Jim Smalley, who covered the farm beat in Saskatchewan for decades, sees the Agribition newsroom named after him
A well-known agricultural journalist has recently been recognized for his 47 years of dedication to news reporting.
Jim Smalley, host of CKRM’s Saskatchewan Agriculture Today, announced his retirement after 40 years at the radio station. Since then, he was named a recipient of the Queen’s Jubilee Platinum medal and had the Canadian Western Agribition newsroom named in his honour.
“I didn’t expect them to change the name of the newsroom to the Jim Smalley newsroom,” he said during Agribition, which wrapped up Dec. 3 in Regina. “As a journalist myself, I can see other journalists being envious. But as someone told me just a few moments ago, ‘let them do 47 years and then they too can maybe get their name out.’”
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As for receiving the medal, Smalley said he was happily overwhelmed.
“It was overwhelming for me to get a letter from the minister of agriculture saying that I had been nominated and selected to receive the Queen’s Jubilee Platinum medal at the Government House. I went, ‘oh my God, I’m not worthy of that.’”
Smalley has covered Agribition since 1975 and has been impressed with the diverse crowd that it attracts.
“Agribition is a showcase for the world,” he said. “For my first Agribition, I was interviewing a man from France who was selling cattle in Saskatchewan. I also met a man from England who was selling cattle to Saskatchewan. This past year, there’s people from Mongolia to look at not just our cattle, but they’re coming here to look at our machinery.”
With all the back and forth between countries and individuals, Smalley said Agribition is a hot spot for journalists.
“There’s a scoop here every day, for every journalist here.”
On a wider scale, he noted the importance of agricultural news reporting in light of Saskatchewan’s evolving technology.
“Agriculture news is key and extremely important because it’s such a dominant agricultural province.”
Smalley said maintaining public trust in news reporting has never been more important.
“There’s two sides to every story and you can never forget that,” he said. “But I don’t like the thought of just dismissing all news.
“When you won’t talk to the media, you’re missing a big opportunity to tell your message.”
Smalley said he could happily reminisce at length on his experiences as a journalist and the opportunities the career has given him, and is grateful for the memories.
