Dandenong traders advocate and Sandown spokesman
I HAVE spent the past 50 years as a journalist writing primarily for the nationals and dailies and over the past 17 years, as a freelancer, I have also contributed to several local papers.
The nationals and dailies all have their place, but local papers such as the Dandenong Journal are a vital cog in the community.
For almost 150 years, it has provided the public with the information and news sought about what is happening in their immediate area, whether it is council, safety, local heroes or sport.
In my opinion, the Dandenong Journal was the best local newspaper that I have read.
It provided the maximum amount of news from the community and much of that was due to the involvement of the editorial staff in local organisations that provided a vital link between the newsmakers and the news producers.
This is not just because I have enjoyed a special association with the Dandenong Journal since the mid 1990s when I began sending out press releases regarding race meetings at Sportingbet Park, Sandown, the Dandenong Retail Traders’ Association and the Rotary CIub of Noble Park Charity Bowls Day.
It is because I found the journalists and editors always prepared to listen and to seek my thoughts if issues fell within my bailiwick and for that they gained my highest respect.
For many years, there was stability within the editorial staff that made it easy to deal with them as they knew the community and those involved in it. People like John Woods, Peter Simcock, Phil McLeod and Marg Stork were known by the readers and gave back to the community they sought to report on.
With changes in management some of these elements have changed in the past few years, but I look forward to this rebirth of a great local newspaper and a return to a true community forum.
