February

13, 1994 - North Shore News - 35

emember the Doug-bashing archbishop?

MEMORIES ... MEMORIES
... Work 18 years for the North
Shore News and you have
enough for a dozen books.
Squeezing even the tiniest
handful of highlights into one
short column is a daunting
challenge.

By Noel Wright

News Associate Editor

@ MEMORIES ... Like Mi

when | joined as editor-in-chief
shortly after the original name ---
North Shore Shopper -—~ was
changed to the present one,

My assignment: to help build the
News into a full-scale community
newspaper able to go head-to-head
against its two long-established
competitors, the Citizen and the
Times.

In contrast, we were still widely
regarded us an upstart giveaway.
We published only on Wednesday
with an average of 24 pages, rising
to 32 on occasional goad weeks.

The entire editortil staff consist-
ed, at that time. of yours truly and a
single reporter. Sure, the world
looked like our oyster. But oh boy.
were we still hungry!

@ MEMORIES ... Of our first big
leap forward nine months later. On
Apffl 17, 1977, we published our
first Sunday edition — all of 16
pages, plus an eight-page Real
Estate Guide. ‘

The industry thought we were
certifiable. Apart from Victoria's

REGENCY -

(NORTHSHORE) MAZDA

700 block, Marine PY, North Vancouver

987-4458

venerable Times-Colonis
not ready for Sunday pape
warned the svoffers.

Meanwhile, the first bicthday
edition of the Sunday News a year
later was a healthy 48-pager, con-
lining many new features.
(4 MEMORIES ... Of the
most profitable water-
shed yet in the fife of the
News (ind of numerous
other Lower Mainland
community papers) —
the shutdown in the fall
of 1978 of Vancouver's
two dailies by a strike
that was to last eight
months,

Within days the big
food, drug and depart-
ment store chains, which
had hitherto advertised
exclusively in the Sant
and the Province, were
knocking on our door.

We suddenly found
ourselves being offered a
bonanza — if only we
could produce papers big
enough to handle it.

Hastily we installed
wire services to add to
our local news the inter- |
national and national
stories and pictures no
longer available to read-
ers in the struck dailies.

From October until
the following June, toil-
ing often until near mid-
night on press days. we
churned out twice-week-

B.C. is

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PLYMOUTH CHRYSLER INC.

1177 Manne De, North Vancouver

980-8501

ly papers of 108 to 120 pages each
—- bursting with the most beautiful
advertising any publisher could
ever wish for.

The unexpected sequel, after the
Sun and the Province returned, was
no less beautiful. The big chains
were so impressed by the cight-

NEWS photo
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Noel Wright (centre)
started with the News as Managing Editor 18
years ago. He was photographed in 1984 with
columnists Doug Collins (right) and Bob
Hunter, who have written for 10 and 14 years
tespectively.

REGENCY
(NORTH SHORE)

HOO Macine Dr, North Vancouver 6127

985-9311

month results obtained from the
News and similar community
papers that they stayed with us —
even after resuming advertising in
the dailies.
& MEMORIES ... OF politicians,
whom the News did NOT always
please, including former Liberal
leader Gordon Gibson Jr.
who ran against the late
North Van ‘Tory MP
Chuck Cook in the [980
federal election.
A poll conducted by
the piper carly in the cam-
paign showed Gibson
trailing Cook by a signifi-
cant margin, The Liberal
hopeful d nded on us
ina white fury, declaring
he was so sure of victory
that in the unthinkable
event of defeat, he would
become a News carrier.
The unthinkable event
at least proved Gordon to
be a gentleman. After los-
ing to Cook, he duly
reported to our office in
gardening grubs and
sneakers, and spent an
afternoon delivering the
News door-to-door in
West Van in a monsoon-
tike downpour!

of the Citizen in April
1980 — we became the
only community newspa-
per left to deliver on the
North Shore.

Ea MEMORIES ... Of our

NISSAN

Soon — with the death -

third big leap forward on February
10, 1984 — the first Friday edition
of the News and the welcoming
aboard of the inimitable Doug
Collins.

® MEMORIES ... Of the anti-
Collins strect demonstrations out-
side the News that summer — one
blessed by an archbishop, no less.
And of the following November
that found us defending Doug at the
first of his three indictments before
the B.C. Press Council.

Neither of the two later hearings,
however, matched the fun of this
first one in Richmond, attended by
a lively and at times noisy crowd.
mostly of Doug’s fans.

Atone point the Mounties were
called in to quell a minor riot and
clear the hall for half'an hour. And
in the end the council found both
Doug and the News “not guilty.”

@ MEMORIES galore, finally, of
founder/publisher Peter Speck —
ever a fearless St.George defending
editorial independence and freedom
of the press against the dragons of
intimidation, vested interests and
political correctness.

As long as Peter remains firmly
at the helm — as he still does— the
News will continue on the course it
has successfully navigated for the
past quarter of a century, And the
soundings taken during the voyage
to date are our most valued memo-
ries of all.

They are the scores of framed
industry awards and honors we
have received over the years that
line the main staircase at our office.

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(NORTH SHORE)

H48 Manne Dr, North Vancouver 612 78A

985-0339