Aidan Curtis
WHAT started as “a bit of fun” has stretched into a decade of shining a spotlight on good things in the community.
Social media news service Limestone Coast Community News will soon be celebrating its tenth anniversary, and community journalist Josh Lynagh said it has been quite a ride since he started the page.
“I didn’t think much of it, I thought for a bit of fun I would create a page and see how it goes,“ he said.
“Initially, it was not being taken seriously by people, I never put myself out there as a journalist, I wasn’t in there in court taking photos of people or going to events.
“Over time, I started to do things a little more formally and it’s been quite rewarding being able to talk with people, interview people and promote what the Limestone Coast is about.”
Mr Lynagh said even though it has not always been easy over the last 10 years, he feels he has gained a lot from highlighting community stories.
“I get a lot out of that, having that space and hearing what people are talking about and how they feel about things in the community,” he said.
“In specific situations, I think when some of the fundraising that’s happened, when we’ve set up a GoFundMe and raised tens of thousands of dollars for families, or raising money for local charities, they have been quite rewarding.”
One of the more important things to Mr Lynagh was providing the community a forum where they could share what was great about the region, and he said there was a lot of positive feedback from that.
“People appreciate that it’s there and it’s a forum to discuss things,” he said.
“Majority of the time, [the community response is] positive.”
Mr Lynagh said he has also loved building a rapport with people working in regional media, as everyone has the same goal of keeping the community informed.
“It’s never been my intention to step on anybody’s toes and I made that clear from the start,” he said.
“The Border Watch has always been one of the sources where I get information from and then share, and I think it’s good to promote what The Border Watch does.
“It’s been good, particularly over the last couple of years, working with other people in the media and building those relationships.”
While he does not know exactly what the future holds, Mr Lynagh said he looks forward to continuing to run Limestone Coast Community News for years to come.
