SPIN’s first public newsroom of 2023 made possible because of supporters

On March 7, SPIN invited supporters to join us for an online public newsroom gathering and share their thoughts about the coverage Sun Peaks needs.

I’d like to extend a warm thank you to all of the people who attended our public newsroom event. It was great to chat with some of our readers and learn more about your place in the community. While we were a small group, the conversations spanned diverse topics, from council coverage to community features and more.

Popular topics of conversation were the underused housing tax and the moratorium on foreign buyers. While we’ve recently covered the impact each piece of federal legislation has on our community, we heard that more coverage is needed. We’ve listened to what readers have to say and are working on getting more information out to the community.

Another topic we chatted about was a lack of health centre access for non-residents and the backlog for appointments at the centre due to doctor shortages, as well as the centre’s transition to STEPS in April.

There were some great ideas about different community members and businesses SPIN could highlight in our coverage, and we are always open to learning more about community members working on neat projects or those who work to make our region thrive.

I was hoping to do an in-person event, but unfortunately, I had to cancel due to illness. Thanks to everyone who reached out to let me know they were interested in the event. We’re looking to reschedule another coffee chat soon.

Opening up two-way communication is important to our team at SPIN. As a community journalism outlet, readers like you help direct our coverage. Knowing that we are working hard to tell stories that matter is what keeps us going. Please reach out through email to give us feedback.