New editor excited to join Chronicle team
Truly excited, humbled and honoured. How else to describe my feelings as I embark on this new adventure as the new Manor Park Chronicle editor?
Hi, I’m Ryland Coyne and I was named to the post back in November.
Some of you may know me as Sheila (Reid)’s husband, others as the owner of a little brown dog named Charlie who takes me on walks around the neighbourhood several times a day. For most of you who don’t know me at all, please allow me to share a little of my story.
Community journalism
Sheila and I have made Manor Park our home since 2009 though our roots here run much deeper than that. Sheila was born in this community, and we live in the home in which she grew up. I was born and raised in Rockcliffe though much of my adult life has been spent in small communities in the Ottawa Valley.
We were married in 1989 and together we have two grown children, both of whom have embarked on their respective careers here in Ottawa.
My entire working life has been spent in community journalism, dating back to 1988 (how time has flown). After completing my post-secondary education at Queen’s University (History) and Algonquin College (Journalism), that first year in the real world started in Westport, Ont. before I took on my first full-time reporting job with the Gazette in Almonte. I immediately fell in love with community journalism as well as small-town living.
By 1990, I was editor of both the Gazette and the Canadian in neighbouring Carleton Place.
Expanding across eastern Ontario
A decade later I joined Performance Printing, the owner of several community newspapers in Lanark County and the Seaway Valley. I served as editor for those publications, then took on the role of managing editor in 2005 as the company worked to expand its footprint in eastern Ontario.
Over the next two years, it added community newspapers across the City of Ottawa, stretching west to Kingston and as far as Belleville and Quinte West. At its peak, I was managing editor for Performance’s 23 weekly papers. They had a combined circulation of more than 500,000, all printed at the company’s plant in Smiths Falls.
Performance was sold to Toronto-based Metroland, a division of Torstar, in the fall of 2011. With the industry facing significant headwinds, the eastern Ontario operation was scaled back in 2017.
After 35 years in the industry, my time with Metroland came to an end in September 2023. While this took some getting used to, it also opened the door to new opportunities, not the least of which has been working more closely with my wife in her business, Grassick Home Staging.
It’s also led me to this incredible position right in my own backyard. I could not be more thrilled.
True community paper
In hindsight, the signs were all there. After all, the editorial cartoonist lives next door, one of the Chronicle’s terrific photographers is across the street, a board member and a regular contributor resides three doors down. Even the community association president’s property backs on to ours. How could I not take this on?
Clearly, the Chronicle is a true community paper, one that involves so many talented people to produce each edition. For 75 years, it has served to inform and reflect this warm and vibrant community. I hope not only to maintain but to build on the level of excellence readers have come to expect, and I can’t wait to get started.
My door, so to speak, is always open and I welcome all questions, suggestions and criticisms. In the meantime, if you have a story or photo you would like to share, please feel free to reach out to me at: editor@manorparkchronicle.com.
Five fun facts about the new editor
1. I’m a sports fanatic. Hockey, football, the other football (soccer), baseball, tennis, golf, curling, you name it, I love it. So, if you happen to see a little more sports coverage in the Chronicle, you’ll know why.
2. I hate needles, but I am a blood donor, having rolled up my sleeve 52 times. If that’s something you’d like to do, visit blood.ca for more information.
3. I’m a dog person though I’m not anti-cat, far from it. (Just like I’m a Habs fan but I don’t not like the Senators). At my brother’s place the other day, his friendly feline Oxford was quite happy to snuggle up beside me on the couch (and purr so loudly, he was almost drowning out the TV).
4. I’ve (almost) become obsessed with getting my steps in. My goal per day when I started keeping track a few years ago was 5,000. But that’s climbed steadily over time after a competition at work that promoted doubling that count. As one might expect, some days are more successful than others.
5. Not surprising, perhaps, but I do enjoy reading. Murder mysteries, court dramas, anything that helps transport me to another world and pretend I’m someone I’m not. Despite my family’s wish to see me expand my horizons, I can’t get enough of John Grisham, Louise Penny, David Baldacci, Clive Cussler (originals), etc.
If you have a story or photo you would like to share, please feel free to reach out to Manor Park Chronicle Editor Ryland Coyne editor@manorparkchronicle.com.