A NOTE FROM OUR NEW PUBLISHER
April 13th marked the beginning of a new era in Atlantic Canadian media.
On that day, we announced the creation of the SaltWire Network, a region-wide family of news organizations that is the largest media platform in Atlantic
Canada and home to the best journalists and storytellers in the region. Stretching from Corner Brook to Yarmouth, Cape Breton to Charlottetown, Halifax to St. John’s, SaltWire brings together TC Media’s 28 brands and web-related properties and The Chronicle Herald’s seven newspapers in what is now the largest independently-owned media network in the nation.
With journalists on the ground in more than 30 communities, giving us the insights to tell the stories you need, our pledge is to deliver local content under local leadership in each of the communities we serve across Atlantic Canada. Across the Network, we will be refocusing our efforts to consistently deliver on our promise to “Be essential.” The promise will be brought to life by:
Providing a primarily local perspective – including analysis, commentary and diverse voices on stories that matter most to our respective communities and readers. Taking a courageous and provocative approach on topics that require a voice – no good cause should lack a champion and no wrong should thrive unopposed.
Elevating the importance of good news. Good news is essential to the health and wellbeing of our communities and we will all be champions of it.
Ensuring that the perspective of the region is incorporated into coverage across the network.
At SaltWire, we believe this commitment to local communities is more important than ever in a changing media industry dominated by heavy hitters like Google and Facebook.
We also know that the future of this industry is a dramatically different one than the story of our past. With the number of changes that we have all born witness to, it is understandable that some may believe traditional media is becoming extinct.
And, in fact, they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. The old model of media is radically changing. But to think news companies – organizations like ours – do not have a long-term and ongoing role to play is wrong. News media is the centre of democracy. In the most rural regions of a country as vast as Canada and in provinces as geographically decentralized as Atlantic Canada, it is the stories told by legacy newspapers that knit communities together. It is here where the narrative is shaped and the story of a place finds its voice. Social media may have become a distributor of this voice, but it is not a steward of it.
In a post-truth world, guardians of the public good are needed more than ever and while the business of journalism has changed dramatically, it is as vital as it ever was. Local content is not becoming obsolete. Rather, it is more relevant than ever.
And that’s what the creation of SaltWire Network is all about. By combining the resources and reach of the Transcontinental publications, The Chronicle Herald’s almost 150 years of experience in this space, 950 of the best local media experts, and the lessons we’ve all learned and grown through over the past decade, the SaltWire team won’t just deliver the best local content to the communities you call home, we will also challenge and reshape the media model and landscape in Atlantic Canada.