The new pro-PG stance at the Citizen cuts a columnist
Plus, Valenswine's Day, McLovin', a dog on a motorcycle, and the Vanderhoof roots of the Summer of '69
The day after taking over the Prince George Citizen, new owner Cameron Stolz was interviewed about his plans for the paper. While he had some long-term vision, he said while he learned more about operations, there would not be any short-term changes — except one. As the interview was ending, he did say: “the only immediate change you’ll see is the editorial perspective. Again, you’re going to see that being more pro-business, pro-Prince George… a little bit of a shift in that regard.”
And now, columnist Gerry Chidiac says he’s been told he doesn’t fit into that vision:
In an Instagram post, Chidiac says he has been told by the new owner of the Citizen that with the immediate shift to the “pro-Prince George, pro-solutions, pro-community, pro-business” editorial bent being pursued, his columns do not have a space in the paper going forward. Chidiac says he is not mad, but disappointed, though he will continue to support the paper where he’s been a writer for several years. I can’t find a good archives page for his columns but a sampling from Google shows that in 2023 he has focused on broad thoughts about eduction, more specific thoughts about education in Prince George, the need for CBC to change its mission, the Pope, sports culture and several columns on the conflict in Gaza.
It’s been clarified several times in the Citizen that columnists are not paid and members of the community are encouraged to write in with their thoughts on many things — arguably to a fault. One of the more frequent complaints I have seen about the paper is in relation to letters to the editor that are sparse in facts and high in complaints, sometimes in the ‘old man yells at cloud’ variety. So I’ll be curious to see if this new, more “pro-Prince George, pro-solutions, pro-community, pro-business” approach to what appears in the opinion pages applies to other longtime contributors and letter-writers, as well.
I swear this is entirely coincidental and not related to the above but I also just saw this Books & Company ad
It took a lot of work - snowmaking machines at Otway, hours of volunteer work at the ice oval - but in the end conditions for the Iceman were about ideal.
Prince George’s Robert Doane (who I worked with at Daybreak North) is the new senior director for CBC’s National Indigenous Strategy.
MLA Shirley Bond is making noise about how long it’s taking for the surgical tower at the hospital to be built. Meanwhile, the regional district is worried about how much it’s going to cost their taxpayers.
I mentioned recently efforts to improve accessibility at the Knox Performance Centre. They’ve just received $5,000 to develop a business development plan for it through Amplify BC grants. Musician Danny Bell and the Coldsnap Music Festival are other local recipients of support.
Prince George Women’s Memorial March set for Valentines Day.
Tour Route 16 video stars Prince George motorcycle riding dog.
Ulkatcho, McLeod Lake First Nations create historic economic development partnership.
Theatre Northwest’s next show is about a couple who have been married 25 years going through a rough patch. The lead actors are a real-life couple who have been married for nearly 25 years.
If you’re looking to apply for Portugese citizenship, now’s your chance.
An… interesting… bit of landscape work found on Google Maps.
Prince George packed over 1,300 shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child.
Did you know the guy who wrote Summer of ‘69 is from Vanderhoof??? He is, and he’s establishing a scholarship at his old high school.
The Prince George RCMP have released new information about a suspect in an armed robbery case from last year, including the fact he was wearing an illustration of the McLovin’ ID from the movie Superbad, and the official release actually includes this image:
Today’s song goes out to Vanderhoof:
Northern Capital News is a free, daily newsletter about life in Prince George. Please consider subscribing or, if you have, sharing with someone else.
Send feedback by replying to this email. Find me online at akurjata.ca.
I am disappointed but not surprised. I always found his articles informative and well thought out. A friend told me that he posts to Troy Media. I know nothing about them but did read an article of his there.
Sounds like Cameron wants his paper to be an insular echo-chamber that "showcases" the stereotypes many of us try to fight when people think about PG. One has to wonder if all the great work the Citizen did getting FOIs from the city on both the parkade and moccasin flats and exposing those stories would have happened if Cameron owned the paper then? Sounds like the paper might become a toxic positivity industry rag.