May 5, 2020
APTN and The Discourse launch IndigiNews into the economic headwinds of COVID-19 with the goal of developing a new business model for independent Indigenous news.
Okanagan Valley, B.C. – Today marks the launch of IndigiNews, a new digital platform for local news serving First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities. A joint venture of The Discourse and APTN, IndigiNews serves Indigenous Peoples in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley and will soon expand to Vancouver Island.
The joint venture aims to address the long history of Canadian media poorly representing and perpetuating stereotypes about Indigenous communities. The goal of IndigiNews is two-fold: first, to provide journalism that is driven by local communities’ needs. Second, to develop new business models for local digital news that contribute to the long-term sustainability of independent Indigenous news.
“Indigenous Peoples have never been well served by local and national news media,” said Cheryl McKenzie, executive director of news and current affairs at APTN. “As the world’s first independent Indigenous broadcaster, APTN has worked to change that in Canada. We know we need new models and approaches to ensure independent Indigenous news remains strong into the future.”
The launch comes on Giving Tuesday, a global day of giving and unity that is an emergency response to COVID-19. Supported by The Discourse and APTN, IndigiNews launches in the midst of a crisis for local news: more than 50 local news outlets closed in the past six weeks in Canada as a result of the global pandemic.
“The problems with local news that IndigiNews exists to solve — the decline of local advertising and extreme lack of diversity — all existed before COVID-19. But the crisis has accelerated those problems enormously,” said Erin Millar, founder and CEO of The Discourse.
“With local news experiencing an extinction event, underserved communities are getting less coverage and journalist layoffs have set back efforts to diversify newsrooms by many years. We can’t wait until the economic uncertainties caused by COVID-19 pass to ensure our communities get the local information they need to thrive during and after the pandemic.”
To start, IndigiNews will distribute coverage produced by a team of Indigenous reporters hired by The Discourse in the Okanagan Valley with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative. In the coming weeks, the platform will grow to serve communities on Vancouver Island. Content will also be published by The Discourse and APTN.
“The world looks differently right now than it did before COVID-19, and maybe that’s not a bad thing,” said Emillee Gilpin, IndigiNews advisor and editor. “The Canadian media sphere has been out of balance for a long time. But with every great disruption comes profound growth and transformation.”
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For media or other queries, contact:
Lindsay Sample, executive editor, The Discourse
[email protected] | 604 363 4531
Emili Bellefleur, manager of communications, APTN
[email protected] | 438-349-2456
Background
Visit IndigiNews.com to learn more.
Meet the IndigiNews team here: http://indiginews.com/team
Read the full story behind how The Discourse and APTN’s partnership came to be.
Follow IndigiNews on Facebook.
About the partners
The Discourse is a digital news media company that provides in-depth local news in response to the information needs of diverse communities experiencing news poverty. We publish on our own digital platforms and in partnership with other media organizations, to ensure a broad audience of Canadians access in-depth stories of importance surfaced outside major urban centres.
APTN launched in 1999 as the first national Indigenous broadcaster in the world, creating a window into the remarkably diverse mosaic of Indigenous Peoples. A respected non-profit and charitable broadcaster, it’s the only one of its kind in North America. The network is Sharing Our Stories of authenticity in English, French and a variety of Indigenous languages to nearly 11 million Canadian subscribers. With over 80% Canadian content, APTN connects with its audiences through genuine, inspiring and engaging entertainment on multiple platforms.