who are we?
ink-stainedwretches.org is a grassroots volunteer advocacy group dedicated to building a culture of appreciation for quality journalism. The group was founded in early 2020 by a scrum of former Waterloo Region Record newsroom staffers.
In part, we formed out of frustration. For years we lamented the decline of journalism and felt helpless to do anything about it.
But while the situation has been getting worse for some time, and even more acute during the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a big reason to be encouraged: We — ink-stained wretches, whether currently employed or alumni — formed a huge pool of skilled communicators. And our potential to effect positive change seemed enormous!
So we set aside our frustration and decided to act.
We launched campaigns to promote journalism. Please see details on our CAMPAIGNS page.
We continue to call on our colleagues in the news business — no matter in which capacity you work(ed) or whether you work(ed) in newspapers, broadcast or for exclusively online news outlets — to help ensure our communities continue to receive reliable news now and for generations to come.
Note: We don't want your money...we want your participation!
Show your support however you choose: It can be something as simple as retweeting @InkStainedCamp tweets and tagging your local elected leaders. Check our RESOURCES page for more suggestions.
We’re not waxing nostalgic about a Golden Age of newspapers. We’re clear-eyed on the fact that journalism has always evolved and will continue to evolve. And we’re doing what we can to ensure the evolution is a positive one.
Please join us.
Contact: ink.stained.campaign@gmail.com
Mirko Petricevic, chief ink-stigator. Reporter, photographer, copy editor (1986-2014)
Christian Aagaard, reporter, columnist, deputy city editor (1990-2012)
Richard Brennan, political reporter, city editor
David Cooke, MPP, Kitchener, (1985-1990)
Chuck Howitt, reporter, copy editor, assistant city editor (1979-2013)
(Rev.) John Lougheed, Waterloo Region and Saugeen Shores.
Eugene McCarthy, reporter (1959-2002) RIP
Carolyn McLeod-McCarthy, editorial graphic artist (1991-2012)
Cathy Miehm, online editor and copy editor (1997-2016)
Tom Nunn, business reporter (1984-1998)
Dave Pink, reporter, opinion and sports editor (1989-2012)
Robert Reid, arts reporter (1986-2015)
Barry Ries, reporter (1980-1994)
John (Jack) Simpson, freelance