Geraldton local Zoe Parasiliti explains why local news is important to her and took a reader survey to win

Zoe Parasiliti’s regular routine is to wake up at 5am, walk to her local service station, order a coffee and grab the latest copy of the Geraldton Guardian.

“It’s the first thing I’ll read in the morning,” she said.

There are few things the 35-year-old enjoys more than finding a local feel-good news story with a photograph of someone she knows. But, most importantly, she wants to know the latest news, what’s happening with upgrades to the city’s facilities and where government funding is or isn’t being spent.

“I like to keep up-to-date about what’s happening with the hospital upgrades. That’s something that’s been going on for so long and COVID was the blame,” she said.

Ms Parasiliti said working from home made it difficult to stay informed in the community. Working in marketing for a law firm, she said it was crucial to keep up-to-date with the latest court sentencings.

“The Guardian keeps me updated with court hearings in town,” she said.

“Because I work from home for a law firm, it’s helpful to know the crime that’s going on and the outcomes in court.”

When she hears print media is dying, she thinks the opposite. Ms Parasiliti said she trusts the newspaper most, because she knows there’s a dedicated team behind fact-checking and ensuring accuracy for print. Other than The West-affiliated digital editions, she is wary of many other online news sources.

“I don’t know if you can trust online sources as much,” she said.

While our print and digital platforms connect our community, the Geraldton Guardian is offering our readers the chance to connect with us.

Readers have the chance to win one of 10 $100 prepaid Mastercards, simply for telling us what you love most about their local newspapers and what they want to see more of in our Regional Reader Survey. Ms Parasiliti took the survey to provide feedback of what she wants in her local newspaper.

To go into the draw to win a bit of extra spending money, visit regionalreader.com.au and take part in the survey.