Huddle’s Team is Growing (Again)
Huddle is pleased to introduce you to our new editor, Mark Leger.
Mark is a journalism pro who has had a successful career working in both traditional and new media in New Brunswick and beyond.
We sat down with him so you can get to know him better and where he plans to take Huddle.
1) What brought you to Huddle?
Now that I’ve joined Huddle, I can say I’ve been involved in three start-up media companies in Saint John. This is exciting for me because I’m a journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit.
I love the process of launching a media outlet and helping it grow and become sustainable over time. Even though Huddle has been publishing great stories for nearly two years now, it’s still very much in the startup phase – finding its personality and place in the province’s media landscape. It has a great team in place and a great product, and I’m inspired by the opportunity to help take it to the next level.
2) Can you tell us a bit about your career in journalism so far?
I’ve been a journalist for more than 20 years now, beginning with a four-year stint as a reporter and editor at the Telegraph-Journal in 1996. I left the TJ in 2000 to become part of a team of people starting here newspaper, a weekly that we owned and operated until it was sold to Brunswick news in 2004. I caught the startup bug there and never got rid of it, even though I did many things before I joined my next startup, Civilized, in 2015.
In the intervening years, I worked as a producer and reporter with CBC Radio in Fredericton and Saint John. I taught journalism courses at St. Thomas University. I also contributed freelance stories to regional business magazines and The Globe and Mail’s small business section online. I then helped launch Civilized in the fall of 2015 and stayed there until I joined Huddle this week. You could say I’m the type of person with a need for constant change and new experiences, or you might say I have a short attention span!
3) What are your plans for the Huddle website?
I want Huddle to reflect the diversity and vitality of the entrepreneurial community in New Brunswick. I also want us to explore the issues that concern not just the job creators and wealth creators, but also the broader population of people who live and work here. Economic growth and activity is the foundation for so much – our jobs, our social programs, our arts and culture scene, and education programs. We all have a stake in growing the region, so I’d like Huddle to be a place for everyone to learn and have a conversation about its economic future.
4) What kinds of stories do you plan to have Huddle cover?
Huddle will continue to cover the province’s success stories – the entrepreneurs creating the companies with innovative products and good jobs that people find rewarding and pay well. We will cover stories about companies big and small, privately held and publically traded, and companies in a variety of sectors – manufacturing, energy, technology, tourism and culture, to name a few. We will also be exploring the underlying issues that limit growth and development in the province – things like skilled labour and access to capital, urban development, and access to energy supplies.
5) What role do you think Huddle plays in the community?
The word “huddle” makes me think of football players gathered in a circle figuring what play will get them down the field to the goal line – an appropriate metaphor for a media outlet engaging people in a conversation about entrepreneurial developments that will chart the future course of the province. We’re all trying to get down the field toward the goal line, and media outlets like Huddle are playing a critical role in facilitating the conversation and collaboration that gets us there.