Editorial for the Launch of the Saint John Community Voice
When Around the Block ceased publication in February 2024, Saint John lost more than a newspaper — we lost a gathering place. For years, its pages reflected our neighbourhoods, our people, and our shared struggles and successes. Now, The Saint John Community Voice rises from that legacy, and with it, the promise that our stories still matter.
Community news is the heartbeat of a place. It shows us who we are, in all our diversity. It documents our efforts to build a better city, shines a light on unsung heroes, and holds space for the voices too often overlooked. In a media landscape dominated by national headlines and distant concerns, local storytelling reminds us that what happens on our streets, in our schools, and in our neighbourhood organizations is worth celebrating — and worth scrutiny.
But community news doesn’t happen without the community. It is built by volunteers, sustained by readers, and brought to life by contributors who care deeply about where they live. The Saint John Community Voice belongs to all of us — and needs all of us.
The timing could not be more apt. Community is democracy at its most vivid level, and around the world democracy is under threat. We have all heard the motto that democracy dies in darkness, but maybe the better perspective is that democracy thrives in the light. We all, every one of us, need to put on our tights and cape and be superheroes for democracy so that it may live. The Saint John Community Voice will help it live out loud, one voice at a time.
This launch marks a new chapter in how we tell our story. Let’s raise our voices. Let’s make them heard. Because Saint John’s story is still being written — by us.
