Clay Young to Report From Winnipeg Sun

Clay Young has been reporting and working as an anchor since the 1990s. MTN's (now CityTV) saw the beginning of Young's work. The station, originating in Portage la Prairie, was to serve rural Manitoba but reached into Winnipeg to serve as the fourth station. Like CKND (now Global), it served up lots of local news and weather. Young was among those local staff. Arriving in the province after print and TV experiences in other communities, his news voice was distinctive and the anchor desk beckoned. 

The 1980s and 1990s was a bit of a heyday for Winnipeg media. While specific examples of awfulness are there such as the Winnipeg Tribune, you had newsrooms in two print papers, multiple radio station and four local TV stations. It was a competitive market and the press gallery for political office was filled and columnists covering everything from sports to politics as part of the civic discussion.

In 2026, we have seen newsrooms get smaller and smaller. Most radio stations don't have any except someone reading something gleaned from other source. Even traffic reports are usually outsourced. Clay Young seems to get shunted around in these reductions of weekend news or evening news after several years in place from MT to CTV to Global. And now breakfast TV is dumping people so he likely had a choice of between retirement or part-time work.

He chose work at the Winnipeg Sun. This has been coordinated with the two month campaign for mayor by owner and publisher Kevin Klein. In fact, Young's first scoop was an interview with Klein about the election. It will be interesting to see who and what Young covers as a contributor. There are a few reporters for news and sports anymore. The newspaper once had 45 reporters in the good old days. A lot of staff in printing, administration and distribution as well. It is down to handful now.

The ad supported newspaper is a thing of the past. I have described how newspapers like the New York Times support journalist in the 1,200 range but they try to have area where they can make money. Hence, they bought Wordle. The created The Athletic which even has a reporter in Winnipeg covering the Jets (although they used to have two). Now, Winnipeg is not the New York Times but finding ways to earn income has to be a priority. 

There is no doubt that AI is Hoovering up all data and often not paying for it to create content. The big tech companies are getting rich on peoples news, music, TV and movies and not paying. The Sun has taken the position that they won't take money from government. Copyright is government. It is something they seem to believe or they would produce their product for free. They need more people covering news to counterbalance opinion. All news does. While hiring Young helps bring a reporter on board, the Sun needs to stop thinking that government acting on antitrust is bad. Antitrust is what brought lower phone prices and affordable airplane travel.

Congrats to Clay Young. Hope he can produce interesting material for a newspaper that was seriously near shutting down. I think local news can recover with a new funding formula. It can't be AI creating slop they call news for our region. It needs people who produce original work.

This post has not been created with any AI.

Kevin Klein Makes Second Run For Mayor

In the last civic election for an open seat for mayor, the race attracted a number of politicians with experience to the job, including present Mayor Scott Gillingham who had been a long time councillor in Winnipeg. That was 2022. One of the candidates to run back then was former city councillor, former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein. 

Fresh off a loss from the defeat that swept nearly every PC from the city of Winnipeg with Wab Kinew's majority victory, he probably thought his record in city and provincial politics would be welcome in city hall as a counter other governments. He finished third. Glen Murray, the former mayor of Winnipeg and provincial politician in Ontario finished second. 

Party politics affiliation is not a thing. The NDP used to run way back with somewhat of a banner but most people in the city don't want it. That is not to say that political leanings are not relevant. While there have been left wing politicians elected to council, there has never really been a full left wing mayor. Over the decades the mayors job has been won by supporters of Liberals and Progressive Conservatives. So not surprisingly, the 2022 election had two conservatives and one liberal at the top and one progressive trailing.

The mayors race attracts perennial candidates. Some of the people seem to be there to pump their tires every four years. They don't seem to run for other elected offices...only the mayor's office will do. There is nothing wrong with that. Nick Ternette used to run as a protest candidate but he also was an activist in every living moment of his life. Being active in politics every four years is not generally going to get you into office.

There are some people who live very public lives in business, community and politics. It isn't a recipe for electoral success but is a good basis for an electoral run. On this account, Kevin Klein has stayed in the public eye. Following the election, he purchased the Winnipeg Sun and two other newspapers from PostMedia when certainly they would have been closed by that American owned company. To that end, I commend him.

I have written how important local ownership is for media and what is good about the Sun and what is bad. I have repeatedly said how important sports is to the heart of the community. It is a unifier in a way that few things are. If you cover the Jets and Bombers independently, you will find an audience. The Sun also has a local journalism initiative reporter to cover local news. That's the Trudeau program for reporters which might be a good question for Klein running. 

Klein has gathered pretty much every conservative in Manitoba for his editorial content. It is his paper, his ink so he can do what he wants with his paper. But it will generate interest in how he would be as mayor with Wab Kinew as premier and Mark Carney as prime minister. He has advocated for deals with the U.S. on trade but what does he bring to the table with inter-governmental relationships? The big question will be on business. When Michael Bloomberg ran for mayor and won in New York, he put his substantial business in a blind trust.

In interviews, Klein has said he waited to announce because he was assessing a health care issue. Having determined it would not impede, he announced his candidacy. This may come up as an issue again. He would not be the first elected official to die in office who may have had underlying health issues. One councillor passed away since the last election. His health condition prior was a mystery.

The strength of incumbency cannot be denied. The last mayor to be defeated in office was in 1956 when Winnipeg was not nearly as big nor covered areas such as St. Boniface, St. James and Transcona. Mayor races are largely decided in heavier turnout areas like River Heights. They tend to like their candidates moderate. Probably doesn't make PCs or NDP very happy.

It will be quite the campaign to convince voters in places like River Heights who to vote for in the next election. However, they probably won't go for a firebrand of either the right or the left.

The Winnipeg Sun Goes Sun-Tribune on Sundays 2026

The Klein ownership of Winnipeg Sun begins its second year. Along with the Sun, the group took over Portage la Prairie and Kenora's papers as well. Postmedia was in the midst of a sell-off and without a sale, it was likely the papers would have been shut down. The paper have moved to it's own distinctive look so that it not confused with the rest of the Sun newspapers across Canada. A broadsheet format was used and a different logo and font was the standard. A tabloid section was still used for sports which meant for an odd fitting print paper. The website was redesigned and updated again with better firewalls. The Sun and National Post have remained a primary source for national news, sports and opinion. I have not seen a move to Canadian Press and it's ally Associated Press wire service being used.

The Sun has been stripped down as much as possible. There are few ads in the actual paper. They have added columnists on a column by column basis and lean heavily right wing. I believe they have one news writer and one sports writer now. Kevin Klein and his wife Heather contribute the bulk of the content. This is on par for what many newspapers are in Canada. They rely on fewer and fewer people, Even now, companies like Corus continue to lay off news staff. This week alone in Winnipeg give news staff left go. If print, TV and radio continue to let go staff, information is likely only going to come from individuals from foreign-owned social media.

Since the June 1 weekend or so, the Sunday Sun is calling itself the Winnipeg Sun-Tribune. It is only for that day of the week. The format is about a 25 page tabloid. Klein mentioned the Tribune name came from the tribunes of Rome and suggested powerful advocacy and speaker against the powerful. There is no mention of the Winnipeg Tribune which many of the original 1980 Sun writers and press people migrated from when it was closed that same year. The Free Press bought the Tribune name so not mentioning the Winnipeg Tribune might be a legal defense.

The grand old days of the Winnipeg Sun by the late 1980s and into 1990s was that the Sunday Sun could number 120 pages and had oodles of news, sports and entertainment. The days of a print catalogue that big might be over but a full digital world is being pushed back in meaningful ways. Bookstores and buying books are making a comeback. A book id still an easier format for many to read that yet another screen. Likewise, records are making a comeback. New and used record stores are all over Winnipeg and even at the beach. As people retire, they are chafing at the sound of digital and buying records again.

There is room for a Winnipeg Sun-Tribune in print and digital. Certainly the days of a 120 pages newspaper is over but digital is not interested in small business in the same way radio and newspapers can be. Not everything is best supplied by Amazon. It is not entirely clear that a newspaper of political columns will break through. A newspaper need sports, news and entertainment as well. However, I won't criticize the business plan if it is working.

Conservative media in Canada is in a tizzy though. They are feeding on one another far more than they feed on Liberals ad NDP. Even in Manitoba, the conservative media is not exactly banging the drum for the PCs. I will continue to consume the media all over Manitoba but performative opinion pieces are boring. And campaign speeches over and over from prospective candidates are not exactly earthshattering. It is still early days though.

Newspapers here are routinely datamined by artificial intelligence and not being paid for it. It hurts the Free Press. It hurts the Sun. Intellectual property has to be protected and we are not doing that. The Sun should stay original but if they want a target, go after the digital media that is beggaring them.

Sun Publisher Meets U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra

Heather Klein, Pete Hoekstra and Kevin Klein attend 4th of July party at Ambassador's residence 2026.

In an opinion piece Kevin Klein says he accepted an invitation from U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra for the Independence Day ceremony at the ambassador's residence in Ottawa. Around 200 people were there, including Convoy leader, Tamara Lich. A fly by of CF-18s and F-35s took place.

Klein says the mainstream media makes out the Hoekstra is making a villain of the ambassador. He says he is a hard working diplomat and Carney is to blame. This puts Klein on far opposite of his own Conservative operators who are livid with the gaslighting by Hoekstra on the Gordie Howe Bridge when he said Canada has not really paid for it. Many Stephen Harper officials who were in the room are thoroughly disgusted. Not one of them blamed Carney for this as this a shakedown 101.

Now Klein has managed to save the Winnipeg Sun and other newspapers from certain closure and has a right to publish whatever he wants. It is right to believe that if only there was a Conservative in power, all would be well over the last 10 years and we'd never have a trade issue with the U.S. or Trump. He can believe that but no county has been unscathed in Trump's second administration. The only safety we've had in a trade agreement signed when Justin Trudeau was prime minister. 

Klein said he asked many of the 250 business leaders in attendance and they said Carney doesn't engage them. He said Hoekstra engaged them. Of the under 1000 in attendance, there are certain to be a number of businesses that are not happy with Carney. Conservatives should keep in mind that these past 4th parties used to attract 4000 people. Many businesses felt they could do better attending the Calgary Stampede. So did many politicians. Some are so furious about the bridge in Ontario, they hold Hoekstra accountable directly. The former Michigan Congressman received donations from the Ambassador Bridge owners and there seems to be a direct link to closure of the Gordie Howe Bridge.

Now Klein accepting the invitation to the party could be explained as seeking information on a major issue. But where is the accountability? Does Klein contend that it is all Carney's fault that there is no deal and the bridge is closed? It seems that is what his newspaper claims every day. The Sun writers seem to think that all we do is irritate the U.S. and it would be so easy to get a deal. 

Canadian irritation right back is not merely driven by media in Canada. It is actually greater than the Carney government. People in the country recognize the bullying and even some of the biggest conservatives are fighting mad. For some other Conservatives, they are far more supportive of Trump and even like his kind of politics. There is a fair movement in Canada that are not just separatists but angling for 51st state status.

Conservative media will have to dance on the head of a pin with separation in next months. They would continue to to like to berate the federal government. In many cases they are upset with conservatives elsewhere too. In Manitoba, that is translating into a new party. Since one of the owners Wally Daudrich is running in The Pas for the Keystone Party. It remains to be see whether The Sun endorses him and the party.

Pete Hoekstra is not helpful navigating the next moves Canada will take. He mirrors what Trump says gaslights us when we bristle at being told we need to be 51st state. The gaslighting continues when we are told we didn't pay for the Gordie Howe Bridge. Conservative media agreeing it is all the Liberals fault and Carney in particular only beggars disbelief and raises Carney's popularity. 

I appreciate Klein's purchase of The Sun. We need two newspapers in this town. They don't have to be identical. It is better that they aren't. But we need Team Canada when it comes to the U.S. whether in sport or politics. There is nothing wrong with going to the ambassador's fete. Coming out of it and saying he is doing yeoman's work and he is listening while Carney isn't is not helpful. What might have been helpful is finding out what truly was holding up the bridge opening. Do we really have to give envelopes of cash to the main players? Is it a warning we need to capitulate on everything, accept tariffs, the end of dairy, egg, chicken and cheese industry, our auto industry, buy only American equipment for military, join the U.S. in a fight in Iran, end newspaper and cultural supports, get approval for anyone we trade with, send oil only to the U.S. at a discount and any other things that might result in a deal that Trump changes month to month? This is the work of a diplomat? And this is all Carney's fault?

The End of Hockey Night in Canada 2026

The renewal of the very lengthy 12 year Rogers NHL contract should have been a clue. Some of the changes were already announced such as Amazon Prime games as well as more Netflix games. Television came to Canada in 1952 and that is when CBC began to broadcast it on Saturdays. Foster Hewitt led the TV broadcast from that year until 1965. It was familiar territory for him as he had been the national radio broadcaster for hockey since 1931. From 1952 to 1965 CBC TV and CBC radio simulcast Hockey Night in Canada.

Everything about hockey broadcasting was as a result of the CBC and it went on to become the most watched sport on a weekly basis across Canada. Alas, the profitability of it made it more difficult for CBC to keep bidding on it and winning. They could have possibly had a partnership and retained some rights but dropped the puck on that. Rogers took control in 2014 and only used the CBC network for its coast to coast broadcast reach as well its talent.

As of June 16, the CBC will not host any NHL hockey on Saturday as Rogers brings it all in house. Both sides, Sportsnet and CBC, jointly announced the end of the arrangement. Neither side as really indicated what comes next aside from the name will change for Rogers broadcasts on Saturday on CityTV, Sportsnet channels and streaming partners like Netflix and Amazon Prime. It will likely cost more to see hockey each year as more things move to streaming.

In the early part of my life, Hockey Night in Canada was on a bit too late for me. By 1968, they were on at 7 in Winnipeg on Wednesdays on CTV and Saturdays on CBC. The French channel broadcast every Montreal Canadiens game Saturday so if, by chance, the Canadiens were not on CBC, the switch was made to French. The Canadiens were on a lot though because they were a winning team with the best players. By 1975 CTV was no longer doing weekday games but individual channels were. Winnipeg was not one of them. Our family only got cable and a colour TV by 1971.

There was only one game a night Saturday even though Vancouver Canucks joined in 1970. Back to back games only happened occasionally when Wayne Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles Kings in 1988. After, when a Canadian team was in LA, CBC made time for a back to back game. It was in 1994 that back to back games became the staple of Hockey Night in Canada's Saturday. It was no doubt because of the frustration in much of Canada that the Toronto Maple Leafs were locked into Saturday night, every night, despite the lack of a winning record.

Winnipeg, Edmonton and Calgary all came on broad the NHL from 1979 to 1980, the most any western team could hope for was many one or two games on HNIC. This is where the regional broadcasts by CTV and CKND became very important. Many fans of the Winnipeg Jets came to believe there was a curse playing on Hockey Night in Canada and still do. We often performed poorly.

Prior to 1979 though, it was possible to be a fan of the WHA Jets as well a team in the NHL. And there were plenty of those. My dad was originally from Montreal so the Canadiens were a favourite and the fact they were a very winning team meant I liked them a lot. The first NHL game for the Jets versus Canadiens, everyone wore tuxedos and ball gowns. It felt like a royal affair.

To get NHL hockey for the 2027-2027 season, Canadians will have to have pay for a cable or streaming subscription. CBC was free for everyone. It is hard to get regular season viewer numbers but Hockey Night in Canada likely got a base of 500,000 people for the first game of the night and rose higher according to who was playing the Leafs. In the playoffs, Canadian matches could bring in 5 million viewers in Canada alone if a Canadian team was playing.

This was the best year for NHL ratings for playoffs in many years. Live television is still something that can attract eyeballs but the new Rogers contract is more than double the last contract. A licence agreement on CBC is not enough money and certainly more than CBC was willing to pay when it doesn't get any ad revenue from broadcasting it. The grand bargain was that CBC was able to provide studio and labour resources. Rogers took that all in house three years ago. So, coming this fall, there will be no Saturday NHL that is free to watch for Canadians.

The CBC has been instrumental in creating the dynamic of how the NHL, CFL and curling are broadcast. Eventually, these sports became so successful, they longer needed the public broadcasters support. The private networks now want these jewels and it will be to Canadians to see if they want to pay for them. With many people cutting cable, the hunt for sports could take people to many streaming sites. In the end, it might be as expensive as cable was.

Rogers will be going into details about the new name and look and where to find their NHL games. Toronto fans might end up paying the most since they have the most games broadcast. There may be a re-evaluation on hosts, panels and even how the broadcast is filmed. At this point, all we know is it will look different. And if a new streamer is added for the mid-week game, what will that look like? Another subscription? A new broadcast team?

As for CBC, the new program will feature sports on Saturday. The Hockey Night in Canada name will pop up from time to time. More than likely for women's hockey although we might see university hockey for men and women now as well. To be blunt, compared to the U.S., Britain and Australia, we are pathetic for sports coverage. There is superior high school and college sports coverage in much smaller North Dakota. Some of our national newspapers barely cover sports. We are luckier than most in Winnipeg that we have reporters who cover sports for both our newspapers but it has been a long time since The Sun has sent reporters on the road to travel with teams. The Free Press is one of the last newspapers to do that. CJOB does exceptional sports coverage but it is for programs they could rights for.

Our national news media barely covers it. Nada is in the National Post. The Globe has a tiny sports section. The media companies have gutted their local sports departments in radio and TV. Most newspapers barely report on amateur sports even in their own areas. The CBC could have plenty of material in sports they could build an audience in at a fraction of the cost. It has been many a year since ABC and CTV's Wide World of Sports but it does show that one network can cover a range of amateur and professional sports. No one else in Canada is covering these areas and CBC has a proven track record of building an audience for Canadian sports.

I remember watching Jim McKay on Wide World of Sports and so many sports were introduced to me from watching that show. In Canada, Rod Black eventually hosted the CTV version. One of the reasons these sports shows ended is because of the rise of the four professional sports leagues taking up more and more of the schedule. Expansion teams like the Blue Jays in 1977 and the Jets and Nordiques in 1979 and Calgary shortly after in 1980 expanded coverage of those sports. CTV gave up on the Wide World of Sports in the mid 1970s but had other sports they began to cover.

CBC has one other asset that can enhance their newly focused Saturday Night and that is their streaming service Gem. Sports on the network can be mirrored on CBC.ca as well as Gem. In fact, Gem has been seriously underutilized since it was founded in 2018. It seems only now they are realizing they can actually bring older CBC material there that is still popular as well as commission to kids and documentary material. This applies to news and sports. There is no reason that Gem can't be the Tubi or DAZN of the north. It is time the CBC took sports seriously as part of its national mission.

Fargo Forum Fires Three Columnists

I have commented on the Fargo Forum which is the largest newspaper in North Dakota and paper of of record in Fargo-Moorhead. It is a Pulitzer Prize winning paper with a sister prize winner in the Grand Fork Herald. WDAY in Fargo is part of the same company. Together, they are part of the Marcil family's media group in the state. The private company is its fifth generation. How much money does the family have? Hard to say but it would be within the realm that they are among the richest in the state. It is a Conservative newspaper but back in 2016, they did not endorse Trump. Like a lot of newspapers across North America, they began a withdrawal from endorsing in general. The Winnipeg Free Press also stopped political endorsements a few decades ago.

The Marcil family are associated with old school Republicans. At the moment the MAGA movement is trying to strip other Republicans of party status. It is as ugly as it comes. There are national and state level reverberations. The Forum columnists didn't shrink from them. They called out the cowardice of the North Dakota representatives on issues like trade that deeply hurt agriculture in the state. Senators, cabinet and the lone House of Representative were called out on this. The response in March was to tell columnists to stay away from national issues and politics and only comment on state stuff, There was even a call to do more people related stories that had less politics.

The columnists largely continued as they have and this week was the response: Three of them were fired and the paper is limiting opinion page material to two days a week instead of every day of publication. They will also limit national editorials. The reason that is given is that it will help curate a better balance. The changes will affect the whole of the operation of print publication for the Forum news including the Grand Forks Herald. 

The reaction in Fargo has been one of surprise, mostly negative. Some Republicans are happy that a thorn in the side of the party is gone. However, as mentioned, there is a battle going on among MAGA and the party. The most recent convention was poorly attended because MAGA is trying to kick out non Trump loyalists. Even the Republican governor is incredulous. These battles are happening among Republicans in every state. However, the reaction in the editorial offices is to back into the bushes like Home Simpson. Has this been an owner dictate or something the editorial department has decided after countless letters and digital feedback fighting tooth and claw over left and right, but mostly left?

Now, don't get me wrong. I have credited Forum Communications with having amazing local news and sports coverage. Together, with their ABC affiliate WDAY in Fargo, they have fabulous coverage of local news, weather and top tier sports coverage. The WDAY station has six meteorologists! We don't have any based on TV or radio networks in Winnipeg. Both Fargo Forum and WDAY have healthy sized newsrooms. Their sports reporting on local school and university sports is better than the entire province of Manitoba. Hockey, football, basketball in both girls and boys sports is off the charts. In Winnipeg, we are an utter failure at it. I have noticed more school and junior sports coverage from Shaw/Rogers on their public access. It doesn't come close to North Dakota.

The Free Press in Winnipeg has been excellent in photo journalists working. The pro sports coverage for Jets and Bombers is well done. Business has dedicated writers. As far as arts coverage goes, the Free Press is superior and perhaps on CBC radio competes in that area. However, the Free Press is by far the most extensive for opinion coverage locally. The Sun, by contrast, has relied to heavily on Postmedia opinion although they have invested locally in recent years.

The Fargo Forum has had continuous and diverse opinion till now. They are limited it now to a few days a week. Their reasoning is not known. The result is though that Jim Shaw, Joan Bricker and Jack Zaleski all wrote their final opinion columns on Sunday. Some columnist remain but their platform has been shortened and their ability to write about national politicians even in their own state clipped. This shocking result has led to about 60 people of Fargo protesting outside the doors. I'd be surprised if that has ever happened in the paper's history.

The letters have been mostly negative with some saying that conservative columnists kept their jobs. Since there is only one newspaper in Fargo, the opinion pages tried, in the past, to have a variety of coverage. The amount of protests shows that not everyone will go gently into the night. The High Plains Reader is a monthly progressive publication but a publication that size can't possibly make up for the loss of weekly columns.

I hope we never see this happen in Winnipeg. Still, it is AI and search engines that is not paying for content that is the biggest issue that all content providers worry about more. Fargo is at a turning point for their new and opinion content. Winnipeg, by contrast, as two local owned news papers with s much opinin to chse from.

 

The Re-Newed Expansion of 7-Eleven in Winnipeg

 

Southland Corporation in Dallas had been operating stores since 1927 but by 1946 had re-branded as 7-Eleven to reflect their general operating hours. It began to franchise in the 1960s to various countries such as Canada. The first store in Canada would be in Calgary with others that quickly followed. Unbeknownst to many, 7-Eleven has been Japanese owned since 1991.

The history of 7-Eleven in Winnipeg goes back to 1969. The first location in Charleswood was before the municipality even joined the city in 1972. The first 7-Eleven locations were built in Alberta and only a few months later Winnipeg's was built on Dale Avenue as part of the Westdale Shopping Mall. By 1979, there were over 40 stores across the city. Initially, they were operating from 7 am to 11 pm but a number of stores operated 24 hours a day except Christmas and a few other holidays over the years where they closed all day or were of reduced hours.

Robberies were awful at any store that operated 24 hours. This included Domo gas stations, Mac's and 7-Eleven. Some stores reduced hours because Winnipeg was near the worst in Canada for this. The police wanted the stores closed at night but conveniences stores pushed back. The company responded in 1976 with some of the security measures that everyone today is familiar with. The 6000 stores across North America now had limited amounts of cash at night. By 1980, the timed safes were in place. The first lottery tickets were sold in 1971 in stores, a first for Canada.

It may be hard for people to remember but Slurpees were behind the counter and poured by employees from 1969 to late 1980s. It was very limited in flavours in that Coke and Sprite were the only consistent drinks. Hoagies first appeared in the 1980s. And Slurpees in Canada were different than the U.S. in that they were more icy while in the U.S., they were more syrupy.

Sometimes it was 7-Eleven that led innovations and sometimes it was different regions and stores adapted to the areas. Microwaves introduced at stores in the very late 1970s and 1980s made it possible to have heat and eat items. Burgers, hotdogs and hoagies were popular in Canada. In Japan around the same time it was rice balls (o-nigiri) or simmered foods (o-den). In the U.S. it was hotdogs and burgers. I would think that chicken has really taken over at 7-Eleven over the last several years.

In 1991, the family that owned majority shares of 7-Eleven tried to take the company private and was overwhelmed with debt. Even selling some divisions was not enough to bail them out. In Canada, we probably didn't know they were even in trouble. The Japanese franchise was probably surprised how tenuous the parent company was in Dallas. Because of the strength of the Japanese yen, they were able to take majority ownership of the company and several years later made it a full subsidiary.

Most Canadians still don't know that the ownership change happened. Nor was there any sense of who directed how operations were to be run in Winnipeg or Canada, for that matter. There does seem to be a general manager in Winnipeg for the corporate stores although there is a distribution center on Bentall. This begs the question of who makes decisions for the stores on say, what newspapers should be carried or what local food needs to be on the shelves. One example, in 1979, after the Winnipeg Arena was expanded for the NHL's Winnipeg Jets, tickets were sold to games for a discount.  The Charleswood location became a prime spot to grab these tickets. In 2025/2026. 7-Eleven came on board as a Jets sponsor and a Slurpee machine now resides at the Canada Life Centre and store ads appear on the broadcasts. In the past, only the Dallas Stars got that ad support for a hockey team. Not surprising since that is where the company was founded and still operates the U.S. base.

In the most recent year, 7-Eleven Canada has tied to evolve a small restaurant style area that serve alcohol. In Winnipeg, it is only one location on Ness and that location isn't even open 24 hours. In Ontario, they have far more testing this out. And it is a test. It might not work. Sometimes 7/Eleven chases a trend as it did with renting videos back in the 1980s. It took some years but the convenience store retreated from sales when big players like Blockbuster, Jumbo and Rogers took over.

Convenience stores like 7-Eleven have always had coffee but even those use to be poured by store clerks at one time. Then small coffee stations were set up with coffees rotated by clerks. Now the machinery and choices for coffee are a lot more varied.  It is uncertain how many people get coffee at 7-Eleven in Winnipeg compared to competitors. To be sure Winnipeg is very much a Slurpee city unlike any other in the world. It isn't just corporate kiss-up when 7-Eleven says Winnipeg is the Slurpee capital of the world. It is a phenomenon unlike any other place on the planet. In some stores there are a dozen or more choices. In a Japanese 7-Eleven they are likely two machines and they aren't going to be Coke and Sprite.

Magazines are no longer in stores in Canada. They used to be positioned in their own row and newspapers were right beside the store. Some 7-Elevens in Winnipeg used to have Toronto Stars, USA Today and every national paper along side the local Free Press and Sun in abundance. Newspapers are now exiled to the corner.

Pay phones were once inside, then moved outside and now gone altogether. Banks vie for space for ATMs inside 7-Eleven. Lottery stations are now right beside the door. The formerly clerk supplied food is now self serve and deliveries have exploded in every 7-Eleven.

Canada's Circle K attempted to take over 7-Eleven worldwide last year and failed in part to the difficulty it is for international companies to take over Japanese ones. Some were saying Japan might be invoke national security reasons since convenience stores are so depended on in Japan. Oddly enough, 7-Eleven continues to acquire stores in the U.S. but that same courtesy does not extend the other way.

Regardless, it appears both companies are cutting marginal stores and ones subject to safety issues. Winnipeg has seen around 10 stores cut in recent years and management has said some of it is because of crime. In fact, they put a number on how much product was being removed from stores and it was in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is unsustainable and while corporate critics might not have had any sympathy, this level of theft was also taking down mom and stores and leaving the area barren of any grocery or convenience stores. 

According to Mayor Gillingham in his State of the City address, 7-Eleven has spoke to him about an expansion of the company in Winnipeg. After the closure of the aforementioned locations, it is curious what the company has in mind. We can take our clues from some information released back in February as well as world reports on 7-Eleven. In terms of the former, 7-Eleven has indicated they are open to franchising opportunities. This is interesting because they are very much a corporate store company. In Australia, the company took over the entire Australian franchise as part of corporate takeover. In Canada, they appear to to looking at side by side operations.

So what does that mean? It means that we could more of a saturation of stores in certain parts of the city. For example, Portage Avenue has two stores along the entire run from Portage and Main to Headingley. In Tokyo, that would be unheard of. The company would try and place stores along major transit hubs and shopping areas. Suffice to say that places like Charleswood and St. James with only four stores seem a little light in terms of presence. 

There is no getting around the shoplifting issue in Winnipeg and around North America, for that matter. 7-Eleven is at the forefront if security for convenience stores in the world so expect even more efforts to reduce theft and identify those who are responsible. It will be positioning any new stores to have the best chance of success but also security. Given how many university students are off Pembina Highway, it is a missed opportunity that 7-Eleven has no stores aside from the one. This seems a perfect opportunity for franchises. And let's not even talk about how underserved the east side of the Red River is. 

An opportunity for franchisors to do really do well with a company that is iconic in Winnipeg is good. In some cases, some areas are crying out for any kind of convenience store. There are literally none and certainly not 24 hours. There could be opportunities as well for stores inside malls, airport and sports facilities. 

This doesn't have to be all bad for existing convenience stores. There have been several that have opened up and they are finding niches that 7-Eleven can't fill such as being on the ground floor of apartments, offices and the like where they would rely on foot traffic more than car traffic. These stores also cater to niche areas such as ethnic foods to sell or to serve. 7-Eleven may be a lot of things but not a seller of ethnic foods or big on foot traffic. Even St. James has seen at least three convenience stores that fit the ethnic label open in the last 12 months.

From the government side things, the province has to keep pushing on secret property agreements that protect companies such as Safeway/Sobeys having any competitors set up near them. This sounds like it might apply to just big stores but any agreements of exclusivity need to be known and hoarding properties is anti-competitive and should be dealt with federally by the Competition Bureau and by the provinces to make sure these secret agreements see the light and are handled by the municipal board. As far as the city goes, they need to ensure security for 24 hour stores and that may entail more police visits, safety audits and sharing of information. A lot of trouble is sometimes organized or the same people.

Some might not find an expansion of 7-Eleven exciting but if the attempt is to make the stores as essential as they are in Japan, that mean offering food and service at prices that are compelling. For example, the egg salad sandwich in Japan sells for 200-300 yen. That is about $2.50 Canadian. The egg sandwich in Winnipeg is $5.00. We need to keep competition up in Winnipeg because those type of prices for 7-Eleven are typical for a number of products in Japan.

They key to vitality in many cities is the diversity of options for those who live in it. Think of the bodegas of New York or the bakery shops on Paris. Price competition competition comes from a multitude of suppliers. If we ever want to have $2.50 egg sandwiches, a Japanese-style surge of stores will help.

Peter Young Passes Away 2026

Peter Young was the sports guy who turned CKY into a powerhouse of local in 1974 when he came aboard as sports director from background in sports reporting in Thunder Bay. The job was part time and he attended school at University of Manitoba for a Master's program at the same time. The heavy competition between radio, TV and print to cover sports in Winnipeg became a big deal when the WHA Jets came on the scene in 1972. Very few games were televised back then so it relied on radio, TV and print to cover the games in reporting form.

There have been a few reports on his passing. Take note of Marty Gold's story in the Winnipeg Sun. He does a far better job than CTV news with their 47 second story about the death of the person who helped the station take number one and keep it all these decades. His interview two years ago with Peter Young shows there is still important stories to tell on people in the city that can't come from generative AI. The sooner the owners of AI pay creators of content rather than just scraping the Internet of material they don't own, the better.

Peter Young was responsible for a lot of the sports and entertainment hires in Winnipeg. Don Percy and Rod Black both came to the city either with job offers or referrals. In one funny story related on Marty Gold's story, he helped a Blue Bomber player get a job in another city when his time ran out here. I expect the memorial service will bring out all the stories and hope some get to be made.

Peter Young was not content to do just a re-cap of a few professional sports, he set out to cover local amateur sports in a major way. It really forced other media to increase coverage. Now, most newscasts in Winnipeg don't mention much about sports at all, even professional ones. But it wasn't always that way.

My recollection of Peter Young is the multiple sports he covered including three Olympics and the Wide World of Sports where he was prolific. School athletes were always given priority and reporting on coaching and teams with player highlights was not just a tiny spot on the one hour broadcast. It was a focus of that was superior to the public broadcaster for local sports.

Sports coverage is evolving for sure. However, one thing can be said about the new digital coverage. None of it focuses on local sports. It is generally all professional sports. Peter Young showed that it was possible to do it. He gave many reporters both men and women their first chance at broadcasting. He covered so many different sports that he was indispensable in telling the story to Winnipeg and throughout Canada. 

His kind of reporting will be missed.

Carney in the Post Davos World

 

Much has been made of Mark Carney's speech in Davos, Switzerland about the current situation the world sees itself after one year of Donald Trump's return to office. It is interesting to note that is has had a world-wide response and the speech was re-printed in Le Monde and the New York Times. Donald Trump has reacted negatively and disinvited Carney to his Board of Peace. This may be a blessing for Carney. And Trump is escalating. He says he will launch 100% tariffs on Canada for the recent trade deal with China which does not involve sending any goods to the U.S. but a lowering of tariffs to pre-2024.

In Canada, Pierre Poilievre credited Carney with with an excellent speech and then went on for pages after criticizing him and his government. His main argument is that Carney has done nothing and his party has done nothing. This could be posturing for the election leadership review that Poilievre faces in two weeks. Every opportunity to bring down the minority government he has passed on. We'll see if he is ready to take the government down in February.

We don't have as many silos of only right wing or left wing views as the U.S. has. The American-owned National Post just doesn't have the reach nor does right wing radio or podcasting media in Canada have near the influence it does south of the border. Our bookstores have smaller politics section than U.S. ones where every politician or media person has a book out, it seems. Even social media is light on politics in Canada even on X (Twitter), TikTok and YouTube. Most Canadians seem to get their news from a diverse number of sources and stubbornly hug the middle in most things.

Nevertheless, Conrad Black, who received a pardon from Trump, says that Canada and NATO countries have been have been letting the U.S. do all the work. He seems to forget Afghanistan when Canada honoured Article 5 and went to fight. The first four Canadians killed in Afghanistan were killed by "friendly fire" from American forces. A total of 158 Canadian Forces killed along with 6 civilians seem to have been forgotten. Not just by Trump but by Conrad Black. The Super Conservative forgetting all this is appalling as is the soft pedaling of the disgust many Canadians feel about the threats that Black largely ignore. He gaslights us by calling it derangement syndrome.

The election in 2025 very much felt like a vote for stability when Mark Carney was elected. Canadians seemed to have a visceral response to the chaos south of the border. Many are angry at the aggressive bullying from Donald Trump. It has changed travel and shopping patterns and continues to alter them. It seems like whatever conservative media there is clearly is not reading the room at the rage against the U.S. and Trump in Canada. Every time the Conservatives blame Carney, they are likely setting their own prospects back.

The Winnipeg Sun seems to recognize that Trump's criticism of Carney helps the Liberals get their majority. The editorial believes it might be a conspiracy. The truth is a lot of conservatives are not looking for a united Canada. Some want separation. Some want 51st state. Polls consistently say that the majority in every province are against that. Even when Conservatives have power provincially and federally, there has been a separatist minority so blaming Liberals for them doesn't wash.

Pierre Poilievre had said the Liberals under Carney are not doing anything which is not exactly true. The budget passed but other pieces of legislation have been held up in the minority parliament. Parliament seems stalled as so often happens in a minority. The Carney government has announced GST relief that Poilievre says he will support. Since it is a financial measure, a vote down would likely trigger an election which Conservatives don't seem prepared for.

Trump might be miffed with Carney and his ambassador and cabinet are uttering threats and encouraging separation of Alberta. The ambassador seems perplexed why we won't just surrender our industry to the U.S. or why we'd consider them a threat? Not entirely sure some in Trump's team will every get why were not on board with their plans. Ultimately, it could be Carney is waiting for the Supreme Court to weigh in on the tariffs. Based on the questions the Supreme Court had for Trump officials, it seems likely they are worried that it might be an overreach on Congress and their constitutional power. However, given how the administration looks to dump the Second Amendment when it is a anti-Trump rally and shoot a protestor, who knows?

Although Poilievre has been critical of it, Carney has been travelling lots. He will continue to do in 2026 with India and Australia in search of business and security deals. The Europeans just signed a massive trade deal with India this week and Canada may be close to doing so as well. In Australia, Canada is buying a billion dollar defense system to be used in the north to detect intrusions. It is hard to believe that Poilievre would sit at home in some chauvinistic way to appeal to his base rather than making business, security and business deals around the world. His fear of being called a globalist would do harm to Canada.

Poilievre using the same talking points of the last election may not serve him well. The Canadian public has pivoted and it has a lot to do with Trump. And Poilievre still doesn't know how to respond well to Trump because a lot of his base loves the man. As we swing to separation talks in different regions, the fear is that the U.S. will meddle. They already are. And Poilievre can't be seen to lead the conga line for that. 

The Trump people have so many fires to put out that they started and the mid-term elections are happening this year. Time is running out to run on a winning message. The Supreme Court is to weigh in at any time on tariffs any time up till mid-February. This could result in a reversal of Trump tariffs. As it stands now, China has ordered many shiploads of canola at a reduced tariff and should stay within American red line limits. Prime Minister Carney might just have to wait things out till then.

For now we have to put up with Treasury Secretary Bessant and Commerce Secretary Lutnick gaslighting us about how it is Canada that started this fight with drugs crossing the border and our unfair trading practices. A list of Trump officials will have nothing good to say no matter what concessions are made. And Trump himself is likely to take it as weakness to try for a takeover. It isn't just negotiating strategies. After Venezuela, everything has to be looked at as a shakedown.

The Conservatives in Canada have been saying they are not Trump MAGA while re-posting MAGA comments. Liberal support is up mostly at the cost of the NDP and Bloc in the post Davos speech polling. The Conservatives have called it virtue signaling and said if the Liberals are not adopting the the Poilievre plan, they are doing nothing. Given the tax and GST cuts, the Liberals are not exactly doing nothing. And the canola shipments are hard to argue with except if Conservatives are saying they wouldn't sign tariff reduction deals with China.

A number of media outlets have indicated that Carney has a long list of additional travels in 2026, Some Conservatives are critical saying he should be back in Canada in Parliament facing a blocking opposition. This ignores the amount of Team Canada trips that Stephen Harper did that Conservative are extolling now. India and Australia trips are coming up and there are hints that trade agreements are pending. We can't completely replace American trade. It is simply too big and North American is too integrated to not reach a deal. However, we can't act like we are the ones blocking a deal.

It is still likely an election happens this year unless there is another few floor crossers to the Liberals. Minority governments never last long. Until then, Carney will run a government trying to mitigate the chaos in the U.S.

The Winnipeg Sun Re-Design

The Winnipeg Sun under the Klein Group has tried to distinguish itself from Postmedia Sun and National Post papers since the purchase in 2024. The first obvious step was the paper format with a switch from tabloid or broadsheet. It's actually a hybrid with sports tabloid inside a broadsheet. The font and the marquee also were also new. In fact, some said it looked like Free Press. I credited the Sun for local ownership which the Sun had lost way back in the 1980s.

It is expensive running a newspaper. However, it is possible to generate income if the product gets subscribers, advertisers, sponsors and finds their audience. Print newspaper remains where best profit is but newspapers like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Minnesota Star Tribune make money in a variety of ways digitally and with specialized products like Wordle in the case of the Times.

The Sun digital web page leaned too heavily on the Sun look. Now it looks cleaner and more focused on news with sports and opinion following. Video media was left to the bottom of the page. The Toronto Sun and their group has the videos prominently on the side. It always looks cluttered,

The Conservative opinion in The Sun is not a problem unless it can't make money. If the Klein Group doesn't look at increasing its sports and entertainment as well as news reporting, it risks not growing its audience. It really needs to have a reporter who travels to away Jets games. How that is funded, I'm not sure. I think it has to be a presence on something like YouTube that pays for the news content.

Make no mistake, I want the two main local papers to be successful. And to be successful, it means covering a range of subjects from news to sports, appealing to men and women, having stuff that kids will like, offer entertainment and advice as well as opinion. It isn't an easy task. I approve the new look of the print paper and the digital format looks much better than what they had previously.

In 2026, there is likely going to be a new Manitoba journalism initiative. While the PCs and NDP disagree on parts of it, it is likely the broad strokes of a plan will be to spend 25% of the provincial advertising budget locally and to have tax credits and other initiatives to support newspapers, radio stations and even newsletters. A number of federal programs are in place and others about to start although big online companies want to kill them. It is interesting to note that even in the U.S. antitrust and national security is raising some concern ala TikTok and Middle Eastern investors making a bid for Warner Bros. and CNN.

The Winnipeg Sun and other news companies across Manitoba might benefit from greatly from a province that is not spending their considerable amount money on American-owned media. The Manitoba government won't even say how much they pay for Facebook. Politics aside, The Sun can be a lot more and will be if it keeps looking to increase readability from print to digital. Keep working on it and for goodness sake, start sending a reporter on the road for Jets and find a way to monetize it.

So, good job to the Sun. Winnipeg has to local papers whereas it doesn't exist elsewhere in the west. Let's keep building on that. Build your audience, push for better anti-trust protections and find ways to monetize the product. That comes from the best look and feel of content produced here at home.

The Evolution of the Winnipeg Sun

The Winnipeg Sun founded in 1980 was an act of defiance that came from the closure of the Winnipeg Tribune in the same year. A number of business people and slew of Tribune staffers helped create the tabloid which grew in stages. Initially, all black and white and only a few days a week, it grew to colour and seven days a week. People might forget just how thick a Sunday paper was. And yes, it was the first Sunday paper in Winnipeg. By 1983, the local ownership sold the paper to Quebecor which had experience running tabloids. It was incorporated in the Sun chain in 1999. By 2015, the Sun group was sold to Postmedia which included the Winnipeg Sun. In 2024, the Winnipeg was once against brought under local ownership when the Sun and papers were sold to former Conservative cabinet minister Kevin Klein.

As I noted back when the news occurred, this means Winnipeg is unique in most of Canada in that it has two locally owned daily newspapers in the city. That can't be said anywhere else in the west. In fact, Winnipeg was one of the only cities where an underdog newspapers folded only for another newspaper to emerge immediately.

The early Sun editorial leanings were center right but it had a reputation of factual reporting. Under different ownership, it has maintained credibility in reporting and still leans center right. The present ownership is unapologetically right leaning in editorial. The sports department despite the loss of Ted Wyman too young is still reporting on hockey and football. I'd wage more readers value that coverage first in their hearts.

It is very likely that buying the Sun has Klein working every part of the job. He has leaned heavily on columnists in Winnipeg as well as the National Post for content. It is unlikely that Klein wants to use the federal program to hire journalist but ad money has so dried up that it is likely all media in Canada might face extinction. The large international companies scrape the Internet and use AI to produce information that does not credit the or pay for the source of that information. Moreover, they control the search engines used to find local news. They hold all the levers of power over even some of the larger news services. The goal is to grab all the ad money they can while lifting information from content creators.

The Free Press and the Sun continue to carve out niches. There is nothing wrong with having a political slant but important to divide the paper into news, analysis and opinion and make sure they can be identified. Some newspapers such as the National Post and the Sun chain across Canada lean heavily on columnists. The Sun continues an affiliation with Postmedia and sometimes this results in a lot of federal coverage which might be a bit too much for a local paper.

While there are some female columnists at The Sun, they are really outnumbered. The Free Press faces the same problem. It is possible to have content that will appeal to younger and female audiences but it has to be presented consistently. For young people, it could be the comics, entertainment news, advice columns, horoscopes and sports. The trick is to have stuff unique in your paper. It isn't all political opinion columns.

The quickest way for the Sun to reclaim readers is to focus on Jets and Blue Bombers coverage beyond what they are doing now. Klein already has a video discussion on politics. It would seem a natural extension to do sports. I have pointed out how amateur sports is covered by WDAY/Fargo Forum/Grand Forks Herald. We are so poor in coverage in this area but they cover in North Dakota so well. The amount of sponsors for this coverage seems diverse in the U.S.

Assuming that the Sun wishes to be a local paper in either print or digital into the future, it might wish to partner with other media. An example at the local level is Global News and CJOB. Both of the aforementioned are different units of the same company but they both contribute to content over both platforms and can be monetized as such. This does not mean companies like CJOB and Global News are not stuck in the perpetual layoffs of news media. The hoovering of ad dollars by Google and others and the stealing of content by AI has meant all media is under threat. Some big companies like New York Times have made deals for content used by AI. The truth is that all content used by AI companies needs to be paid for and the courts are likely to weigh in. It has come to the point that there are true security concerns about AI harvesting information and stripping it of it's sources. Making big money off of this is hurting major industries.

The Sun needs to carve out what will stand out locally, move beyond politics and cover news and sports in ways no one else does. Newspapers have to find ways to reach out and monetize beyond "if it bleeds, it leads" headlines. Even Internet users are getting tired of clickbait that feels false. Winnipeg needs two strong and competitive newspapers. We are very lucky having two local ones. We will continue to have them so long as they continue to adapt and develop their content. It will be up to the government to protect content creators from having their work taken and monetized by international companies.

Journalism Support Manitoba 2025

It seems ironic that the Manitoba government would advertise meetings on journalism in the province by buying advertising on social media owned outside of Canada. Not surprisingly, the first meeting had no one attending because they didn't hear. None of the social media is based in Manitoba nor does the ad money spent there stay in Canada. That isn't to say that all aspects of social media are bad but it is often a dumpster fire.  The artificial intelligence is now allowing for racist and abusive material that even freedom if speech supporters must feel queasy about. The outright propaganda from outside the country is very alarming.

Governments have legitimate reasons to advertise. For example, the changes to Winnipeg Transit are being advertised on social media. It is unclear whether this is just a general information release or paid advertising. Certainly the Recycle Everywhere ads are paid advertising when they appear on social media. In fairness though, Recycle Everywhere ads appear to spread out among local media.

Ontario has several initiatives in place to support local journalism and media. It is usually redirecting money from social media that is now owned in Canada to media that actually is owned and covers regional content. It is the money the government already spends but now being spent in Canada. It is not a subsidy.

Freedom of speech has never been to allow crying fire in a crowded movie theatre. In recent weeks the content on TikTok on politics has been awful. I long deleted my Twitter account even before Elon Musk bought it. Even then it was becoming a bit repetitive and less reliable. And sometimes fairly reactionary. I'll admit to sometimes getting into it online but I don't recall ever being outright cruel or piling on someone. I continue to blog and generally the response time for people can be months and years later. I'm okay with that.

It used to be newspapers had a lifespan of a day or two, a week tops before they went in the bottom of the birdcage or out with recycling. However, digitally, a story could be read weeks, months and years later. One doesn't have to wait for it to be available at the public library. But what happens when you local newspaper, radio station, TV station, magazine or other media shuts down with nothing to replace it? Even the archived material on websites aside from the waybackmachine disappear. 

Communities, like Brandon, that continue to grow in Manitoba have lost their TV station, weekly newspaper and lack talk radio. They still have a daily newspaper that has Manitoba ownership. Sadly, many Manitoba communities have lost their only local sources of news, weather and sports. And the only archive of it might be in the local museum if it is in print. 

There is a local news initiative funded by the federal government to assist in salaries for specific regional coverage. Both the Winnipeg Sun and Free Press get this funding.  There is also funding coming from social media giants for content they use from local media. The government has had to push for this because these large companies have been using content without paying for it. 

There are some that are opposed to any government involvement but government has posted ads and notifications in media for decades with no editorial interference. Those have dried up as has private advertising. Large foreign social media hoovers up all that revenue. 

There is a lot the Manitoba government can do to help and much of it is what they did before social media and that is advertise in local radio, TV, newspapers and podcasters. Fortunately, for Manitoba there is a lot of Manitoba-owned media to support. This isn't true all over Canada. The national Post Media group which includes newspapers all over the country is American-owned. Our Winnipeg Sun is Manitoba owned but still gets a lot of content from the American-owned National Post. Something to keep in mind when the Sun asks for CBC to be defunded just so private media owned by Americans can be more profitable and send those profits south of the border.

The ties to the Republican party in the ownership group that has majority shares in the Postmedia group pushes for ever more conservative reporting. And this is the group that pushes for the end of the CBC and is generally closing their own newsrooms each year.

Thankfully, Manitoba still has a locally owned media that the province of Manitoba can support.

Here are the main ways it can support local:

1. Set a fixed amount of government and Crown corporation advertising money that is already being spent on Manitoba-based media. Makes that list of approved media available to to municipalities and private interests.

2. Create a tax credit for those approved media for anyone buying advertising on various platforms. Not sure what sort of cap should be on that spending if any.

3. Supports for changing media to a non-profit where the absence of support may result in the closure of that media. In fact, make it possible to create different types of ownership for media.

The failure to do anything could see more closures. Thompson, for example, has lot both its print papers. Any of the above supports might have helped those paper survive.

Politicians might have a love hate relationship with media but if the local media completely disappears, it can result no local coverage of what is important to the area that supports local business, news, weather and sports. The fact that an all party committee is looking for answers shows that this isn't just a business decision anymore. It is a matter of concern when an area just gets abandoned in favour of companies that are not even Canadian. 

Manitoba Contemplates Local Media Support

Premier Wab Kinew has called for an all-party committee to look at how local media can be supported in Manitoba. It is uncertain how the PCs will respond. As noted here, much of the print newspapers in the province is owned locally. The Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Sun as well as papers in Brandon, Portage and Steinbach are locally owned. There are a fair amount of locally owned radio stations in Manitoba as well. A fair amount of independent media exist. No major television stations are owned locally owned in Manitoba including affiliates.

The big players in Canada of Bell Media, Quebecor and Corus have massive amounts of debt due to acquisitions. While many remain profitable, it is debt repayment and dividends that has them cutting employees regularly. Throughout the world ad revenue has gone to large international companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook and others. Newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have closed across North America. Even this week Corus and Bell continue to lay off long time employees.

Winnipeg has had a few radio stations close or make cuts. Newspapers have been downsized. So too TV newsrooms. Federal government programs on digital membership tax credits, local journalism initiatives and periodical supports have been criticized over the years. Tax credits for print, TV and radio go to advertisers but digital ads are not included. It means 70% of digital ads go to foreign media. It seems odd to not make advertising in Canada to Canadian people on Canadian media something a tax credit should be exclusive to.

Provinces have contributed to local media by posting legal notices in newspapers, advertising and other business tax credits over the years. Ontario is committing a percentage of their Crown corporation spending to Ontario-based media. This could be about $10 to $15 million of the $100 million spending guaranteed for Ontario.

The large corporate ownership of media is Canada was profitable until it wasn't. They kept gobbling each other up or shutting down papers, radio stations and TV stations until their debt from concentration just couldn't keep up. Today, the majority of newspapers in Canada are owned by the U.S. and they continue to squeeze what they can out of their properties and shut down parts regularly.

A few newspapers have been converted to charities but it is an expensive preposition.  Some have become non-profits although you see that more in the U.S. than in Canada. The government could help with this process. A charity or a non-profit might be the way to salvage some local media from being closed. There are some co-op radio stations as well that could use a boost of support and would likely be something that survives because of community support.

Advertising though has been the lifeblood of media. Consumers have largely paid a subscription fee for newspapers and magazine or a cable fee to receive additional channels or for free after paying for your own TV and radio equipment. The costs are largely borne by advertisers. It is those advertisers that have been lost across the board in many industries to the large trans-nationals that rely on content made by others that it is often not paid for. 

Generally in business governments should not be picking winners and losers. If a government chose the horse over the car as the transportation of the future, they would have been very unwise. However, if they had let one car company be the only company supplying cars, it would be to the detriment of society. It is why antitrust exists. One dominant company can stifle further development, exert inordinate power and hurt more than it helps citizens.

The province of Manitoba can do little on antitrust as that is a federal jurisdiction. However, the province does have its own budget on advertising which, like Ontario. it can direct to Manitoba media such as TV, radio, print, podcasting and digital. The province can also add a tax credit for private advertisers to advertise in the province. There are other ideas out there but none should look like direct support to journalists which the federal government does. It should look like business to business relationships. It should be supporting business in Manitoba, not individual journalists.

The journalists get their support from their ownership, their advertisers and their appeal. It avoids accusations that they are state media or controlled by someone directly. It is a tough path to follow but when done correctly makes the media and the various views essential.

To be clear, some people want all media to collapse. They accuse it of harm. Some of this comes from anti-democratic views which have grown over the years. If freedom of the press truly falls, freedom of speech will as well. 

It will be interesting to see what ideas come from this discussion. It would be tragic if we see more small newspapers closes, more podcasts end, more radio station shutter and all regional TV stations become just national carriers or even international carriers that do not do any reporting from local areas.

Winnipeg Sun Switches to Broadsheet

This is going on third week or so of the Winnipeg Sun's switch from the tabloid format it has had since its 1980 beginning. The paper initially was only three days a week and began evening delivery about a month into publication. Initially, the paper was black and white but eventually started having colour in their Sun logo. The publication was owned and operated by Winnipeggers, many of whom were refugees from the shuttered and beloved Winnipeg Tribune.  After getting to a respectable 34,000 plus circulation, Quebecor bought the paper and folded it into their national national Sun chain.

The early Sun was a little more serious paper in that there was no Sun girl. Editorial policy was more local and more encompassing. The tabloid format was streamlined and within two years some editions had a whopping 120 pages. The new Sun managers had a way of doing things that was more pugnacious and heavily conservative. It should be no surprise now that with a former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister, the new Winnipeg Sun should continue to be very conservative. However, it has picked up on local which the former owners seemed to have cut considerably in recent years.

Kevin Klein contributes regular columns and there are several additions in terms of columnists and writers on the paper. The relationship with the former Sun ownership continues but the focus there is all too often on the federal government. It is likely why Klein has tried to beef up local coverage.

The broadsheet format change is more of a hybrid. The broadsheet has a tabloid sports section in it. That section more closely resembles what a Sunday Sun was like. Even the logo more or less is the same. However, the front section has a banner type font reading Winnipeg Sun with a that at first glance looks like the Free Press even though the lettering is completely different. A rising sun in the middle of the letters is the one splash of colour in the heading. The stories and columns are laid out around a main picture. 

Inside the broadsheet is a fair amount of news and editorial. This seems to be true of both the Saturday and Sunday printed papers. It would appear that the newspaper is a work in progress so I am treating it more like what those 1980s days were like when the paper kept adding colours, days printed, delivery and the like. Klein keeps adding content because it is the only way to grow subscriptions.

Print newspapers are now quite dead yet. Just like books were written off far too early, newspapers and magazines can survive but they can't exist on classified and commercial ads. The big 6 gatekeepers such as Google and Facebook are starting to run afoul of antitrust. The fact that they can have anti-competitive practices hurts news media is only one aspect of concern. Their systems are capable of taking down banks, airlines and government services. The Microsoft update shows how badly we can be hurt. It cost billions.

Government can't pay media but these large groups that use content paid for by groups such as the Free Press and the Sun need to be held to account. If a new Conservative government drops supports for TV/film and media, it is entirely possible we see large areas of industry, news and production cease. 

Winnipeg is lucky as it has two local owners for their major newspapers. Kevin Klein will have his work cut out for him re-building the Sun. It still heavily favours a lot of national Sun/Postmedia content. To appeal to women, they will need different content than they do now. The New York Times gets thousands of subscribers for their game section. Other newspapers get reader for their advice columns. It was the Winnipeg Sun that was original home of Miss Lonelyhearts. There are many things that a newspaper is on a daily basis. But a big part of it should be informative and entertaining. 

The Sun really needs to build their Winnipeg Jets and Moose coverage. It is possible some relationship with the various sports podcasts is appropriate. This could apply to radio stations as well. Hal Anderson has contributed to the Sun for years. However, the paper could benefit from more restaurant reviews. More entertainment reports on what is happening in the city.

I get that this will be a piece by piece building project. And it won't all be about print newspaper. But it can be about news and information. And it can be a heck of a lot better than TikTok or Facebook.

Media Changes in North Dakota and Minnesota

Media shake-ups abound on both sides of the border. in 2024, Winnipeg Sun was spun off from National Post media group to locally owned Kevin Klein Group. It marks the first time that both major newspapers in the city have been owned locally in their history. For the Sun, it has led to more local news columnists. It also led to breaking more stories.

The Winnipeg Free Press has also added more local columnists over the years even if some have been controversial such as Charles Adler. Local is what newspapers and TV/Radio news need to stand out and yes, make money. Large conglomerates cut and cut again and then often just close and add the tax loss to write off debts. They are rarely builders. Free Press ownership is shared by Winnipegger Bob Silver and former Winnipegger Ronald N. Stern.

Two local owners of major newspapers in Canada is so unusual that is you can count on three fingers the cities they are in. For the west, it is only one city: Winnipeg. And so far they are fighting a battle against what many in Europe call the six gatekeepers: Amazon, Alphabet (Google), Apple, ByteDance (TikTok), Meta (Facebook) and Microsoft. Even those who receive no government money, companies such as these can control access to their platforms. The breakdown of Microsoft update shutting down the Internet is one 2024 example of how bad things can get. And digital ad money gets swooped up and AI from these giants creates content mined from creators all over. In other words, an independent journalist who breaks a story can see it used by the biggies and not get paid for it.

The gatekeepers can do this to even larger companies too. Artificial Intelligence is being used to create new stories. But where does that information come from? It is often mined from companies such as the New York Times. If the largest newspapers, media companies and the like are vulnerable from the super giants, how do the rest of us even cope. Those saying that the government tinkering in business ignore the fact anti-trust moves are to keep things competitive in a capitalist market. For example, the modern Internet became possible when AT&T was broken up. It triggered some of the biggest investments in telecom ever seen which was essential to a widespread, faster Internet.

The questions of what to do about the supranational giants will remain the question of the day. In recent weeks, Google's search engine has been declared a monopoly by the U.S. government. It remains to be seen see what the federal agencies will decide to do. In the meantime, news and media companies are coming up with new strategies to stay relevant and profitable. North Dakota and Minnesota have seen some of their largest media companies make moves in 2024.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune has dropped the Minneapolis part and it is now Minnesota Star Tribune. This would be in keeping with their sports teams that have always been wise to using Minnesota for their NHL, NBA, NFL and MLB teams without fail. Minneapolis and St. Paul are truly Twin Cities and there are communities of some size all through the metropolitan area. Changing the name makes sense.

A competing broadsheet in St. Paul, Minnesota also dropped their city name in favour of just Pioneer Press. It is not owned locally and have experienced massive cuts over the years. In 2006 they had over 200 unionized writers. By 2023, that number was down to 23. The MediaNews Group that owns the paper and has a reputation of cuttings. Still, like the Star Tribune, it is trying to extend its readership and their website to include all of Minnesota. Their website is twincities.com which doesn't even mention Pioneer Press.

The Twin Cities also has MinnPost.com which is a non-profit digital news for the region. TV and radio stations have substantial news and sports content in Minnesota as well as North Dakota. PBS has extensive coverage of the regions. While there is less local ownership of TV and radio stations in big markets likes Minneapolis, there remains some. In this way, they are not much different than Winnipeg where nearly all local TV and radio has ownership outside Manitoba.

It is the digital audience that everyone in media is trying to capture. Just as landlines are being cut, people are cutting their print newspapers and cable. The problem is that digital ads don't pay as much as print or TV ones. Plus, the gatekeepers scoop up all the money that is there as well as use the content for their own ends. It is the definition of antitrust. 

What the big digital companies don't do as well is news that people might want or need locally. Reddit has discussions on local stuff but it isn't curated in news, weather and sports categories in the way other media is. To that end, local news and TV/radio in North Dakota and Minnesota are offering much more local appeal. Having a local meteorologist reporting is standard for TV stations in the U.S. where some of the wildest weather keeps them on our toes. Winnipeg does not make this a priority. Also, the new digital sub-channels that a station like WDAY Fargo as makes local sports a priority. Al the high school football games in the Fargo region is on the WDAY sub-channels. We don't have digital sub-channels on TV or radio in Manitoba yet and none seem to be happening in Canada. It would appear media empires and the CRTC just don't see the need. If it is Canadian content guidelines that are required, there would seem to be enough library material of older shows to put in place.

In terms of Minnesota, the 157 years old Star Tribune is hiring more writers, not less. The are focusing on placing more reporters outside Minneapolis-St. Paul and covering areas such as business, downtown, regional state issues and investigations. Cannabis stores are new in Minnesota so they will cover that. This is a familiar area for Free Press who covered cannabis with a dedicated journalist for a while. Overall, the state-wide focus means that the Star Tribune will be reaching large audiences but still remain hyper-local. Large media networks just don't cover those areas except in general terms of news, weather and sports.

There will be a lot of eyes on the Star Tribune's investment in expanded coverage. Glen Taylor, the billionaire local owner, is spending new money on top of the $100 million that he paid for the paper in 2014 has turned the paper around. It makes money and has maintained around 225 writing staff and a total of 1,000 or so altogether. The Free Press, by contrast, has 50 reporter and 580 total staff. The Free Press also have community newspapers, Brandon and Steinbach journalists which adds to total writers in Manitoba.  

The Winnipeg Free Press, like Star Tribune, have rich owners. The Free Press is owned by Bob Silver from Winnipeg and Ronald N. Stern, formerly from Winnipeg but now based in Vancouver. Bob Silver is the director in charge. Stern owns companies valued just under $2 billion including many based in Winnipeg. Some wags have suggested that only papers with deep pocketed owners, preferably local, will ever invest in local media. Examples abound in Canada and the U.S. of this.

Digital subscriptions, as the New York Times has shown, is the way for the newspapers to find success. However, the big six grow ever more powerful so that that they can simply use artificial intelligence to create news stories largely harvested from what others report. All the money flowing to the big six even threatens the major industrial nations. It is the inherent danger if antitrust is not pursued. Total monopolies bullying nations.

The Star Tribune is probably not finished evolving. Both the Star Tribune and Free Press are doing newsletters and podcasts. Those are likely a lot of better for a newspaper than X/Twitter or Facebook. As the fifth largest newspaper in America and the addition of hiring six more Minnesota reporters, it will be creating considerably content.

In Canada, TV and radio conglomerates such as Corus, Rogers and Bell use their news teams across platforms. However, they have all made cuts and likely overpaying for show rights in the U.S. This makes them routinely ask to cut Canadian content. Rarely do they use Canadian-made content such as news as part of their commercial success. The mergers and acquisitions and overpaying for product brings inevitable cuts. And for what? Some of the radio and TV stations that get bought get closed down. Often enough there isn't even an attempt to sell the enterprise. Luckily, in Winnipeg, the National Post sold three papers including the Winnipeg Sun to Kevin Klein so they could be owned locally. There is a strong possibility that the papers might have been closed otherwise.

Throughout North America, the rate of closures is about two newspapers a week. Often this mean no local coverage of any regional issues which can lead to poor performance from local officials who face no scrutiny. You don't need a billionaire for a small media company but you sure could use a leading citizen or two interested in running and operating something that can't be treated like a franchise 

with identical reporting.

The Star Tribune has a billionaire owner in Glen Taylor and a local interested in investing in more reporting. The competitive market in Minnesota will be very interesting to keep an eye on. However, Minnesota is not the only state to keep an eye on. North Dakota has seen their own local media become regional in focus.

In the case of North Dakota, Winnipeg has been able to watch the growth of this media company much more closely. Anyone from Manitoba has been able to read the Grand Forks Herald and Fargo Forum newspapers has been exposed this Pulitzer-prize winning companies. The Herald won the Pulitzer for its coverage of the 1997 flood and fire which flooded and burned down their building.  The Forum won the Pulitzer for coverage of the 1957 F5 tornado that killed over 100 people. It was the northern most F5 today until the Elie, Manitoba F5 in 2007. 

The Black-Marcil family have built their business from the Fargo Forum platform. The newspaper was started in 1878 and took on the name Forum in 1891. The Black-Marcil family have owned it since 1917 and took over the Grand Forks Herald in 2006. Forum Communications is also a TV and radio owner. Most in Winnipeg will be familiar with today's WDAY (formerly WDAZ) that has been on the cable band for decades. Along with Prairie Pubic Broadcasting (PBS), these two station remain the only North Dakota stations still seen in Manitoba.

Forum Communications, from their Fargo headquarters, has run a large news team from their newspaper as well as their TV station. WDAY began in 1953 and was originally a NBC affiliate with a helping of other network programming from CBC, ABC and Dumont. A sister station in Grand Forks was started in 1967 because the region needed a station since Fargo's signal was now powerful enough to reach the area with CBC Winnipeg's broadcast. WDAZ ended in 2006 except for a news bureau of WDAY.

The Marcil family has had to adjust to the size of the state and but to go where their audience is. The state capital is down the highway from Fargo and has to be covered so a Forum bureau reporter is based there. The WDAY network maintains a bureau and sales office in Grand Forks. All of the newspapers that Forum Communications has purchased from big media companies have been folded into a news service that covers North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota.

In 2024, Forum Communications continues to pick up independent TV stations in places like South Dakota with the intent of establishing a regional media presence. The company has been expanding rather contracting. While it was a blow to Grand Forks to lose WDAZ, the trade off has been great state broadcasting of local sports throughout the region including Grand Forks. No national media corporation will ever be interested in this type of work.

Forum also owns WDAY radio but literally everything in radio is owned by huge conglomerates. Forum contracts out management to a North Dakota media group. Almost everything in American AM radio is conservative or Christian broadcasting. In many cases there is not a single employee working aside from some technical person. It has been problematic in disasters as there is often no one to even broadcast emergency signals as mandated by the FCC.

Bismarck, which is the second largest city in North Dakota, literally has no media that is locally owned. Were it not for  Forum Communications, it would not have any North Dakota owned media. So much of newspaper, TV and radio industry is controlled from somewhere else and often, they would rather shutter the business than attempt to sell it. It has been Forum Communications that has picked up these assets when they have come available.

In Canada and the U.S. we have seen newspapers, TV station and radio stations closed down with very little attempt to find buyers. Assets are trades by big corporations and then dumped after after a while. It is only local owners who will care such as we see in Minneapolis and Fargo or in Winnipeg. And the goal of the local owners is to expand coverage and reach a larger regional audience.