Right in the Centre - Staying optimistic
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- Published on Friday, May 12, 2023
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
Maintaining an optimistic outlook can be tough, especially if a person absorbs too much news. I think it’s important to be well informed and we should look at all the world around us, not just the bad news but the good news too. The sun came up this morning, if you are reading this, we can assume you got up this morning too. It’s spring and the crops will soon be seeded. The flowers are starting to sprout. The world is a pretty good place overall.
Right in the Centre - Embracing spring
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- Published on Friday, May 5, 2023
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
There are no guarantees, but it looks like winter might be over. It wasn’t the worst winter on record but it certainly felt like the longest one in a while. My farmer friends tell me they are several days away from “getting on the land” although fields are starting to dry up.
Spring is optimism season. My wife is a bit apprehensive about the season, as I have often attempted some form of expansion in the spring time. Makes sense to me, longer daylight hours, warmer weather and a promising future all seem like good conditions to grow and expand.
Right in the Centre - Making Choices
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- Published on Friday, April 28, 2023
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
In just about every graduation ceremonies speech the distinguished guest speaker encourages the students to “follow your dream” and “you can be anything you want to be”. There is some wisdom and truth in both those admonishments but there needs to be discernment. On my graduation day there was no ceremony or speeches but had I been encouraged that I could be anything I wanted to be it would have been foolish to take it at face value.
Right in the Centre - Some big questions
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- Published on Thursday, April 20, 2023
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
Our world is changing, perhaps faster than ever before. We are certainly made aware of changes, be they good or bad, faster than ever before. Examining the changes and what is driving them is an important discussion to have.
Jennifer Bilek is an investigative journalist, a feminist and a leading voice really looking behind the curtain at who is pushing changes in our society that she bluntly calls “absolute madness.”
Right in the centre - Journalism needs attention from government and corporations
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- Published on Friday, April 14, 2023
By Ken Waddell
Neepawa Banner & Press
The Toronto Star publisher and owner Jordan Bitove made an impassioned plea recently to Canadian corporations and governments to step up and support journalism. Bitove argued that journalism is essential to democracy and that smaller communities are being starved of essential information.
Bitove, speaking to a packed audience of business and community leaders at a Canadian Club luncheon in Toronto, said big tech companies including Google and Meta have drained crucial advertising revenue from media companies, endangering journalism’s business model and indirectly, democracy itself.
Read more: Right in the centre - Journalism needs attention from government and corporations
