We are not just reporting the news.

Your local Pass Herald was picked to be a participant in a groundbreaking national initiative that aims to reimagine how journalism serves communities across Canada. The program, Documenters Comes to Canada: Growing Our Model of Training Community Members to Document Public Meetings, is led by Dr. Magda Konieczna at Concordia University and expands on a successful pilot project launched in Toronto.

The Documenters model is simple but powerful. Community members are trained and paid to attend and take notes at public meetings such as town councils, school boards and planning committees. The idea is to help fix three growing challenges facing journalism today: the collapse of local news coverage, especially in rural and underserved communities; the ongoing decline in public trust in media; and a deepening lack of civic engagement that leaves public decision-making unchecked.

This program reimagines journalism as a community-based, democratic tool. Instead of journalists acting as distant observers, they take on the role of facilitators, helping residents gather and share information that affects their own lives. It is about equipping people to engage with the systems that shape their communities while strengthening the information ecosystem that supports healthy democracy.

Out of all the newspapers in Canada, only a select few were chosen to participate in this expansion of Documenters Canada. The Pass Herald is one of them. Alongside Pivot Média in Montreal, our newspaper will help launch one of just two new Documenters sites in the country. We are also joining the existing pilot site at The Green Line in Toronto to build a national network dedicated to engaged, community-centred journalism.

As publisher of the Pass Herald, I am deeply honoured to be part of this work. I was brought on as a formal co-applicant in the proposal, and the Pass Herald will serve as the host for the new Documenters Crowsnest Pass site. In practical terms, that means we will work with journalism professors and research assistants from Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Mount Royal University to recruit, train and mentor local residents who want to participate. These Documenters will receive specialized training to attend and report on local meetings, and their work will be shared with the broader public through our platforms and networks.

Our community will benefit from deeper civic coverage and more relevant information, but our role in this project is bigger than just local reporting. There are few remaining independently owned newspapers in rural Alberta, and this program recognizes the unique value of our work. Rural journalism is too often ignored in conversations about the future of news, but this partnership puts us on the national stage. It acknowledges that community-based reporting matters, especially in small towns where local accountability and information gaps are serious issues.

To be chosen from among so many applicants, and to be trusted to help shape a national journalism model, is a rare honour. I am incredibly proud that the Pass Herald is being recognized as one of Canada’s premiere small-town independent newspapers. We have always taken seriously our role as watchdog and community voice. This program amplifies that mission, and it allows us to do even more for the people of the Crowsnest Pass.

It is also a powerful example of what innovation in journalism can look like. This project brings together post-secondary institutions, media startups and legacy newsrooms. It brings academic rigour to practical training, and it ensures that every community involved has the tools and autonomy to shape the work according to their own needs. We are not being asked to copy a big-city model, but instead to bring our own rural perspective and experience to the table.

Over the next year, we will begin the process of localizing the Documenters training materials and preparing for recruitment. We expect to hire and train two community members who will begin documenting public meetings in the Crowsnest Pass, Sparwood and Pincher Creek, supported by editorial guidance from the Herald and research teams from SAIT and MRU. We will also share what we learn through the Documenters Canada community of practice, connecting with teams in Toronto and Montreal to strengthen the national effort.

This is about more than just telling stories. It is about renewing trust in journalism and helping citizens take part in shaping their own communities. It is about training the next generation of civic reporters and giving people the tools they need to hold power to account. It is about making sure that the Crowsnest Pass is not left behind as the media landscape changes.

This partnership shows that rural newspapers still matter, and that small-town voices deserve a national platform. I am grateful to be part of that conversation, and I am excited for what comes next.

We are not just reporting the news. We are helping build a better future for local journalism in Canada.