Most Discussed Subjects in 2023

It’s a no brainer that the single most talked about subject in Cobourg this year was homelessness and the encampment. That’s also the message provided by the number of comments on posts.  But what came second and third?  Reader interest seems to put Council issues (Budget, Governance, Strategic Plan, remuneration of councillors) second and Police/Crime third. Cobourg residents also do care about public transport and the environment – but they have little to add to my reports on Entertainment. Maybe that’s good given that many comments are negative.  I should note that my numbers are biased since I have a strong focus on Council meetings so subjects discussed there dominate. This is not a scientific survey!  Overall, there were 118… Read complete articleMost Discussed Subjects in 2023

Merry Christmas from Cobourg News Blog – 2023

It seems that every year, Christmas comes upon us quicker than ever.  It’s also the end of another year and time for a review. The big international news is about two wars, National news is dominated by what people think of Trudeau and the local news is about the encampment by individuals who refuse the help provided by our generous social services.  But let’s not start ranting on about negative things – I do get tired of the seemingly endless criticisms by people commenting on this blog.  How do these people find anything to be happy about?  But Cobourg still has a thriving entertainment scene and life is good in Cobourg.  And Christmas is generally a happy season – especially… Read complete articleMerry Christmas from Cobourg News Blog – 2023

Northumberland News Stops Print Edition

In an announcement today, Metroland Media said that they have “sought bankruptcy protection and will cease the print publication of its weekly community newspapers across Ontario, moving to an online-only model”.  That means that the 14 September print edition of Northumberland News was its last edition.  Distribution of flyers with the paper will also stop.  Daily newspapers like the Peterborough Examiner and the Toronto Star will continue to operate. The announcement said that “the move involves 605 layoffs, nearly two-thirds of the workforce” although there is no word on how many are affected at the Cobourg office.  Because “the Company does not have sufficient funds  … no termination or severance pay will be paid”.   Further, “according to a breakdown of… Read complete articleNorthumberland News Stops Print Edition

Getting News in Cobourg

Or should it be “Getting News in the 21st century”? For a century or so, the way to get news was from a daily newspaper but newspapers are gradually going out of favour and instead there are multiple online sources. But it seems people are lazy and want all their news to come from one source – just like a newspaper was expected to have all the news. Some rely on Facebook or Google to collect all their news on one page – more on that below – and others rely on a portal like Yahoo news. But the only sure way is to look at multiple on-line sources: multiple sites and multiple newsletters. In this post, I will review… Read complete articleGetting News in Cobourg

Popular Cobourg News Blog Posts

As we come close to the end of 2022, I would like to thank people who have shown appreciation for this news blog.  I see it as not only a news service but as a forum for the community to express their opinions about the issues of the day.  Many people tell me they read the blog to see what people are saying.  Others tell me they avoid the comments because of all the negative opinions. I know that many Councillors and Town staff look at the site although they rarely comment – the Town does of course have their own “engage Cobourg” site which collects opinions on a limited number of issues. The big issue of 2022 was the Municipal… Read complete articlePopular Cobourg News Blog Posts

Cobourg News Blog Report – 5 years

About 10 years ago, Cobourg Internet started to include Cobourg News on its web site and allowed comments. But the technology was limiting so a new separate site (this site) was launched in September 2017 and continues to this day. For some reason that I can only speculate at, the site has become a community forum with the audience continually growing. Not all comments are positive but unless they break the rules of the blog, they are encouraged in the interest of free speech. A statistic from the last few days is interesting: 48 different people contributed the last 100 comments! Some posts attract a limited number of contributors but others get a widely diverse audience. But let’s look at… Read complete articleCobourg News Blog Report – 5 years

Slow News Week in Cobourg

With fewer Council meetings in the summer and many people taking time off, news is often slow this time of year.  There’s an election coming up but so far there have not been many who have filed as candidates (details below).  Covid is still a threat but there are no lockdowns (details below) – it’s now treated much like regular flu.  The County has some surveys but Cobourg only has its long running survey on Brookside.  The good news is that the Entertainment choices are improving although you might have noticed that we did not have the usual Sandcastle competition this weekend.  Also, Rainbow Cinemas are operating on a reduced schedule – now only five days per week and two… Read complete articleSlow News Week in Cobourg

What was Most Popular Topic in 2021

A lot of what’s happening in the world now happens on-line – not just buying stuff (e-commerce) but also news and community interaction.  Most of us have got used to the idea that we can find out facts with an Internet search but the water gets muddied when we search for political or health “facts”.  A lot of this is opinion but it’s often hard to separate opinions from facts. News sites like Cobourg News Blog try to present facts but comments (opinions) are also allowed.  Although I don’t collect personal information like Google does, I can rank which articles got the most attention (hits) and which generated the most comments.  Like all polls/surveys, some interpretation may be required. For example,… Read complete articleWhat was Most Popular Topic in 2021

About Cobourg’s Web sites

This post is a little different – it’s about web sites serving Cobourg – and particularly about ones that entertain. Most web sites provide information but some do more. This post will attempt to help guide you. Many people use Facebook pages for information. These are really personal web sites and some are even used by businesses instead of conventional web sites but Facebook sites are limited. I will point you to easy ways to get news, information on clubs, information on the Town and I’ll highlight a few neat stories about Cobourg that you may or may not have heard of. Did you know that a commercial passenger plane once landed here?  And that there was a public hanging?  Did you know that Cobourg… Read complete articleAbout Cobourg’s Web sites

A Review of Local News

The problem with news is not that Google and Facebook are stealing it (they just link to headlines of what’s already there) but that there is not enough money in the online advertising by media companies to compensate for the lower revenue from print advertising.  Although major (and minor) newspapers have an online presence that uses material gathered by professional journalists, and Google etc. simply point to this, these sites don’t generate enough revenue to replace what they used to get from print advertising.  Governments – notably Australia, France and Canada – are trying to force Google and Facebook to share some of their revenue but meanwhile the shift in where to get news is happening anyway.  The practical result… Read complete articleA Review of Local News