Today I am writing my latest News Watch column on that Maclean’s article about North Battleford.
But before I do, a disclaimer: I am writing this column under protest. I really, truly don’t feel like saying any more about this Maclean’s article. Unfortunately, I am under orders from management to write a column on this topic, because apparently all of you are talking about it.
Quite honestly, this Maclean’s thing is a big distraction for me personally, and a huge waste of my time. I have a whole host of political stories I need to write about.
It’s politics that has consumed most of my life for the last three or four weeks. I have been spending this last month interviewing politicians, attending political events, and even getting myself inexplicably kicked out of them occasionally.
We’ve had no shortage of provincial leadership candidates from both the Saskatchewan Party and the NDP here recently, seeking votes and even debating one another while a howling blizzard went on outside the Dekker Centre.
As well, we are in a by-election race in Battlefords-Lloydminster and that has meant even more politicians putting in an appearance. Ralph Goodale was here on the weekend, for instance.
On top of all that, I also had to fill in for our vacationing sports reporter Lucas Punkari, going to hockey and football games. One of my assignments involved standing outside in the shivering cold at Beaver Lions Stadium, covering the North Battleford Comp Vikings’ epic performance against Yorkton to win the provincial 3A football title.
That victory really puts the cap on an incredible year for sports in North Battleford. People around here are still over the moon over it, yet you wouldn’t know it from some of the media accounts out there.
I guess what I am really saying is that I have been concentrating on my daily life here, just like others around here have been concentrating on their daily lives in North Battleford.
Yet you’d read these articles from outlets like Maclean’s and you’d think life here is completely awful. You’d think crime was the only thing happening, the overriding obsession of everyone here.
“Canada’s most dangerous place, North Battleford, is fighting for its future,” the Maclean’s headline reads. It made it look like this place was a total war zone, right down to the photo of the RCMP with the guns on the street.
When you finally get down to reading the contents of the piece, it’s actually a pretty good summary of what has been happening on the safety front up to this point, right down to the hot dogs Herb Sutton handed out to people at these community engagement events.
They even mentioned those seven prolific offenders responsible for 21 per cent of the downtown crime. Thorough stuff.
My only criticism is that Maclean’s is late to the game here. The national media has already done this particular North Battleford story to death four years ago. CTV News declared the city the Crime Capital of Canada; Newcap TV out of Lloydminster did a whole one-hour documentary on it.
As for the city’s public safety efforts, we ran an award-winning series about it that won the SWNA News Story of the Year a couple of years ago. So we’ve already done this story.
To be honest, I don’t even consider the Maclean’s piece to be the most damning media coverage North Battleford has seen lately. Far worse was that CBC article where a woman claimed to have moved to Saskatoon to escape all the crime in North Battleford.
Folks, I’ve got news for you. I’m from Saskatoon, I was born and raised there and I still spend a good deal of my free time there. I know that place very, very well – right down to its crime problems.
If you truly think moving to Saskatoon is a good way to get away from North Battleford’s crime, you are in for a huge, rude surprise.
Anyway, the bottom line for me is that this latest “media obsession” with North Battleford as a “crime capital” really is tiresome. It’s old news. Donald Trump might even say the Maclean’s headline is “fake news.” Maybe not totally (see our crime stories from Nov. 28-29), but it is old news.
Local people around here are clearly sick and tired of hearing about the city’s crime problems and sick of being interviewed about it.
I was at an event a while ago in which I overheard a conversation involving a prominent member of our local business community. It turned out this individual had been approached by none other than Maclean’s magazine.
“Well, you wouldn’t believe who spoke to me today.”
“Really, who did you talk to?”
“It was Maclean’s magazine. They interviewed me for a piece they’re doing about North Battleford.”
“Gee, that’s great!”
“No, it’s not.”
“Why, what’s the problem?”
“They’re doing a story about the crime in North Battleford.”
You should have seen the look on this fellow’s face when he said this; he looked totally fed up and dejected. It was a priceless reaction.
Others in the community are standing up to this latest media portrayal of North Battleford. There was a lengthy Facebook post by Tracy Voigt that had made the rounds playing up all the good things happening in the community, such as the Winter Games. And the Pinty’s Grand Slam last year.
This sort of thing ought to happen even more. The other side of the story about “life in North Battleford” needs to be told to the rest of the country: the story of all the exciting events happening here, as well as the various fundraising efforts and good deeds going on.
The Pinty’s Grand Slam was one such opportunity to tell that story to the outside world, but there are other opportunities out there as well.
Here’s what Mayor Ryan Bater ought to do. He ought to pick up the phone and call up, no, not Maclean’s, but a different MacLean. Ron MacLean.
Bater should tell MacLean that North Battleford is the perfect venue for a Hometown Hockey telecast on a Sunday night. Among other things, North Battleford truly is a hockey hotbed at the midget, junior, and senior levels, as well as reigning SJHL champions with the winning Battlefords North Stars.
It really would be the type of media coverage that would cast North Battleford and all of its sports activities in a positive light.
Anyway, Mr. Mayor, go ahead and give MacLean a call. You shouldn’t have any trouble getting through to him. Folks over at the Twin Rivers Curling Club already have the phone number for Sportsnet and a few contacts there, so I’m sure they will be happy to help you out.
