In order to write the news, you also have to read the news.

It’s a weird quirk of my job that staying up to date is an essential part of my work. Consuming news daily is taxing when the news cycle is grim. For my own mental health, lately I’ve been taking breaks from international news, only checking in once or twice a day when I know I can stomach it. I work in local news, so I only really need to look at nearby stories, right?

But lately, even the local news cycle is grim.

Every Wednesday, while we lay out the next day’s issue of The Uniter, I browse through the day’s local headlines and look for something to comment on in my editorial note. For the last several weeks, I’ve been struck by just how dark things are.

Winnipeg police shot and killed another person during a mental-health check. A man was stabbed on a bus in an apparent racist attack. Five people were killed in an apparent mass murder in Carman. A tasteless opinion poll about an alleged serial killer is being circulated by his defense team. Hell, 135 million litres of raw sewage just got dumped in the Red River.

That’s just this week, so far.

Do stay informed on what’s going on in your neighbourhood. But if you need a day off, take one. And for Pete’s sake, be kind to each other.

Published in Volume 78, Number 18 of The Uniter (February 15, 2024)