Make no mistake, trusted and truthful journalism is under threat not only right here in Prince Rupert but across the globe.
A major businessman in Prince Rupert once asked, “What are you going to do about all this fake news?”
What I wanted to say, and what I didn’t say was, “not a damn thing — what are you going to do about it?”
In more than three decades working at community and daily newspapers, never before has, to my mind, the role of what we do been more crucial to the fabric of our society.
But some wrongly believe “newspapers are dead”.
Look, we get it — it’s an online world.
All one has to do is walk down Third Avenue and see the decimation of the ma and pa retailers by that same online world. Rupert shoppers made that decision.
READ MORE: Feds can’t do much to fight fake news in Canada
But newspapers do not have the same problem — we’ve very much embraced and are thriving online. We don’t have a readership problem or a trust problem.
Free, trusted news reporting that newspapers such as The Northern View has and continues to provide has been funded for years by local and national advertisers. But as more readership moved onto the world wide web, businesses moved their advertising dollars to global mega-companies.
It’s an astonishing number that 70 per cent of Canada’s advertising dollars online goes to Facebook and Google. These two international giants don’t pay reporters, they don’t pay taxes and they don’t spend one damn dime in Prince Rupert.
But they sure as heck, do have a trust problem.
READ MORE: Facebook edits feeds to bring less news, more sharing
At the end of the day, we’re going to continue to produce honest, truthful and trusted journalism. It is up to you, both reader and advertiser whether you want that journalism to continue.
If you wish to associate yourself with fake news, internet trolls and anonymous plagiarizers, you know where to go.
If you want real news from a trusted, local source and that’s something you want your business associated with, then we have but one question: What are you going to do about it?
Here’s a start: www.thenorthernview.com
newsroom@thenorthernview.com
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