The Prince Albert Daily Herald is one of nearly 100 publications across the country that will benefit from $50 million in federal funding for local journalism. (Alison Sandstrom/paNOW Staff)

By Alison Sandstrom

Investment in local journalism

P.A. Daily Herald receives federal funding to hire two new reporters

Jan 3, 2020 | 2:24 PM

Prince Albert’s 126-year-old local newspaper is getting a boost from the federal government.

On Thursday The Prince Albert Daily Herald announced it was one of 94 publications across the country to receive funding to hire new reporters.

The federal government has pledged $50 million over five years to support local journalism.

The first round of funding will see 105 positions created Canada-wide under a program called the Local Journalism Initiative. Two of those reporters will be at The Herald, increasing the newspaper’s editorial staff from four to six.

The Daily Herald declined request for comment, but in a post on Twitter, Editor Peter Lozinksi said in part:

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“When I found out funding was approved for these two positions I got quite emotional — was near tears in fact in the newsroom. A year and a half ago we were down to just me and Jason. Now, we’ll have six (!) reporters including myself.”

The paper is currently advertising for the positions and looking to bring on the new reporters as soon as possible. One will focus on civic affairs, with a special emphasis on rural municipal councils and school board meetings, while the other journalist will cover the North, concentrating on Indigenous communities.

The $50 million earmarked for local journalism is part of a broader commitment from the federal government to help the struggling media industry which has seen major job losses over the past decade. Newspapers in particular have suffered from diminishing revenues and readership.

“We believe this will make a significant contribution to the industry and help strengthen civic journalism across Canada,” Local Journalism Initiative Director Tina Ongkeko said in a media release.

Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne told paNOW he was glad the Herald would benefit from the cash.

“I was always worried about how much longer the newspaper has,” he said. “So I am pleased they are getting two new employees to shore up their operation, get more content in their newspaper and hopefully get more people back to reconnect with paper.”

However, he said he was surprised by the government’s choice to sponsor publications across the country, adding it wouldn’t have been his priority.

“It’s not going to stop the exodus of people leaving the paper, so they’re putting money into an industry that is suffering, but it’s suffering because we have chosen a different trend,” he said, citing that he believed people increasingly turn to digital and online media for their news.

Private non-community broadcasters did not qualify for the federal funding. paNOW for example is part of the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.

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alison.sandstrom@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alisandstrom