Our biggest competitor just shut down and we’re devastated

On Oct. 25, the last edition of Kamloops This Week will be printed and one of the main news organizations servicing the region and city will cease to exist. The negative effect this will have on readers, journalism and civic engagement is hard to overstate, and unfortunately has echoes of the last major news outlet closure, when the Kamloops Daily News shut in 2014. 

Personally, this is hard to witness. I know and respect many of the journalists and their award winning work, and as a fellow publisher, I can only imagine the late nights and internal wrestling that went into this decision. I’m grateful for the organization’s transparency, as well as for all the farewell and honorary messages capturing the importance and impact of KTW 

Some of you have reached out wondering if this is a win for us as a “competing” outlet. It is not. We’re all in the journalism business because we believe in the importance of this essential community service. The more journalism a community can sustain, the healthier the local democracy. 

What I’d like us to consider is how we talk about this closure and what individuals can do. The loss of another local paper is beyond upsetting for those who care and believe in the importance of local news. And while it does seem like we’re facing a crisis, this ongoing refrain is actually unhelpful to the overall picture. 

The stories we tell ourselves about local news are powerful. Most industry thinking reinforces this crisis narrative, including current federal reporting and policies. Many conversations in this country are focused around “saving the news” and reviving the legacy news industry, which has been proven to be extremely resistant to innovation. Research tells us the types of journalism solutions that are often spoken of are the ones that actually get implemented, so there’s a strong reason why most of our collective efforts have been around saving the old, as opposed to fostering something new. 

That “something new” refers to the  270 Canadian independent local news businesses that are actively working to fill the expanding gaps in our local information systems, many by embracing digital technology and new ways of funding journalism. You may be shocked by that number, as we tend to focus on the declining trends. However, the latest count shows the majority of independent local news businesses have been founded in the last 10 years, with B.C. having the highest proportion of new publications. 

Imagine the power of flipping the script, and spending our time and energy having our national conversations about these outlets, and their real impact in communities?

This is something I try to do every day, whether it’s through my work growing The Wren, Kamloops’ newest independent journalism outlet, or as co-chair of Press Forward, representing the collective voice of Canada’s growing independent news outlets. 

This isn’t always easy, and I’ll be the first to tell you that The Wren hasn’t seen the growth and financial support we anticipated when we launched just over a year ago. A significant amount of my recent time has been spent mitigating the damage around Bill C-18, which is a piece of legislation most independent publishers didn’t ask for, and who have been fighting to have their concerns addressed over the last two years. But we’ve also had some real wins — like supporting Dionne Phillips in covering Secwepemcúl’ecw — that show real change and solutions are possible in our industry.

While the closure of KTW demands time for reflection and grief, the most powerful thing you can do going forward is to help shift the narrative: Local news has a future, and innovative solutions are underway. We don’t need to be saved. We need to collectively rally behind the local news services we value. 

With your financial support — individual readers pitching in monthly alongside business and community sponsors — I know we can help ensure Kamloopians still have access to information they need to be active and engaged residents.