The Pulse of the Eastern Townships is growing—and fast. In just the past month, we’ve reached more than 93,000 website views, with strong daily traffic spikes and increasing engagement across platforms. Our audience is expanding steadily, with over 27,000 active users, a rapidly growing 3,800+ social media following, and 127 paid subscribers supporting independent local journalism. From Facebook alone, tens of thousands are engaging with our content and nearly a million are seeing it each month, while email and direct readership continue to climb.

This growth reflects something simple: people are paying attention—and they want more voices.

That’s where you come in.

We are actively inviting submissions from readers across the Townships and beyond. Whether it’s opinion, analysis, personal reflection, fiction, or poetry, The Pulse is a platform for thoughtful, well-expressed ideas. Recent contributions include pieces like “Why anglophone representation in a future Liberal government matters” by the eminent Peter G. White, alongside a wide range of letters, community perspectives, and original writing.

We believe strongly in open dialogue. At a time when concerns about cancel culture and media bias are widespread, The Pulse is committed to publishing a broad range of viewpoints—including those that challenge prevailing narratives—within the bounds of common decency. You don’t have to agree with us, or with other contributors. You just have to make your case clearly and respectfully.

Submission guidelines:

• Pieces must be under 1,200 words

• Non-fiction submissions must be factually accurate; excessive errors will result in rejection

• The Pulse reserves the right to publish or decline any submission, for any reason or none

• Clarity, originality, and good faith argument are valued above all

• Submit to: william@pulsetownsips.com

At the same time, if you believe in what we’re building, consider becoming a paid subscriber. Your support helps us expand coverage, invest in more local stories, and grow this platform into a stronger, more independent voice for the region.

To our paying subscribers—thank you. Your support, especially from our founding subscribers, has made this growth possible. You’ve helped build The Pulse into a platform that reaches tens of thousands and continues to grow every week.

And if you’re reading but not yet subscribed, consider joining the circle. Help us expand The Pulse, strengthen independent local media, and keep this space open for voices like yours.

Write. Contribute. Be heard. Support local media.

The Pulse is funded by readers who care about local news.
If you’re one of them, consider supporting this work.

Become a supporter below.

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By William Crooks

Three months in, and it’s already clear: The Pulse is not just another local outlet.

It’s something different.

In just 90 days, we’ve grown to more than 19,000 unique monthly readers, with tens of thousands of monthly views and a rapidly expanding social media presence. Nearly a million Facebook impressions in the past month alone. Hundreds of new followers every week. Stories that travel far beyond the Townships — and sometimes go viral.

But what matters most isn’t the numbers.

It’s what people are saying.

Unsolicited praise has come flooding in from all corners. Readers call us “nimble.” Others say they “don’t know how we do it.” And that’s because, right now, The Pulse is powered by a small but relentless team: one dedicated reporter, two volunteers, and a plucky, hard-working intern.

That’s it.

And yet, we’re already breaking stories, landing interviews, and showing up where others don’t.

We covered the Ayer’s Cliff car explosion before anyone else — and watched it take off. We’re consistently beating larger outlets on breaking news, including the car chase that tore through Lennoxville. We recently sat down with QLP Leader Charles Milliard. We’ve taken deep dives — including a close look at the Beaudoin family business structure — and we’re bringing in informed, detailed perspectives from local experts at institutions like Université de Sherbrooke and Bishop’s University.

We’re publishing daily, pushing fast, and building something that feels — finally — like local news that keeps up with the speed of the modern world.

Because that’s exactly what we are trying to be:

Old school news for the information and social media age.

Fast. Reliable. Comprehensive. Local.

And just as importantly, we are neutral, objective, and non-ideological. We respect our readers. We trust you to make informed decisions based on clear, comprehensive facts — and when needed, honest and intelligent opinion. That principle is at the core of everything we do.

Our news funnel is strong. Our connections are growing. And we are only getting better.

But here’s the reality:

We can’t do this for free.

Right now, we are producing as much as we can with a small team — but imagine what this could look like if we had the capacity to publish 12 to 15 stories a day. That’s the level of coverage this region deserves. That’s the level we are aiming for.

But we simply can’t get there with our current team.

If The Pulse is going to become what it should be — what this region deserves — we need to grow the newsroom.

The English population of the Townships — more than 40,000 people spread across a landmass roughly the size of Belgium — is underserved when it comes to fast, accessible, comprehensive local news. Communities are far apart, stories are scattered, and too much goes uncovered or unnoticed. That’s the gap we are working to fill.

At the same time, we are proud to have numerous francophone readers who turn to The Pulse and engage with our coverage in the language of their choice — another sign that there is real demand for clear, accessible local reporting across linguistic lines.

What if we could hire a reporter in Knowlton, Bromont, or Cowansville — communities just far enough from our Lennoxville home base that we can’t always be there in person?

What if we became the English-language aggregator for municipal news across the Townships?

A new bylaw in Dunham? We’re on it.
A meeting in Bondville? We’re on it.
A fire in Granby? We’re on it.
A new business in Stanstead? We’re on it.
An environmental issue in Ogden? We’re on it.
A scandal in Scotstown? We’re on it.

That’s the vision.

More coverage. More depth. More communities. More multimedia. More everything.

And we are closer than you might think.

If even a fraction of our readers — just a fraction of that 19,000+ — subscribed for the price of a coffee and a donut each month, we would be well on our way to building a real, functioning newsroom.

One that reflects the Townships as they are.
One that shows up everywhere.
One that doesn’t miss a thing.

Advertising is growing, slowly. Businesses and organizations are understandably cautious — and we respect that. But reader support is what will truly accelerate this.

And to those who have already stepped up — thank you. Our growing group of paid supporters, including our half dozen founding supporters, have helped get us to this point. You believed in The Pulse early, and that matters more than you know.

So if you’ve read us, shared us, or told a friend about us — consider taking the next step.

Support The Pulse. Help us expand. Help us hire. Help us show up in more places, more often.

Because this is just the beginning.

With the traffic we’re already seeing, The Pulse is on the edge of becoming a major regional news source.

Not someday.

Soon.

Tell your friends: The Pulse is here for the long haul.

If everyone reading this gave just a few dollars a month, The Pulse could expand coverage across the Eastern Townships.

If you can, consider becoming a supporter today.

Support local journalism below.

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(Français ci-dessous)

In today’s digital age, it has never been easier to read content in the language of your choice. Most modern web browsers — including Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari and Firefox — now offer built-in translation tools that are simple and quick to use.

In many cases, when a reader opens a page written in another language, the browser will automatically prompt them to translate it. With a single click on “Translate,” the entire page can be displayed in their preferred language. Some browsers even allow users to enable automatic translation, meaning pages will be translated instantly without any extra steps.

For those who prefer to do it manually, it is usually possible to right-click anywhere on a page and select “Translate to English” (or another language). On mobile devices, a translation icon often appears directly in the address bar.

Given how easy and effective these tools have become, The Pulse will no longer publish articles in French. This decision allows us to focus our editorial resources while still ensuring our content remains accessible to a wide audience.

We strongly encourage our francophone readers to take advantage of these translation features and continue enjoying the content published by The Pulse. Why not try it yourself on this very page?

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À l’ère du numérique, il n’a jamais été aussi facile de lire du contenu dans la langue de son choix. La plupart des navigateurs Internet modernes — comme Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Safari et Firefox — offrent désormais des outils de traduction intégrés, simples et rapides à utiliser.

Dans bien des cas, lorsqu’un utilisateur ouvre une page dans une langue étrangère, le navigateur propose automatiquement de la traduire. Il suffit alors de cliquer sur « Traduire » pour voir l’ensemble de la page s’afficher dans sa langue préférée. Sur certains navigateurs, il est même possible d’activer la traduction automatique pour que les pages en langue étrangère soient traduites sans aucune intervention.

Pour utiliser cette fonction manuellement, il est généralement possible de faire un clic droit sur la page et de sélectionner l’option « Traduire en français » (ou dans toute autre langue). Sur mobile, une icône de traduction apparaît souvent directement dans la barre d’adresse.

Compte tenu de la simplicité et de l’efficacité de ces outils, The Pulse ne publiera plus d’articles en français. Cette décision permet de concentrer nos efforts rédactionnels tout en continuant à rendre notre contenu accessible au plus grand nombre.

Nous encourageons toutefois vivement nos lecteurs francophones à utiliser ces fonctionnalités de traduction et à continuer de découvrir et apprécier les articles de The Pulse. Pourquoi ne pas l’essayer vous-même sur cette page?

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The Pulse is expanding its municipal coverage with a clear objective: to become the one-stop shop for local politics in English across the region.

Municipal government is the level of government closest to people’s daily lives. It determines how roads are maintained, how police services are delivered, how development unfolds, how infrastructure is financed and how tax dollars are spent. Yet for many English-speakers in the region, municipal information remains fragmented — spread across town websites, scattered social media posts and occasional reports. And it’s nearly all in French.

We believe there is room — and a need — for something more cohesive.

A dedicated municipal specialist

To strengthen this coverage, The Pulse has brought on a municipal specialist and begun dedicated training to ensure consistent, informed and rigorous reporting.

The goal is not sporadic council summaries. It is sustained, structured coverage of budgets, planning decisions, infrastructure files, policing debates, taxation trends and governance issues across multiple municipalities.

Just as importantly, this reporting will be aggregated in one place, so English-speaking readers can follow municipal developments across the region without having to search town by town.

Seeing the regional picture

One of the key advantages of a regional municipal lens is perspective.

What happens in one town often sheds light on what may soon surface in another. A zoning controversy, a sharp rise in service costs, a housing development debate or a policing issue may initially appear local. But when viewed side by side, trends begin to emerge.

As patterns become evident, we will write about them explicitly — identifying broader movements rather than treating each file as isolated.

A recent example illustrates the value of this approach.

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In an interview with local municipal finance expert Aaron Patella, he suggested that some towns might be able to save money by operating their own police forces rather than relying on the Sûreté du Québec. With SQ costs continuing to rise and no corresponding expansion of service, the proposal sparked discussion.

However, when the mayors of Sutton and Knowlton were asked about the idea, they explained why such a move is not feasible in their municipalities. Structural requirements, financial realities and regulatory constraints make establishing a local police force far more complex than it might appear at first glance.

By examining the proposal, then placing it alongside responses from multiple municipalities, readers gained a clearer understanding of both the pressures and the limits facing local councils.

That comparative, contextualized reporting is exactly what we aim to expand.

A one-stop shop for English municipal coverage

English-speakers in the region often rely on a patchwork of sources for municipal information. Our objective is to centralize that reporting.

Readers can expect:

• Regular, structured coverage of councils across the region.

• Comparative reporting when similar issues arise in multiple towns.

• Interviews with subject-matter experts to deepen understanding of complex files.

• Clear organization so municipal coverage is easy to access and follow.

The aim is not advocacy. It is clarity. Municipal politics can be complex and, at times, contentious. But it should never be inaccessible.

Sustainable growth, careful stewardship

This expansion is made possible by steady audience growth across our platforms.

Subscriber numbers have increased significantly over recent months, including growth in paid support. Annualized subscription revenue has risen accordingly. Local organizations are now advertising with us. Readership has expanded across digital channels, with strong engagement driven by direct readers, email distribution and social media referrals. Our audience remains primarily Canadian (98%) and regionally focused, aligning with our editorial mandate.

We share this in general terms to acknowledge the support that makes deeper coverage possible. Growth allows investment. Investment allows specialization. Specialization improves coverage.

The road ahead

Municipal decisions shape communities in tangible ways — from tax bills to policing to housing supply. They deserve sustained, professional attention.

Our goal is straightforward: to ensure that English-speaking residents across the region have access to comprehensive, contextualized municipal reporting — all in one place.

The Pulse is making a real charge to meet that need.

Don’t forget: our podcast is available here and on YouTube every Monday and Friday at 10 a.m.

One of the clearest messages we’ve received since launching The Pulse of the Eastern Townships is that readers want to participate more directly — not just by reading, but by contributing. At the same time, many community groups, artists, and organizers have been asking for a reliable place to share upcoming events and notices.

To respond to both needs, we’re rolling out two new sections on the website: (Reader) Submissions and (Local) Announcements.

The (Reader) Submissions section will be a space for letters to the editor, opinion pieces, short fiction, poetry, and other reader-created content. This section is free to contribute to. Independent local journalism works best when it reflects not only what reporters see and hear, but also how residents think, feel, and respond to life in the region. Creating a dedicated space for submissions gives readers a voice while keeping the newsroom’s reporting work clearly distinct.

This section also helps preserve an important editorial principle: news coverage should remain fact-based, verified, and independent, while opinion and creative expression deserve their own clearly marked home. By separating the two, readers can better understand what they are reading — and contributors can express themselves without blurring the line between reporting and commentary.

The (Local) Announcements section serves a different but equally important purpose. Many local events and notices are too small or too time-specific to be covered as full news stories, yet they still matter to the community. Concerts, meetings, fundraisers, workshops, and small events often struggle to find affordable visibility.

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Local Announcements will be posted once a week on Sundays, bundled together in a single block and emailed out in the morning so readers can easily see what’s coming up in the days ahead. Each announcement will cost $10, which helps cover the time required to review, format, schedule, and distribute them — while keeping the cost low enough to remain accessible to small organizations and individuals.

This approach also protects editorial integrity. By separating paid announcements from news reporting, readers can immediately recognize what is promotional and what is reported journalism. It avoids pay-to-play coverage while still offering a practical way for the community to share information.

Both sections support a broader goal: making The Pulse more sustainable without compromising its mission. Independent local journalism relies on multiple modest revenue streams rather than a single large funder. A small fee for announcements helps offset operating costs, while free reader submissions strengthen community engagement and trust.

Finally, these sections reinforce something that has always been central to this project: The Pulse is not just about reporting on the Eastern Townships, but reporting with them. Journalism is strongest when it listens as well as speaks, and when it provides space for many voices — clearly labelled, responsibly managed, and openly shared.

We’re looking forward to seeing what readers contribute and how these new sections help connect the region more closely, week by week.

Don’t forget, The Pulse Broadcast airs Mondays and Fridays at 10 a.m. here on Substack and on YouTube!

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Au cours des dernières semaines, The Pulse of the Eastern Townships a reçu beaucoup de commentaires, de partages, de messages et même de conseils de la part de lecteurs francophones. C’est franchement encourageant.

The Pulse est une publication anglophone, et sa mission principale est de couvrir la communauté anglophone des Cantons-de-l’Est en anglais. Cela dit, une grande partie de notre couverture — décisions municipales, événements locaux, sécurité publique, culture et vie quotidienne — concerne tout autant les résidents francophones de la région.

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Si vous souhaitez lire rapidement un article en français, voici une solution simple qui prend une dizaine de secondes :

1. Cliquez n’importe où dans le texte de l’article

2. Appuyez sur CTRL + A (tout sélectionner)

3. Appuyez sur CTRL + C (copier)

4. Collez le texte (CTRL + V) dans le traducteur en ligne de votre choix

Quelques bonnes options :

• Google Traduction : https://translate.google.com

• DeepL (souvent excellent pour le français) : https://www.deepl.com/translator

• Bing / Microsoft Translator : https://www.bing.com/translator

Est-ce parfait ? Non.
Est-ce suffisant pour suivre l’actualité locale ? Absolument.

Et qui sait — si les choses continuent d’aller dans la bonne direction, une version française de The Pulse pourrait éventuellement voir le jour. En attendant, merci de lire, de partager et de participer à la conversation, dans la langue avec laquelle vous êtes le plus à l’aise.

Merci d’être là.

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A snapshot of The Pulse of the Eastern Townships YouTube front page, where the show’s audio broadcasts are now available to stream, expanding the local newsroom’s reach beyond written reporting and onto new listening platforms. Photo courtesy YouTube.

Pulse Newsroom

If you’ve been reading The Pulse of the Eastern Townships, you already know the stories.
Now, you can easily hear them too.

I’m happy to announce that The Pulse audio broadcast is now available on YouTube, with Spotify and Apple Podcasts coming very soon. For now, YouTube is the best place to listen, and it’s the best platform besides Substack where the broadcast is available.

For now, shows will air at 10 a.m. on Mondays and Fridays.

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Why YouTube is the best place to listen (right now)

Listening on YouTube comes with a few clear advantages over Substack:

• Better audio playback – smoother streaming, easier pausing and resuming, and fewer hiccups

• Background listening – especially on mobile, it’s easier to let episodes play while you commute, cook, or walk

• One-click access – no paywall friction, no app hopping

• Built-in discovery – liking, subscribing, and sharing helps the show reach new listeners across the region

In short: YouTube makes the broadcast easier to live with day to day. Spotify and Apple Podcasts will bring even more flexibility soon, especially for people who prefer a dedicated podcast app.

Why listen at all when you can read?

The written articles on pulsetownships.com always come first and always go deeper. That won’t change.

But audio does something different.

• You hear tone, pauses, and emphasis that don’t always translate on the page

• Long interviews breathe more naturally when spoken

• Complex issues feel more human when voices are involved

• And sometimes, you just don’t have time to read — but you do have time to listen

The broadcast isn’t a replacement for the journalism. It’s a companion to it.

The best of The Pulse — by the mic

If you’re new to the audio side, 2025 offered a strong snapshot of what the show does best:

• Art, pizza & hidden history — a deeply local reflection on creativity, memory, and what communities choose to preserve

• New mayor, councillors and basketball stars — election night politics alongside rising youth talent

• Rabies risks & the edge of meditation — public health reporting paired with expert insight

• Accountability & access — from housing scandal charges to health-care policy pressure

• A life at the lake — an in-depth, rare conversation with Steve Stafford on Hovey Manor and stewardship

Across these episodes, the goal is the same:
slow down the news, add context, and let people speak in full.

What comes next

• YouTube: available now

• Spotify: coming soon

• Apple Podcasts: coming soon

This is still a growing project, but it’s built on the same foundation as the paper itself: independent reporting, local voices, and stories that matter to English-speaking Townshippers.

Again, the full stories are published first at pulsetownships.com.
The audio simply gives them another way to travel.

If you prefer listening over reading — or want both — this one’s for you.

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Back in October, we published an editorial asking why trust in the news feels so scarce, and what we intend to do about it.

That piece focused on declining trust, polarization, and the gap between how people view “the media” in general and the outlets they personally choose. This follow-up takes the next step — because when people talk about what they think is wrong with journalism today, they often reach for the wrong words.

“Misinformation.”
“Disinformation.”
“Fake news.”

These concepts matter. But they are not the core problem facing journalism — and treating them as such can obscure the real issue.

What misinformation and disinformation actually are

Misinformation is false information shared without the intent to deceive. Disinformation is false information deliberately created or spread to mislead. Both exist. Both can cause harm.

But in established, professional newsrooms — especially at the local and regional level — outright misinformation is relatively rare. Deliberate disinformation by journalists is rarer still (but rife on social media). Verification standards, legal exposure, reputational risk, and routine fact-checking make sustained fabrication difficult to maintain.

Most reporters are not inventing facts. Most editors are not knowingly publishing falsehoods.

And yet, readers still feel misled.

That is the puzzle.

Framing: how true facts can still mislead

The answer lies in framing — the way information is selected, ordered, emphasized, and contextualized.

An article can be factually correct and still be misleading if it omits key context, foregrounds certain facts while burying others, or presents a narrow slice of a broader reality. Nothing in it has to be false for the overall impression to be skewed.

Communication scholars have described framing for decades: what you include, what you exclude, and how you connect facts shapes meaning just as powerfully as the facts themselves. The choice of headline, the photo selection, the first paragraph, and the absence of countervailing data all matter.

Headlines are especially influential. Editors know that many readers will only ever see the title — on social media, in search results, or shared by someone else. A headline can characterize an entire article before a single word is read. It can signal outrage, approval, alarm, or dismissal, even when the underlying reporting is sober.

That is not misinformation in the strict sense. But it can still misinform.

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Ask yourself this about the news you read

A simple test helps clarify the problem.

When you read a newspaper — any newspaper — ask yourself:

• Does it consistently represent all reasonable views on major issues?

• Or does it repeatedly push one angle, one interpretation, one moral posture?

• Are the editorials drawn from a wide range of political and philosophical positions, or do they cluster tightly around one worldview?

• Are dissenting views engaged seriously, or framed as suspect, dangerous, or outside the bounds of acceptable opinion?

If the range of viewpoints is narrow, readers notice. Over time, they stop trusting not just the opinions, but the news coverage itself — because they assume the same framing instincts are at work there too.

What a newspaper is — and isn’t — for

The purpose of a newspaper is to inform the public, not to define which opinions are socially acceptable.

That does not mean a newspaper must be morally neutral in every sense. There are basic, widely accepted norms — opposition to gratuitous violence, corruption, and abuse of power — that are not controversial. Upholding them is not “bias”; it is part of civic responsibility.

But beyond those fundamentals, a newspaper’s role is not to curate a single ideological lane and shepherd readers into it. Its job is to present facts clearly, provide necessary context, and allow readers to draw their own conclusions — even when those conclusions differ from the editorial board’s preferences.

Too often, news organizations fail here not because they are malicious, but because they lack confidence in their readers. There is a fear that presenting an opposing view will be mistaken for endorsement, or that readers will “blame the paper” for publishing an argument they dislike.

That fear is understandable. But it is misplaced.

Trust requires courage

Trust is not built by narrowing debate. It is built by demonstrating confidence in the audience’s ability to reason.

As we noted in our earlier editorial, Canadians report significantly higher trust in the news they personally choose than in “the media” as an abstract category. That suggests people are not hostile to journalism itself — they are reacting to how it is framed, filtered, and moralized.

If newspapers want trust to return, they must stop acting as referees of acceptable opinion and return to being providers of well-documented information and genuinely plural debate.

At The Pulse of the Eastern Townships, that means continuing to separate news from opinion, to label analysis clearly, to link primary sources whenever possible, and to include context even when it complicates a tidy narrative. It also means making room for thoughtful disagreement, expressed responsibly, without treating it as a threat.

Misinformation is not the main enemy of trust.
Disinformation is not what most readers are reacting to.

The real test of journalism is whether it informs without steering — and whether it trusts its readers enough to let them think for themselves.

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St. Mark’s Chapel on the Bishop’s University campus, photographed by William Crooks a few years ago.

Editor’s note: This is an open letter to MNA Geneviève Hébert and will be translated into French and sent to her. In case of discrepancies, the English version is to be considered the official version.

When I recently asked the Reverend Jesse Dymond, chaplain at Bishop’s University, whether I could use his comments as the impetus for this editorial, he agreed — and then clarified something important.

First, he told me, there is not a guaranteed outcome in which St. Mark’s Chapel is automatically closed by Quebec’s new secularism bill. The proposed law, Bill 9, “certainly suggests that this is the end for all places of worship on campus, with few exceptions — but there are exceptions, and the bill will certainly face modifications as consultation takes place.”

Second, he said, Bishop’s is “100% behind its community, including those who have long gathered at St. Mark’s. I am comforted to know that the administration is doing everything in its power to support the Charter rights of those who live and learn in this space. I have been told that Bishop’s will be taking a stand, and in the meantime, I encourage all members of the community to make their concerns known.”

Then he added the hard reality: “100% is a tricky request, though. When this is law, it will be law.”

This piece is written in that spirit — as an open letter to our MNA, Geneviève Hébert, and to anyone else who cares about the future of Bishop’s University and its English-speaking community. I will assume Bill 9 passes in some form. But I will argue as strongly as I can that St. Mark’s Chapel must be treated as an exception.

A secularism bill in search of a problem

Bill 9 is only the latest step in Quebec’s march toward what the government calls “reinforced” secularism. Building on Bill 21 (2019), which bans some public employees from wearing religious symbols, Bill 9 would ban public prayer, eliminate prayer rooms in CEGEPs and universities, and extend restrictions on religious symbols to more categories of workers, while also invoking the notwithstanding clause to shield the law from Charter challenges.

Whatever one thinks of this project, it is not obvious what concrete problem the closing of St. Mark’s Chapel is supposed to solve. Bishop’s is not governed from the pulpit. No one is forced to attend services. If the ideal is a neutral state that treats citizens equally, St. Mark’s is already harmless to that ideal. Closing it would not make our laws more neutral; it would simply erase a living piece of our history.

Bishop’s began as an Anglican project — that matters

Bishop’s University was founded in 1843 by the Anglican Bishop of Quebec, George Jehoshaphat Mountain, “for the education of members of the Church of England.” It remained under the Anglican Church’s direction until 1947, when it became a non-denominational institution.

St. Mark’s Chapel, consecrated in 1857, rebuilt after an 1891 fire, and declared Cultural Property by the Quebec government in 1989, is not an add-on or an eccentric side-chapel. It is architecturally and historically central to the campus — one of the reasons Bishop’s is sometimes called “Oxford on the Massawippi.”

Over time, Bishop’s has become a modern, secular, liberal-arts university that welcomes students of every belief and none. That evolution may be, as people say, “for better or for worse.” But it sits on a specific historical foundation. To extinguish the worship life of St. Mark’s in the name of secularism would be to deny that the English-speaking community’s ancestors believed anything important enough to build this university in the first place.

At worst, St. Mark’s is a living heirloom — a still-used reminder of what earlier generations thought to be of highest and ultimate importance. At best, it is exactly what many of us experience on Sunday mornings: a space where our community gathers around shared Christian hymns, readings and silence in a way that no other building on campus can replicate.

A beloved, beautiful, and still-used space

St. Mark’s is not a museum piece. Its Carol Services still draw hundreds of locals from Lennoxville and Sherbrooke to sing the great carols of the English tradition and to immerse themselves in a form of Christmas observance that has almost vanished elsewhere. Weddings, memorials, quiet weekday Eucharists, student-led services and interfaith events all take place within those walls.

Nor is it accidental that, more than 150 years after its consecration, St. Mark’s is still Bishop’s’ most beautiful building by a very wide margin. That should give us pause in what Ludwig Wittgenstein derided as an age whose “form is progress” (everything is justified in terms of progress, but what truly counts as progress?) If progress were truly linear in all things, including the human realm, why has an institution that prides itself on modernization not produced a single building of comparable beauty and craftsmanship since? Is Bishop’s now truly better overall than it was 150 years ago? Perhaps a topic for another time.

Progress is always measured against some picture of better and worse. If we cannot articulate why the abolition of a still-living chapel would constitute an improvement in the life of Bishop’s, perhaps we are not talking about progress at all, but about a confused and destructive abstraction.

Secularism does not require erasing heritage

Let us assume, for the sake of argument, that the basic claim about separating church and state is sound. The daily workings of St. Mark’s already have no bearing whatsoever on the governance of Bishop’s University. The principal does not take instructions from the altar. The Board does not consult the vestry.

In Europe, where secularism has much deeper roots than in Quebec, this distinction is widely understood. The famous 1905 French law separating church and state bans new religious symbols on public monuments — but explicitly exempts “buildings used for worship, burial grounds in cemeteries, funerary monuments as well as museums or exhibitions.” Cathedrals and synagogues are often maintained by municipalities as part of the common heritage, even as public institutions remain firmly secular.

A major international report on religious buildings, Religious Buildings in Transition – An International Comparison, surveys eleven European countries and concludes that historic churches are increasingly treated as tangible cultural heritage to be maintained through partnership between state and religious bodies, often with mixed or multiple uses, rather than simply shuttered.

Even here in Quebec, Bill 21 itself contains exceptions. While crucifixes were removed from the National Assembly and some council chambers, the law does not require the removal of existing crucifixes in schools and hospitals; article 17 actually shields those from court challenges and leaves decisions to local administrators. We already recognise that history, identity and heritage sometimes justify special treatment of religious symbols.

If France, with its integral laïcité, and Quebec, with Bill 21, can live with such nuance, surely a single, historic chapel on an English-language campus can also be treated as exceptional.

Equality is not sameness

One of the background ideas behind Bill 9 is “equality of religions.” Either all religions are treated identically in public institutions, or neutrality has failed. But equality is not the same thing as sameness.

Most people accept that parents may — indeed must — love their own children in a way that they do not love strangers’ children. It is not an injustice to the children next door that I would run into a burning house for my own family. The same is true for cultural inheritance. A community is not guilty of prejudice because it tends its own heirlooms with special care.

St. Mark’s represents a great chain of care stretching back to the 1850s: the bishop who conceived it, the craftsmen who worked the stone and carved the wood, the donors who kept the doors open in lean years, the chaplains who spoke hard words of grace to generations of anxious undergraduates, the choirs who held together fragile communities through song. To break that chain by means of a clumsy, wide-ranging law that takes no account of this story would be an act of vandalism — not neutrality.

If the province wishes to argue for “equality of religions,” let it do so honestly, in terms that take account of heritage, language and minority status. Bishop’s is one of only three English-language universities in Quebec and serves as a cultural anchor for the region’s English-speaking minority. St. Mark’s is one of the clearest and oldest physical expressions of that presence.

A direct appeal to our MNA

Ms. Hébert, this is where you come in.

You represent a riding in which Bishop’s University is not an abstraction but a daily reality: a place where your constituents work, study, teach, clean, cook, plant, maintain and gather. You know, or ought to know, that universities are not interchangeable office blocks and that you do not build trust with minorities by casually threatening the spaces they hold dear.

No one is asking that the state impose religion on anyone. The request is far more modest and fully compatible with a principled secularism: recognise St. Mark’s Chapel as a protected exception under whatever secularism legislation ultimately passes. Acknowledge in law what is already obvious on the ground: that this building is, at once, an active place of worship and a historic monument of the English-speaking community, one whose continued life does no harm to the neutrality of the state.

St. Mark’s is ours — not in the sense of excluding others, but in the sense that we, the Bishop’s community, are the ones who have carried it, loved it, and kept it alive since before Confederation. It must stay alive until we, not an abstract ideology, decide otherwise.

Respectfully submitted,

William Crooks,

Bishop’s alumnus, Townshipper, and local journalist

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As The Pulse of the Eastern Townships continues to grow, readers have asked how to best navigate the site and how to make sure they’re seeing everything this independent publication offers. Substack is straightforward, but a few small habits can make a meaningful difference in how you read and how far our stories travel. With the official launch set for Jan. 1, 2026, this is a good moment to outline how to get the most out of The Pulse—and how to support it as it expands into a full regional news platform.

Although you can read The Pulse on any device, the experience is much better on a laptop or tablet. The layout opens up, the menus are easier to find, and the sections at the top of the page—News, Politics, Heritage, Sports, Events, Editorial, and more—are clearly visible. If you’re interested in a particular topic, those section tabs are the fastest way to go directly to what you want.

The Pulse typically publishes three to five stories throughout the day, so it’s always worth checking the homepage regularly for new material. Some stories, especially breaking news or items of significant importance, will also be emailed out so readers are informed in real time. Otherwise, free subscribers receive one clean morning email summarizing the previous day’s coverage (or the whole week on Sunday mornings).

Navigation on Substack is easy once you get used to it. At any moment, you can click the Pulse logo at the top left—or the banner across the header—to return to the homepage. When you reach the bottom of a story, you’ll see a list of the top-rated articles across the publication. That list is driven mostly by the little “heart” button. If you enjoyed what you read, please press that button. It helps highlight strong stories for new readers and boosts visibility across the platform—something especially important for independent journalism.

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There’s also a tab that sorts stories by most recent. For days when multiple interviews, council updates, and event reports go up, this is a quick way to make sure you haven’t missed anything.

One of the most powerful ways to support The Pulse is sharing. Sharing is what allows independent journalism to circulate widely. At the moment, Facebook does not appear to be rejecting Pulse links under the federal news rules, so please feel free to post articles anywhere you can: community groups, local pages, your own profile, or even through email and messaging apps. Every share introduces the work to new readers and strengthens reach across the Townships.

Just as important is engagement. Readers are encouraged to comment directly on the website and on The Pulse’s social media pages. Your questions, reactions, and discussions help shape coverage, signal what matters most to the community, and build the kind of interactive news environment that local journalism thrives on.

The Pulse is built on a simple idea: it is owned by a Townshipper, written by Townshippers, and for Townshippers. It exists to serve local readers, contribute to local democracy, and highlight the people, issues, and stories that matter here. Even though hundreds of people read daily, many still do so without subscribing. If you enjoy the work, please consider subscribing—even for free. Free subscriptions improve distribution, expand reach within Substack, and provide more accurate analytics so coverage can continue to grow. And with The Pulse already ranking in the top 10 per cent of all Substack publications, the readership—after only one month and with limited social media presence—is now comparable to that of a typical weekly newspaper in the region.

Beyond daily news, The Pulse also runs a twice-weekly podcast—posted every Monday and Friday at 10 a.m. after airing on CJMQ 88.9 FM. It’s another way to stay connected and hear local voices directly. You can also currently follow The Pulse of the Eastern Townships Facebook page for previews, behind-the-scenes notes, and select material that doesn’t appear elsewhere.

A full social-media rollout is coming on Jan. 1 with the official launch, including more dedicated pages, across many platforms, for news, multimedia, and community engagement. At the same time, advertising options will open for local businesses, organizations, and individuals who want to promote something through the site—an opportunity to reach a fast-growing audience concentrated right here in the Townships.

Thank you for reading, for supporting independent journalism, and for helping grow a truly local news platform. Every click, like, share, comment, and subscription helps build a stronger, more connected Eastern Townships—one story at a time.

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In the Eastern Townships, several municipalities are quietly proving that recording council meetings is not a futuristic idea but an everyday practice.

Waterloo, a city of 4,920 people according to the 2021 Census, states on its website that all of its council meetings are recorded and broadcast by Télévision communautaire de Waterloo (TVCW), with archives available to watch.(Ville de Waterloo) Magog holds its regular council meetings at city hall and broadcasts them live on the city’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and on NousTV Magog, in partnership with the station.(Ville de Magog)

Sherbrooke’s council meetings (and those of the Lennoxville Borough) are also broadcast live on the web, on the specific meeting page, and televised.(Ville de Sherbrooke) Coaticook streams its municipal council meetings live on MAtv, rebroadcasts them and then makes them available as video archives on the city website.(Coaticook)

At the regional level, the MRC de Coaticook explicitly recognises multiple formats: it refers to the publication of “an audio or audiovisual recording” of council sessions, along with minutes and full transcripts, and provides audio files of past meetings on its site.(MRC de Coaticook) That is an important precedent: it shows that either video or audio-only recordings, or a mix of both, are realistic options for small public bodies.

If towns the size of Waterloo and Coaticook can maintain regular video and audio records of their meetings, it is hard to argue that other municipalities lack the capacity.

Not everyone can fit in the council chamber

The core access problem is simple. Council meetings take place at fixed times, usually weekday evenings. Chambers have limited seating. Residents may be working, caring for children, living with mobility issues or simply living far from town hall, particularly in rural areas.

Surveys consistently show that only a minority of people attend public meetings in person. A U.S. analysis of local civic engagement found that only about one quarter of adults reported attending a public meeting over a 12-month period.(Governing) Another study of municipal meetings across the Americas found average attendance rates around 10.5 per cent of the adult population.(Vanderbilt University)

Although these figures come from outside Quebec, they underline a basic reality that local reporters see every month: most residents will never find themselves in the council chamber. Recording meetings and posting the files on municipal websites or YouTube channels lets people follow what happened on their own schedule, whether that means watching a video, listening to the audio while commuting, or skipping straight to the item that affects their street.

What the research says about participation

There is now concrete evidence that putting public meetings online can increase participation. The International City/County Management Association profiled Lakewood, Colorado, which created “Lakewood Speaks,” an online engagement tool tied to its public meetings. After three years of data, the city reported an over 800 per cent increase in active participation compared to previous in-person-only processes, with participation among residents aged 35–54 recorded at ten times higher and for those under 35 at one hundred times higher than earlier in-person levels.(ICMA)

More broadly, research on digital tools and democratic participation finds that online platforms and easy access to information can significantly enhance public participation in democratic processes.(Literasi Sains Nusantara Journal) A 2025 systematic review on information and communication technologies (ICTs) concluded that e-participation programs can augment democratic engagement by promoting direct communication between citizens and public institutions.(ResearchGate) Justice Canada, in its own work on direct engagement, similarly highlights that ICT, social media and related tools can increase participation, transparency and inclusion if they are used thoughtfully.(Ministère de la Justice)

None of this research is about council webcasts in the Townships specifically. But it all points in the same direction: lowering the practical barriers to taking part and giving people online ways to see and respond to decisions tends to bring more voices into the process, especially younger and working-age residents.

Why recordings matter for transparency and media

Minutes will always be the legal record of a meeting, but they are a summary. They rarely capture every question from residents, every concern raised by councillors or the full wording of answers. Academic work on local government has responded by building large datasets based on meeting minutes, transcripts, audio and video, precisely because those richer sources are needed to understand how policy is made. The LocalView project, for example, assembles the largest existing database of local government meeting transcripts, audio and video, in the United States so that researchers can analyse what actually happens in the room.(ResearchGate)

For residents and journalists, the same principle applies. When Waterloo, Magog, Sherbrooke and Coaticook make their sessions available as video archives, they create a more complete public record than any written summary on its own.(Ville de Waterloo) People can see who asked which questions, how staff answered, and how each elected official voted.

For local media, especially in regions where one or two reporters are covering dozens of municipalities, recordings – whether video or audio – are essential. Reporters can verify quotes, review complex debates more than once and cover meetings held on the same night in different towns. The MRC de Coaticook’s practice of posting audio of its council alongside minutes is a concrete example of how audio-only recordings can serve this role even where full video is not practical.(MRC de Coaticook)

A low-cost, flexible step for local democracy

Importantly, the examples from our region show that there is no single “right” technical solution. Waterloo uses a community television partner, TVCW, to record and broadcast meetings, with archives hosted online.(Ville de Waterloo) Magog relies on live streams to Facebook and YouTube alongside coverage on NousTV Magog.(Ville de Magog) Sherbrooke’s meetings are streamed directly on its website, while Coaticook uses a mix of MAtv broadcasts, video archives and, at the MRC level, audio files.(Ville de Sherbrooke)

These are not megacities with unlimited budgets. Waterloo openly describes itself as a community of “a little more than 5,000 inhabitants,”(Ville de Waterloo) yet still manages to capture and share every council session. That suggests that cost and complexity, while real considerations, are not insurmountable barriers.

Meanwhile, broader discussions about hybrid and virtual meetings note that virtual access makes it easier for people with constraints of location, health or other commitments to participate.(Meeting Media Group) When you combine that flexibility with on-demand recordings, the potential audience grows well beyond the few residents who can be physically present at 7 p.m. on a Monday.

Where this leaves our municipalities

The case for recording – by video, audio, or both – and posting council meetings is now supported by local practice and by international research on digital participation. Our own towns are already doing it. The technology is in place. The benefits for transparency, media coverage and resident engagement are documented.

What remains is a political choice. Municipal councils that still resist recording need to explain why their residents should have less access to local democracy than people in Waterloo, Magog, Sherbrooke or Coaticook. In an era when even a small regional county municipality can post audio of its meetings as a matter of course,(MRC de Coaticook) keeping council business effectively “off the record” is becoming harder and harder to justify.

Canadians’ trust in news is fragile. Only 39 percent say they trust most news most of the time, according to the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report Canada page. Trust is higher, at 48 percent, when people assess the news they personally choose, and the Canadian partner summary notes a gap between Anglophone and Francophone audiences.

Concern about misinformation remains elevated. Sixty-four percent of Canadians report difficulty separating what is real from what is fake online, according to the Canadian overview PDF produced by the Centre d’études sur les médias. The same partner materials assert that worry as easing slightly from last year while still above pre-pandemic levels.

Canadians also point to where they think misinformation comes from and how it spreads. A majority identify online personalities and political actors as leading sources, while a smaller share cites journalists and news outlets. When asked about distribution channels, more people say Facebook and TikTok pose a major threat than say the same about online news sites, according to the CEM summary of Canada’s findings.

Trust in media sits within a wider institutional picture. In the latest national snapshot, Canadians place business at 55, NGOs at 53, media at 52, and government at 50 on the trust index, according to the Edelman Trust Barometer 2025 — Canada. That positions media below business yet still in the neutral band.

Polarization further erodes confidence. Roughly one third of Canadians, 36 percent, describe themselves as political orphans who believe the major parties have moved away from the centre, according to the Angus Reid Institute’s report on the missing middle and its methodological PDF.

Measures of social distance help explain why coverage is often treated like a team sport. A recent Statistics Canada analysis of feeling-thermometer data finds sizeable segments who register warm feelings for those with similar views and cold feelings for those with different views on topics such as politics and gender identity. The pattern points to growing affective distance even when many consider themselves centrists. See the May 2025 study in the Economic and Social Reports series, “Unity in Canada: Experimental measures of feelings towards people with similar or different views”. (Statistics Canada)

These conditions magnify how editorial choices shape meaning. What is covered, the order of facts, which numbers are foregrounded, and what context is included can shift interpretation without changing a single fact. Communication research has long described this as framing. For a classic reference, see Robert Entman’s overview in the Journal of Communication.

At The Pulse, the response is practical. We intend to keep topic selection neutral, verification rigorous, and sourcing transparent. That includes linking to primary documents whenever possible, clearly distinguishing news from analysis, and labeling opinion so readers know exactly what they are reading. Where facts are contested, we will show the sources. Where added context would materially change the meaning of a true statement, we will include it even if it cools a hot take. If we miss something, we will correct it conspicuously.

This is not an appeal to false balance. It is a process promise grounded in evidence that careful documentation improves confidence. Canadians consistently rate the news they personally choose more highly than news in general, which suggests that transparency and control over sources matter. You can review the Canadian toplines on the Reuters Institute’s Canada page and the Canadian partner summary materials gathered by the Centre d’études sur les médias.

Trust will not rebound on its own. It will depend on how newsrooms document their choices and how readers reward evidence over heat. Hold us to that standard. If a link is missing, ask for it. If the context is thin, request it. Trust is built story by story, and that is how we intend to earn it.

The Pulse of the Eastern Townships welcomes community participation while maintaining clear editorial and advertising standards. The following outlines how readers and local organizations can contribute content, place advertisements, and share information.

Advertising

The Pulse accepts sponsored posts and local business advertisements rather than traditional display ads. A wide range of options is available to meet individual needs, from short-term placements to longer promotional partnerships. Those interested should contact the newsroom by email at william@pulsetownships.com or by phone at 819-679-0573.

Advertisements promoting mature content will not be accepted. Community rate arrangements and custom packages may be considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on space and availability.

Opinion pieces

Opinion pieces are written exclusively by Pulse Newsroom staff. Each submission is edited and fact-checked with the same care as a standard local news article to ensure accuracy and fairness. Readers wishing to respond to a published opinion are invited to do so through a letter to the editor, following the guidelines below.

Letters to the editor

Letters to the editor may be up to 1,200 words and must be submitted by email to william@pulsetownships.com. Letters may be edited for clarity, grammar, or length, and The Pulse reserves the right to reject or modify submissions for any reason. By submitting a letter, writers grant permission for it to be published in print or online.

Classified ads

Classified advertisements are paid listings available to the public for any category, including jobs, rentals, services, items for sale, and announcements. Submissions are accepted by email only, and ads remain posted for the number of days purchased. For rates and inquiries, readers should contact the newsroom directly.

Local events

Anyone may submit a local event notice to be shared with the community. There is no submission deadline, though organizers are encouraged to provide details as early as possible. Each listing must include the date, time, location, description, and contact information for the event. Local event posts are published as free community notices at the discretion of the newsroom.

General notes

All submissions are subject to review before publication. The Pulse reserves the right to edit, shorten, or decline material that does not meet editorial standards or space limitations.

These policies are designed to keep community contributions fair, accurate, and respectful while supporting local participation in the news process. For further information, inquiries, or submissions, readers may contact the newsroom at william@pulsetownships.com.

As of today, October 27, 2025, The Pulse of the Eastern Townships has quietly gone live. The new online newspaper is beginning to take shape, marking the start of what will become a fresh, independent voice for English-language news and stories from across the region. The project is now in what its creators are calling a soft launch phase, a testing period designed to get things running smoothly before the official launch on January 1, 2026.

Over the next two months, The Pulse will focus on publishing initial stories, building its layout, and fine-tuning the way content is delivered to readers. This early period will also be used to adjust the workflow behind the scenes, from editing and scheduling to website organization and community outreach. The goal is to make sure that when the new year arrives, the publication is ready to move at full speed, with a steady flow of fresh and reliable reporting.

The Pulse is designed to bring together everything that makes life in the Eastern Townships unique. Readers can expect a mix of timely news, profiles of interesting local people, cultural coverage, and stories that explore the region’s history and heritage. The publication will also pay close attention to local politics, community initiatives, and issues that affect daily life in smaller towns and rural areas.

What makes The Pulse different is its approach. It will aim to publish frequently, write clearly, and focus on topics that matter to the people who live here. The paper’s mission is to cover current events, local history, and thoughtful opinion in equal measure, ensuring that every story contributes to a fuller understanding of the community. The idea is to offer readers something both familiar and new: coverage that feels rooted in the Townships, but that also looks forward.

The newspaper will exist entirely online, making it easy for readers across the region and beyond to follow along. The plan is to keep the format clean and accessible, with stories published directly on the website and shared through social media and email newsletters. In time, readers will also be able to subscribe to weekend newsletters, listen to short audio pieces, and enjoy a mix of daily updates and longer features.

During this soft launch period, readers will start to see early examples of what the publication can offer. A handful of stories will be posted, focusing on community events, heritage highlights, and some of the people who help make the Townships what they are. The aim is not just to test the systems but also to begin establishing the tone and direction of the paper.

The next few months will be about learning, refining, and adjusting. Small improvements will be made as feedback comes in and as the paper begins to take on a life of its own. While this first version may feel like a work in progress, it already represents a clear step toward something lasting.

Today marks an early milestone for English-language journalism in the region. With its soft launch now underway, The Pulse of the Eastern Townships is ready to start doing what it was created to do: tell local stories that matter and connect people across communities. The official launch may still be ahead, but the rhythm has already begun, and The Pulse is finding its beat.

By William Crooks

Our corrections policy at a glance

Purpose: Correct factual errors quickly, clearly and permanently to maintain reader trust.

Scope: Applies to all content we publish: articles, headlines, photo captions and social media posts.

Process:

1. Error identified by staff, reader or source.

2. Editor verifies the claim.

3. Story corrected immediately online.

4. A dated correction note is added at the bottom explaining what changed.

5. Major errors may include an editor’s note at the top and a post on social media.

6. All corrections are listed publicly on our Corrections & clarifications page.

When to contact us: Wrong names, dates, figures or locations, misattributed quotes, misleading headlines or captions, or any factual issue you believe needs checking. Email william@pulsetownships.com.

Explanations and justifications

Every newsroom makes mistakes. Even with careful reporting and editing, no publication can be right 100 per cent of the time. What matters most is what happens next.

At The Pulse of the Eastern Townships, accuracy is our highest obligation, and transparency is how we maintain it. When we get something wrong, we correct it quickly, clearly and publicly. Readers deserve to know when something changes and why.

Research has shown for years that factual errors are common in journalism. A major study by the Poynter Institute found that 59 per cent of local news and feature stories contained at least one factual mistake. The European Journalism Observatory reported similar results, estimating between 40 and 60 per cent. Yet only about two per cent of those errors ever receive a published correction, according to both the Columbia Journalism Review and Nieman Reports. That means almost all of the factual errors that appear in print or online are never corrected at all. These figures don’t excuse mistakes. They show how difficult it is to produce accurate, real-time reporting and how important it is to correct errors openly when they happen.

Mistakes come in different sizes. Some are small, such as a typo, a misspelled name or a wrong title. Others are more serious, like an incorrect date, a misattributed quote or an inaccurate number. The most significant are those that change the meaning of a story or misrepresent a person or event. Whatever the size, every factual error deserves a clear and timely correction.

Quiet edits can do more harm than the original error. When a story changes without explanation, readers lose confidence. By contrast, an open correction shows respect for the reader and the record. It preserves the truth of what happened, prevents misinformation from spreading, and proves that accuracy matters more than appearances.

Our approach follows guidance from the American Press Institute and the Ethics & Journalism Project, which both recommend that corrections be clearly labelled, dated and permanently attached to the article. We also take note of the News Co/Lab at Arizona State University, which points out that online corrections give readers access to the right information quickly and transparently.

When a possible mistake is flagged by a reader, a source or a member of our staff, an editor reviews it right away. If the error is confirmed, we update the story online as soon as possible. A short correction note is added at the bottom explaining what was wrong, what was fixed and the date of the change. If the error is major or could mislead readers, we may also post an editor’s note at the top of the story and publish a notice on our social media pages. All corrections are logged on a public Corrections & clarifications page so that the record is always visible.

Readers can expect us to act quickly, explain our corrections clearly and keep our corrections easy to find. Confirmed factual mistakes are usually fixed within hours. Each correction is written in plain language, labelled “Correction” and dated. If you bring something to our attention, we’ll review it and let you know the result, whether or not a correction is required.

Perfection isn’t realistic in daily journalism, but honesty is. Information changes, officials amend statements and figures get revised. What defines a trustworthy newsroom isn’t whether it avoids mistakes, but whether it owns up to them. Admitting an error is not a weakness; it’s a sign of integrity. A newsroom that hides its mistakes asks readers to trust blindly. One that acknowledges them earns genuine trust.

Mistakes happen for understandable reasons: the speed of publication, limited staff, human error and sometimes evolving information. A 2016 study on outsourced copy editing found that when editing was moved outside newsrooms, layout and context errors increased even as arithmetic ones declined. That study reinforced what many journalists already know: accuracy requires constant attention and clear systems.

Readers play an important role in that system. You should contact us if you notice a factual mistake, such as a wrong date or number, a name spelled incorrectly, a misattributed quote or a location error. Let us know, too, if a caption misidentifies someone or if a headline misstates the substance of the story. If you were directly involved in a story and believe it contains a factual inaccuracy, tell us. You don’t need to provide documentation right away, although details help us check faster. We don’t correct opinions or fair interpretations, but we will fix any verified factual mistake, no matter how small. Please write to william@pulsetownships.com.

We report on this community because we’re part of it. Fast, visible corrections are not damage control, they’re a public service. Admitting error is an act of respect for our readers, our sources and the truth itself. In a time when misinformation moves faster than facts, transparency remains the best defence of credibility. As Nieman Reports put it, “Transparency about the nature and centrality of the error is essential to enhancing credibility.”