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Tyson’s Thoughts: I don’t need my ego fed

I want so badly right now to write an editorial about Christy Clark resigning from the BC Liberal party leadership and as an MLA, but I won’t.
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I want so badly right now to write an editorial about Christy Clark resigning from the BC Liberal party leadership and as an MLA, but I won’t.

Instead, I will just say “goodbye” and “good luck in your future as a private citizen”.

Clark has been a very polarizing figure in B.C.’s rich history. She has been given more than her fair share of press over the years, and I don’t think she needs anything else dedicated solely to her.

With that said, I’ve always been super hesitant to write about politics in general, because I don’t think it’s my job to write editorials telling people who to vote for, or saying which party is right and which one is wrong.

“But Tyson, you wrote a whole editorial telling people to go out and vote in the provincial election!”

Yes, but I didn’t say WHO they should vote for, and I will never use my position as editor of the North Island Gazette to promote a political party’s agenda.

If you want to know which way I swing politically, come and talk to me in person. I’m not hard to find, and I’m always open to talking politics off the record.

With that out of the way, let’s get down to business.

The Gazette has been ramping up our online content every week, and with that comes the inevitable social media interaction.

I’ve been trying my hardest to show a bit more of my personality lately by answering people’s comments on Facebook.

It’s been an interesting experiment for me as I’ve tended in the past to keep a low profile on social media, but hopefully people are enjoying hearing my responses online.

I’ve also been dedicating more time and effort into coming up with new Tyson’s Thoughts columns every Thursday so people can understand my point of views a little bit better.

Editorials are by far the hardest thing for me to write because they have to come from my own perspective, which is an incredibly daunting task to write every single week. Want to know how I do it?

This is usually how it goes.

I sit down at my desk and stare off into space, which looks very much like I’m goofing off, but in reality, my brain is stacking ideas that will soon be channeled through my fingertips smacking against random keys in rapid fashion.

“What should I rant about this week? Christy Clark? Social media? The historical relevance of the North Island Gazette here on the true North Island?”

Generally, one or more of these ideas sticks and I start to unload them into a word document, creating something I hope and pray comes out as engaging and thought provoking, because what’s the point of writing editorials if you’re not going to try and engage your readers and provoke thoughts?

I don’t write these things solely to hear myself speak — I don’t need my ego fed.

I want to create debate, discussion, and maybe even challenge Gazette readers to look at things from outside of their comfort zone.

We all have our own perspective on life. Feel free to take a peek inside my mind and see what mine is every Thursday.



Tyson Whitney

About the Author: Tyson Whitney

I have been working in the community newspaper business for nearly a decade, all of those years with Black Press Media.
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