Niagara This Week is a local, free newspaper that started up a few years ago. Editions in other cities have been printed for years, and it was nice to have a free alternative to the local, pay newspaper. They publish on Wednesday and Friday. I don’t know anything about the demographics of their readers, but their reach is substantial. A good portion of the residents of Niagara Falls, Thorold, and St. Catharines get the newspaper.
Remember when one of the reporters used some content from the blog but didn’t attribute where it came from? Well, at that time I emailed a gently worded complaint to the reporter and the editor saying that I hoped it was just an oversight. I got a reply back from the editor right away saying that they should do a story on me. Robert Lapensee got in touch with me, and then a couple of weeks ago he came over to my house to interview me. He was there for about an hour and we talked about all sorts of things… where I go for my walk, how I get my information, Google Alerts, how much money I make, why I do it, etc. Robert was very nice, and it certainly was a pleasure talking with him.
Robert said that the topic was “timeless” (it wasn’t date or time sensitive), so if something more pressing came up, they would push my article back. It wasn’t in the first week, but was in this past Wednesday.
I was quite pleased with the article. He focused on the things I figured were important. My family said the pictures were good, but I didn’t like my double-chin (the camera adds 10 pounds remember!!). Probably the coolest part was being on the front page. Since those of you not in the region wouldn’t have seen it, here is the top of the newspaper:
I had sent my family the link earlier in the day, and then was over at my parents house in the evening. As I was there, my Dad went out to get the paper, and when he came in he said I was on the cover. I assumed he was joking, but there I was 
You can certainly read the text online, but here is how the article looked in the newspaper:
Lots of people I know have seen the article. The response has been great. However, at work, hardly anyone has mentioned it me.
There hasn’t really been an increase in traffic, but that’s ok. Any publicity is good publicity, right?! Now I have something to reference as I contact various establishments asking for information, passes, etc. It’ll only keep growing from here.
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To see the progression of this blog, into something really special, and into something that is deeply cared about by many is such a great thing.
We have a great community here, all of the contributers are very nice, and we never have any arguements, even if we disagree, very rare for the internet. Its just great to see the passion people have for Niagara Falls. Graham, its beyond fabulous to see you get recognized in such an amazing mannner. Im very happy for you. now we jsut have to get you elected Mayor.
Yikes, no thanks! Besides, then I probably wouldn’t have any time to go for my walks!!
lol
heheheheheheh lol
well deserved, as i said before, i would be lost w/out this blog!
Graham - thanks for returning the favor! hahaha! That is a very cool - and very old - photo.
Hi,
Great to hear about the article in Niagara This Week. Too bad to hear that it didn’t produce many hits, by there is a great chasm between paper publishing and web publishing, that is difficult to cross;)
I don’t usually comment on local blogs (just don’t have the time) but I understand the position you found yourself in when you noticed that your content was published in a local paper. I have found myself in this very position time after time.
Since InsideNiagara.com launched in 2002 many local and National media sources have used the content from my site, http://www.insideniagara.com , but haven’t attribute where it came from. I have video tapes of a local television station actually reporting, word for word I may add, information I have provided to users of my site.
It is great to hear that you got some recognition for the effort you put into maintaining a web site/blog. When another web site or media source comes to your web site to copy and paste they should mention the source of that information.
I’m rambling — Although I did not see the article in the Niagara This Week Newspaper — kudos.
Mike Porter
InsideNiagara.com