'Print is not dead': New community newspaper hits the streets in New Brunswick

After 39 years in the newspaper industry, Eric Lawson is, by definition, retired, but it only took him about a year to decide that retirement wasn’t quite his style.

The Riverview, N.B., resident decided to start and publish his own community newspaper called The River View – an online and print paper that has a hyper-local focus from Alma to Salisbury.

”It’s what I’ve done all my life. I did it all those years because I love it and I still love it and this is a lot of work, but it’s work that I really enjoy. So, for me, it doesn’t really feel like work to tell you the truth,” he said.

Lawson started his career as a reporter and spent the back half of his career as a publisher.

His most recent job was in Manitoba, but he and his wife moved back to the Maritimes for retirement. He thought of other projects he could take on, but nothing felt quite as natural as helping tell community stories.

“Right now we’ve been a little bit heavy on community history and we’re probably going to continue with that a little bit,” said Lawson.

“People have told me they really enjoy the stories about history. Just as one example […] this year is the 250 year anniversary of permeant settlement in Salisbury.”

While history plays a big role, at the heart of The River View is the people that help make up the communities.

“I hope very much that it gives something back to the community and the people in the community embrace it and feel that it’s theirs,” he said.

So far, two issues have been released to the public.

The paper is completely free and can be found online or at nearly 60 public buildings and local retail spaces and restaurants from Alma to Salisbury.

“I firmly believe that print is not dead. Print is different,” he said.

Lawson adds there are new business models and new ways of doing things. He hopes The River View serves as a model of what a modern-day, sustainable newspaper can look like moving forward.

The new outlet is being welcomed by Salisbury’s mayor. Robert Campbell is both an avid reader and uses it to help promote his town.

“We’re living history today,” said Campbell.

“I’m hoping in 50 years, 100 years, they’ll talk about Salisbury – the small community that beats cities like Toronto and Red Deer as Canada’s most active community. But again, if we didn’t have local present on the press… those wouldn’t be preserved. So I fear that without the Eric’s of the world… that in 20 years time there won’t be any local stories.”

Campbell says The River View is a great way to share the who, what, when, and why of the community and make sure that the history is around for generations to come.

“As I always say, we’re a small town that does big things and we’ve really promoted that over the years, that our town consistently punches above it’s weight,” said Campbell.

“Being from a small town doesn’t mean you can’t do great things. So having the stories told and our youth reading about them is just another way people will realize they can do anything and everything.”

As for Lawson, he says retirement isn’t even on his radar anymore. His mission is as clear as it’s been since the very beginning.

“My first job was at a community newspaper, a tiny little newspaper, in Truro, N.S., my first job as a reporter, and I think that ever since then I’ve always believed that communities need a voice and I hope again that that’s what we’re able to do, that we can provide them with a voice,” he said.

“It does worry me that so many community newspapers are having troubles financially and I’m hoping that we’re trying to build out a new model here that will, in some small way, at least, even just here in our local community, allow us to give that back a little bit to make sure the community has a voice.”

A new issue is scheduled to be released on March 7, with a new one following the first Thursday of every other month.

Now, as he continues to work on his third publication, Lawson is already looking towards the future. He dreams of turning The River View into a monthly publication with someone working alongside him or freelancers on the team.

“I think everyone who works in the business would have to say that, at the back of their minds somewhere, they’ve always thought ‘Jeez, I should have my own paper,’” he laughed.

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