2023: Twelve months of hanging on for dear life

In looking back on 2023, I think many of us will remember it as a year of challenges, and of just hanging on for dear life as the world around us spun rather quickly.

Early in the year, after an announcement from the Mail's previous owners of the impending closure of all WA based regional mastheads, our communities began to mourn the loss of their local newspapers.

In Mandurah, Bunbury and of course Busselton, Dunsborough, Augusta and Margaret River, readers who had relied on the Mail for decades reached out to the staff to express their disappointment, and determination to save the papers.

As someone who has worked for the Mail for almost 8 years, the support from our readers and advertisers was overwhelming.

That support reached the eyes and ears of the Sports Entertainment Network (SEN) team, who were about to expand their Bunbury radio network to Busselton and Margaret River.

The work that proceeded behind the scenes was exhaustive, exhausting, and ultimately successful - resulting in the survival of both the Augusta Margaret River Mail and the Busselton Dunsborough Mail.

We were - our small team of four - thrilled to be able to stay doing what we love, some of us having worked at the Mail for well over 20 years.

Most importantly we were relieved that our papers (yep...we grew up reading the Mail too) would continue on, allowing us to share fantastic local stories and highlight the achievements of so many residents week in, week out.

Given plenty of the region is understaffed, overworked and running on fumes, the support we received this year from our columnists, contributors and readers was particularly impressive.

Parents and coaches writing match reports for junior sporting clubs, experts sharing their brilliant advice and insight each week, teachers providing updates from the classroom, community groups delivering detailed information on their services and projects, talented photographers giving their time and skill to making our newspapers beautiful... the list of supporters grows every year.

These truly are community papers - a reflection of what this part of the world is all about.

I recently remarked to a friend - "I feel like I've been moving at full speed, but haven't made much progress."

But I think perhaps that is what 2023 has been all about - hanging on, keeping our heads above the waves, supporting each other and working our butts off to preserve the things that really matter.

From myself, Mandy, Lisa and Angela at the Mail, enjoy a safe and happy new year.

Nicky