Millar Time: New look, new logo, new view

Change has been a theme of my week on a multitude of levels. Personal, business, professional, you know how it goes. Some people like me embrace change, and others are not as quick to open their arms to it. But, regardless, change is inevitable and hopefully good.

As I look around me, I can smell the change afoot. It’s a rebirth of life. The weather is changing, the surrounding wilderness and foliage are changing, health restrictions are changing, and business is changing.

Spring is in the air, which means freshness and renewal will waft around us. People are coming out of COVID hibernation and baring their smiles from the removal of masks. I can see faces of hope and excitement.

For us at The Northern View, changes started to occur last November. We had exciting changes in leadership, starting at the top with a new V.P of the North Mary Kemmis, a new publisher Melissa Ash and a new editor me K-J Millar.

With these new positions and personalities onboard is it inevitable that The Northern View would change. As with the progression of society through time and now exiting a pandemic so must the local content progress with newness on the written page and also in visual imagery. Over the next while, we hope to create a new perspective and provide a new Northern ‘View’ for readers to enjoy.

Many in the city will note recent branding changes to the City of Prince Rupert, signage changes, businesses with new names and emblems etc. It’s common in the media, especially radio, to rebrand every five years or so. While this activity has been occurring silently behind other office doors in our community, a metamorphosis has also been evolving at your community newspaper, starting early in the winter and readying for a spring blossom.

Readers may have noticed several subtle and quiet changes over the past few months among the pages of The Northern View. We decided spring 2022 is the ideal time for a new beginning of a crisp, clean image. We welcome your ideas and submissions.

We strive for more community news and reader contributions that we encourage residents to send our way. We seek inclusivity. We reach for news coverage to reflect the lives and stories of the people that matter. And for those people that matter — each and every one of you, to see themselves in our paper.

To mirror those changes and values, a new nameplate with identifying symbol has been designed to banner the top of our front page, to lead our readers into the pages of stories accounting lives of friends and neighbours. The logo of mountains, ocean and land are all viewed through a focused circular lens encompassing traditional North Coast colours. It reflects the views we gaze upon every day. We hope that readers identify with the new logo and modern look as an image emulating their community direction.

I understand that change doesn’t settle easily with some, but my heartfelt wish is for my community, to embrace the changes as my promise of progression, renewed relationships and unity.