efforts will help to eliminate that fodder, and keep you up to date with what’s happening in your town.
If you have suggestions for your new community newspaper, please send us an email or give us a call. We encourage letters to the editor and guest columnists, and suggestions for stories. Who knows your community better than you?
I look forward to meeting each and every one of you.