A new face in an old place

Nancy Macdonald looks entirely too young to have as much experience as she has in community newspapers, but her nearly two decades in weekly newspapers tells a different story altogether.

New Examiner Newspaper Director Macdonald, who grew up in N.D.G. and spent the majority of her childhood summers playing in Westmount Park, is glad to be back.

And the Examiner is glad to have her.

Macdonald said she was delighted to be back working in the area she grew up in, because of Westmount's distinct small-town feel and independent nature. "It's just great to be back, and it's been a dream of mine to come back and run the Westmount Examiner, because I used to read it when I was a kid. You just can't fake that kind of tradition."

And you just can't fake the enthusiasm Macdonald has for Westmount, either. Her excitement at being back among friends, family and acquaintances from her youth is palpable. "I'm so delighted that Westmount residents respect the Examiner, what it's accomplished and the direction we're headed. It's been heartening to know that Westmount residents — many of whom are familiar friendly faces for me — want a community newspaper that treats issues seriously and has a wide breadth of coverage."

The Examiner's tradition of combining award-winning municipal-affairs coverage with top-notch opinion, arts, sports and feature stories is also one that Macdonald plans on maintaining. "We've done things well for a long time, so we don't see any reason to start changing things now," she said, adding she plans on bringing the Examiner and its staff closer to Westmounters.

To that end, Macdonald has started a new feature in the Examiner, called Talk of the Town, which will give Examiner readers the buzz on what's happening on the street and in businesses around the city. "We're looking for contributions for Talk of the Town, and ideas can be anything, from the opening of a new store to a new employee coming in at a business or an important anniversary," Macdonald said.

For example, check out Talk of the Town on page 8 of this week's Examiner for the story of two Bank of Montreal employees (Sherbrooke and Grosvenor branch) celebrating their 30th year of employment. "Those are the types of stories we just love to tell in Talk of the Town. It's not earth-shattering news, but they're important to the people in the community who work, shop and live here on a daily basis. People are the backbone of the community, and we have a responsibility to tell their stories."

Got something to tell us about? Got a piece of new or information you think might be good for Talk of the Town? Let us know! E-mail Nancy Macdonald at nancy.macdonald@transcontinental.ca or call her at 514-484-5610 ext. 24.

We want to hear from you!