On this edition of the NB Update, we look at some of the challenges facing local journalism.
That was the focus of the Local News Matters symposium, a one-day event that took place recently at Mount Allison University in Sackville.
Data from the past 15 years shows that communities across Canada are losing their local journalism outlets faster than new ones are starting up, especially in poorer and smaller communities.
"At least 239 communities have experienced net losses, so more have closed than opened, and only 76 places across the country have experienced a net gain," said April Lindgren, a professor in the school of journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University, during her keynote address.
She added that in places where local outlets continue to operate, cutbacks are causing newsrooms to shrink. "The blight is spreading."
Massive changes that have accompanied the rise of the internet have made it harder for news outlets to stay in business while social media leaves people exposed to rumours, misinformation, and propaganda.
That's a problem, especially now that Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — has blocked people from sharing links to news websites on those platforms in Canada.
Against this grim backdrop, people at the event shared ideas about how to keep local journalism alive. The NB Media Co-op livestreamed the keynote speech and panels from the event.
This extended edition of the NB Update features highlights from the event, including perspectives from co-organizer Erica Butler, news director at CHMA; journalist Bruce Wark of the Wark Times; Ariana Hislop and Jaya Condran, editors from Mount Allison's student newspaper, The Argosy; and student journalist Aiden Rayner of the Saint Croix Courier.
The NB Update is a collaboration between the NB Media Co-op and CHCO TV.
This reporting has been made possible in part by the Government of Canada, administered by the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS).
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