Editorial: Thank you for six years of solid support

I started MorinvilleNews.com six years ago this upcoming Saturday when a local newspaper I was then freelancing for decided to suspend publication. Faced with the prospect of living in a community with only one regional news source and no paper with a true Morinville focus, I decided to offer one. Starting with the slogan “Get the news while it’s still news,” MorinvilleNews.com launched as a digital daily with a commitment to living up to the slogan I had chosen.

June 11 marks the sixth anniversary of MorinvilleNews.com, the website that began our community news venture.
Over the past six years, the business has changed rapidly. When we launched our website, Facebook was celebrating its sixth anniversary of operation. Six year’s later, Facebook is not only the dominant player in the social media game; but they are also rapidly becoming the dominant player in the news media game. According to a recent study, 66 per cent of Facebook users get all of their news from Facebook.

We continue to use a variety of channels, including our Facebook page, to provide you with a snapshot and greater detail on what is happening in Morinville.

A couple of months ago we unveiled our MorinvilleNews App to keep you connected to your community even more. The app is available for IOS and Android devices at MorinvilleNews.com/app and offers you our articles, videos, social media resources, and everything from horoscopes to comics. We are also able to push urgent notifications about road and weather conditions to our app users.

Though we’ve experienced some technological changes over the past six years, one thing has not changed – our commitment to the community.

We’ve enjoyed every minute of being involved in the community. It’s been a great ride thus far, and we are excited about the continued growth and continued community involvement in our seventh year of operation.

None of this would have been possible without our readers joining us for the ride these past six years. Nor would it be possible without those local businesses, organizations and institutions who have seen value in what we were doing.
While other publications local and national have folded up, we have survived in a dying industry because our readers and advertisers have supported us well. You have kept us informed about all the things we need to cover and supported us with your ad dollars to spread your and the community’s messages.

We thank you for your trust and your support.

Stephen Dafoe,
Publisher – The Morinville News
MorinvilleNews.com