BarrieToday has added another veteran reporter to its growing news team.
Starting today and with almost 20 years under her belt, Nikki Cole will be covering a wide variety of stories in the city, but her main focus will be areas such as addiction, poverty, affordable housing, health care and the opioid crisis, to name just a few.
"My strength has always been in building real relationships with the people in both my personal and professional lives, as well as creating and maintaining an important level of trust," said the mother of two young girls. "I also think my abilities as a storyteller will help bring a new layer to the newsroom.
"I believe everybody has a unique and interesting story that goes beyond what you see on the surface — whether they believe it or not — and I love to help them discover those," she added.
BarrieToday community editor Raymond Bowe says Cole will be a perfect fit to augment the existing newsroom staff.
"She not only brings several years of experience to our stable of veteran reporters, but her role covering those areas of society is very much needed right now," he said. "I'm very confident she will be able to bring out some of those stories that need to be told by shining more light on under-reported areas."
After a short time away from the news business, Cole says she's eager to get back to doing what she loves.
"I’ve missed having a connection to what’s happening in my community," she said. "I am excited to get reacquainted with the people, organizations and issues that are near and dear to the hearts of everyone who lives here. I’ve missed telling people’s stories, and am really excited to get to do that once again."
Cole says she's excited to work with a news team again, while also getting to know what makes the city and its people tick.
"I am hoping to bring readers a feeling of connection to the stories, issues and the people that make up their community," she said. "The last year has left us all extremely isolated, so I really want to find a way to bring back a sense of pride and community — albeit virtually for now — through the stories I write."
Cole brings ample experience to the job.
She studied at Niagara College and graduated from its print journalism program in 2002. In 2003, she obtained a post-graduate certificate in corporate communications from Fanshawe College before heading to the other side of the Rockies where she started her career in community news at Houston Today and Smithers Interior News in northern British Columbia.
Cole returned to Ontario in early 2006 and ended up back in her hometown of Pickering, having landed a job as a features writer/assistant editor for East of the City, Durham Parent and Durham Trade and Commerce magazines.
In the fall of 2007, she moved to Midland, where she was a reporter at The Mirror until 2017, at which point she decided to take on a part-time contract as a communications co-ordinator at Georgian Bay General Hospital. This move allowed her to focus more time and energy on her new family.
In February 2020, Cole joined Dockside Publishing, which she says was a great opportunity to combine her love of the cottage life and the lake with her writing.
"I am typically happiest when sitting on the dock at the cottage with a book and watching my girls play on the beach," she said.
