Well, here I am. The Western Producer’s newest intern.
I know I’m not the first of my kind that you’ve met, and I’m sure I won’t be the last, but you might like to know a bit about me anyway.
I didn’t grow up on a farm, and I haven’t done any farm work, but I didn’t spend my life within the confines of a city, either. I grew up in the small town of Balgonie, though admittedly that town is no longer as small as it used to be.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
It doesn’t surprise me that people often ask why I’m here; why I chose to apply for an internship at The Western Producer.
More people than I can count have said to me, “It’s a paper about farms, and you’re not a farm girl. What interest could you possibly have in it?”
Well, a big part of why I’m here is to learn, not just about journalism, but also about a world with which I don’t have much experience.
You don’t have to be a farmer to be interested in agriculture and you don’t need farm experience to write about it.
In fact, not knowing could be a bit of an asset; it means I’m going to ask questions until I figure out what I need to know.
Plus, a part of me really has to wonder if the people asking me “why” have ever read this newspaper, because it’s not just about farming. It’s about the rural areas of Western Canada – the farms, ranches, towns, businesses, animals and, most importantly, people.
When I watch the news or read a paper, my attention is drawn toward the stories about the lives of ordinary people. Not the people whose names we hear every day, and not the celebrities that keep the paparazzi in business.
I couldn’t care less which all-important movie or television star has gotten himself a DUI and subsequently has gotten himself out of said DUI.
I’d rather hear about how a new law is going to affect the people in Small Town, Sask., not how it’s going to affect the high-class millionaires of the world.
I don’t want to read about a rich man who’s going to lose a bit of money because of a hard economy. I want to read about how that economy is going to affect the workers in his factory.
Because those are the people I want to read about, they’ve become the people I also want to write about.
So that’s why I’m here, why I’ve moved from my small town into a larger city.
I know I may not get the opportunity to write a lot of these stories during my three months here, but I also know that, by taking this internship, I’ll be closer to my goal.
