Sun closure: News is people

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that journalists are about as popular as politicians.

It wasn’t what I was expecting to hear as I embarked on a career in newspapers.

And it hasn’t been helped by the sordid revelations of phone-hacking trials or paparazzi-style reporters yelling questions at politicians on the street.

It’s therefore always a little surprising when a grieving mother or distraught wife chooses to share an experience you cannot begin to comprehend.

It’s a unique privilege to get a glimpse into the life of a man who spends most of his time walking the island with a cheery smile.

And to write about a sick young girl overcoming unspeakable medical adversity is an incredibly humbling experience.

‘Getting the story’ can depend on your approach, but often it comes down to whom you represent and whether they can be trusted.

I’ve been very lucky to speak with a host of interesting, inspiring, controversial and courageous individuals on this beautiful island.

But I doubt many would have let me in their door had I not been able to say ‘I’m from the Sun’.

It speaks volumes to the values and integrity that has been ploughed into this institution for 50 years.

And it goes to show that a paper lives and dies not by the people with the notebooks but the people on the pages. I am very proud to have represented the Sun for five years and I am fortunate to have worked with some of the best in the business.

Almost all Bermudians I have crossed paths with have been kind and welcoming, for which I am deeply grateful.

Relaying the happenings of the day comes with a responsibility. And it can weigh heavy at 1am as you lie in bed hoping you quoted the Premier correctly in scribbled shorthand outline or you’ve done justice to a grieving mother’s desperate feelings of loss over her murdered son.

There are those that still ply this trade that genuinely care about their work and its ramifications, and many of them have worked at the Bermuda Sun.

Newspapers may be a dying breed and their contents increasingly used for ‘Facebook fodder’ to be slapped on social media and quickly torn apart by the vultures.

But hopefully the legacy of the Bermuda Sun lies in the people who featured in it, those who read it and those who worked there.

And that is a story that is both enduring and compelling.