There is possibly no more maligned part of any newspaper, especially among those who work in journalism, than the streeter.

For those who arenSA国际影视传媒檛 familiar, streeters are what appear on page 9 of every edition of WednesdaySA国际影视传媒檚 Yellowknifer. Our reporter Emelie Peacock goes out to find six people willing to answer a question such as, SA国际影视传媒淲hat is your favourite Canadian book?SA国际影视传媒� or SA国际影视传媒淲hat is the best thing youSA国际影视传媒檝e ever found at a garage sale?SA国际影视传媒� Sometimes the questions are topical, sometimes they are frivolous.

Maybe itSA国际影视传媒檚 because the work itself can be challenging and a bit undignified -- standing on a street corner, looking for passerby willing to lend their name and face to the answer of some idle question. Maybe itSA国际影视传媒檚 because the result usually isnSA国际影视传媒檛 important, society changing, award winning in any way -- streeters are fairly inconsequential work, at least in comparison to breaking or investigative news.

Probably the most infamous streeter to ever come from a Northern News Services paper was printed in a August 2015 edition of Nunavut News/North. The question was, SA国际影视传媒淔irefighters in training, what attracted you to firefighting?SA国际影视传媒�

Gary Tinashlu very honestly answered, SA国际影视传媒淲hen I was a child I burned down a few houses and that made me interested in learning about fire services.SA国际影视传媒�

This answer has made the rounds on social media more than once, and why not? It really is good to see Gary has transformed his childhood pyromania into a constructive career.

Sometimes Yellowknifer will collect streeters to gauge public opinion about headline stories. In September 2015, it was the eve of the citySA国际影视传媒檚 vote on whether to purchase the 50/50 lot downtown. One of my first assignments at Yellowknifer -- on top of covering the municipal services committee debate and consequent vote on the issue -- was to get a streeter of whether or not the city should make the purchase. The streeter never ran but the exercise of hanging out downtown chatting with people about the issue contributed to my reporting and helped me get a better sense of what the community felt.

Going through the Yellowknifer archives last week, I found a couple streeters from a 1974 edition of that paper that garnered what Northerners thought southerners knew about the North, and in the next edition, reflected a few actual southern views back up to the city.

In the Feb. 21, 1974 edition of the paper, Yellowknifer asked, SA国际影视传媒淲hat do you think southerners know about the NWT?SA国际影视传媒�

Pat Balsillie answered, SA国际影视传媒淪eventy-five per cent of them donSA国际影视传媒檛 even know where it is.SA国际影视传媒�

Wanda Anderson didnSA国际影视传媒檛 have much more faith: SA国际影视传媒淣othing. There isnSA国际影视传媒檛 enough information distributed in the south.SA国际影视传媒�

Patty McKim offered a similar opinion: SA国际影视传媒淣othing. They still think weSA国际影视传媒檙e part of the Yukon.SA国际影视传媒�

(As an aside, I have found many southern Canadians assume ISA国际影视传媒檓 in the Yukon when I say I live in Yellowknife.)

A couple weeks later, former Yellowknifer reporter Bill Braden took some time to ask people what they knew about Yellowknife while on a visit to his hometown of Rosthern, Sask.

The answers were interesting.

Russell Kenney said heSA国际影视传媒檇 actually been to Yellowknife himself once: SA国际影视传媒淪aw the beer parlour,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淚t seemed to be doing a good business.SA国际影视传媒�

Peter Dereverzoff expressed curiosity about the North: SA国际影视传媒淚SA国际影视传媒檇 like to know more about the place,SA国际影视传媒� he said. SA国际影视传媒淎nd visit it.SA国际影视传媒�

Chas Fast acknowledged the North was, at the time, starting to capture the imaginations of southerners: SA国际影视传媒淚tSA国际影视传媒檚 the coming thing, the Northern part of Canada. Everybody seems to be going North.SA国际影视传媒�

This pair of streeters are interesting because they show a stark contrast between what Northerners think of their southern counterparts and what is actually the case, at least as evidenced by this tiny sample size out of Saskatchewan.

The role of a newspaper goes much, much further than what a streeter provides SA国际影视传媒� basically an unscientific poll of opinions on topics big and small. But streeters do perform an important function -- they give reporters a chance to chat with people on the street about issues of the day. ItSA国际影视传媒檚 an important exercise, if admittedly a bit frustrating, depending on how many people are game to chat.

They also give the average citizen the chance to sound off on these issues, if they are in the right place at the right time. Once in print, streeters give readers the chance to know their fellow community members, whether through learning their favourite books or how they feel about community issues.