Should Winnipeg Have More Non-Profit News Sources?

 

In 2020, the rules changed in CRA to allow for non-profits to be a journalism provider. Only eight organizations, including the environmental news provider The Narwhal, have done so. What does this do? This means the non-profit pays no taxes to provide news. None. They can issue donation receipts for gifts and can receive Canadian foundation support with less snags. 

The Winnipeg Foundation, The Winnipeg Free Press and the non-profit digital media site Narwhal are among the first to work together. One journalist is paid to write environmental stories for Manitoba for a three year term that appears in the Free Press and the Narwhal. The reporter is identified in their byline as to their position and focus area. It is unknown what the independence of the editorial policy is but I assume that it supports the mandate of both Free Press, Narwhal and Winnipeg Foundation for local journalism initiatives.

Manitoba is no different than many other areas of the country in that it has lost local news outlets outright. Winnipeg is luckier than other places in that there are print, radio and TV options although the cuts to CTV have meant fewer later night, weekend and holiday options. There are more digital options and podcasts out there but many private broadcasters are looking to get out of news altogether.

Social media can be a source of local news but it is difficult to sift through. It can lead you to the newest ice cream shop but it is not necessarily going to give more in depth reports about the state of the restaurant business locally. That is where someone who makes a living writing and covering news can do that. Influencers in Canada often don't get any money but they may get considerations from the places they cover. This can represent a conflict of interest for some, especially if not disclosed or if they don't have independent editorial policy.

Given how many for profit news sites have closed and how local journalism and withered in so many communities, the non-profit option might offer hope for those communities to support local media. The aspect of no tax and no dividend to shareholders is an attractive one. It means money is poured back into the local news product. 

There has been some very interesting developments in non-profits in the U.S. In Maine, a number of dailies and weeklies have now come under the umbrella of a non-profit. They will no longer have private owners or pay profit in the form of dividends to those owners. The non-profit will be supported by donations and subscriptions. Advertising is still accepted but the dependence on it as the basis of success is no longer as important.

MinnPost is very much a newspaper. Minneapolis-St. Paul has two dailies which makes it luckier than a lot of cities. But they have always been twin cities and doing things twice. Minnesota also has a very active National Public Radio group of stations, Twin Cities PBS and major newsrooms from the four affiliates of ABC, CBS. FOX and NBC. It is an embarrassment of riches that is only added to by having MinnPost.

MinnPost is a non-profit and manages to cover quite a lot of material with no firewall on the material. The donations it receives and the readership it has clearly indicate that Minnesota is very much interested in more journalism, not less. The fact that they include all Minnesota in their coverage is an indication that they look beyond just Minneapolis-St. Paul. 

It is too late for communities like Selkirk, Altona and Winkler who have lost their newspapers when PostMedia closed them. There wasn't even an attempt to sell them or let a non-profit takeover. We have seen then same type of closures on radio stations recently. In many cases, it isn't a question of some of these areas losing population. It is just profit margins are not there to the satisfaction of an out of province owner.

Does Manitoba need a non-profit for local coverage on a provincial level? If you ask Selkirk, Altona and Winkler, the answer is probably yes. But what does that look like? Well, it likely has no physical address aside from a P.O.  Box. No need of printers. It probably has to have some seed money as did MinnPost. Four families put up the initial money. Once set up as a non-profit, they can accept money from Foundations. A membership drive comes along the way at some point. MinnPost has 5000 members or so each year.

Is it possible that people in Manitoba could do this? I suspect they could but that it would need leadership from journalists, a former publisher or two and some initial seed money to get off the ground. I know I'd support it.