FREE & EASY
Good news! There are lots of things you can do to support local journalism and many of them are FREE! Check out our list of suggestions (below) and feel free to share it. Also, please send us your ideas so that we can add them to the list, and give you a shout out on our social media channels.
FREE ways to support local journalism, and a few that will cost just a few bucks:
Good news! There are lots of things you can do to support local journalism and many of them are FREE! Check out our list of suggestions (below) and feel free to share it. Also, please send us your ideas so that we can add them to the list, and give you a shout out on our social media channels.
FREE ways to support local journalism, and a few that will cost just a few bucks:
- Got 15 minutes to promote press freedom in your community? We can help! Join our civic recognition campaign to raise awareness of UN World Press Freedom Day. It's easy! Find out more by sending us an email.
- Tell local business owners, managers and front-line staff that you saw or heard their advertisement through local news media.
- Publicly thank local advertisers via social media, mentioning that you saw or heard their advert through local news media.
- Follow us on X-Twitter at @InkStainedCamp.
- If you use X-Twitter, ‘like’ and repost our tweets.
- Tag your local politicians in relevant posts and reposts (tweets and retweets).
- Encourage local civic leaders — ward councillors, mayors, regional councillors, regional chair, MPPs, MPs and leaders of all political parties — through social media or direct emails, to support local journalism.
- Kids' craft project: Help them create a lawn sign displaying the name of your favourite local news outlet.
- Cut back on engaging (posting, liking, sharing) on Meta products (Facebook, Instagram) as long as Meta blocks news on its platforms.
- Suspend advertising on Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram) as long as it blocks news on its platforms.
- Be an ambassador: Help your friends and family understand that local journalism is essential for democracy to thrive.
- Subscribe to one or more news outlets (paper or digital).
- As a way to teach young people the value of local journalism, buy them digital subscriptions as gifts.
- Make a donation to one or more Canadian organizations working hard to promote public-service journalism, including: Journalists for Human Rights; FRIENDS; The Canadian Journalism Foundation; J-Source or international advocacy groups such as the Committee to Protect Journalists or Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Note: ink-stainedwretches.org does not solicit nor accept financial donations. If you would like to donate a few hours of your time or skills to our projects, please contact us at ink.stained.campaign@gmail.com
REPORTS
The Shattered Mirror: 5 Years On, Public Policy Forum (2022)
The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age, Public Policy Forum (2017)
Mind the Gaps: Quantifying the Decline of News Coverage in Canada, Public Policy Forum (2018)
digitalnewsreport.org by The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University
Nieman at Harvard. "The Nieman Foundation houses a dynamic set of initiatives to promote and elevate the standards of journalism and educate and support those poised to make important contributions to its future."
Edelman Trust Barometer “Three in four are worried that fake news will be used as a weapon.” p. 2 of the 2020 report's executive summary.
Information integrity on digital platforms by the United Nations (June 2023)
The Shattered Mirror: 5 Years On, Public Policy Forum (2022)
The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age, Public Policy Forum (2017)
Mind the Gaps: Quantifying the Decline of News Coverage in Canada, Public Policy Forum (2018)
digitalnewsreport.org by The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University
Nieman at Harvard. "The Nieman Foundation houses a dynamic set of initiatives to promote and elevate the standards of journalism and educate and support those poised to make important contributions to its future."
Edelman Trust Barometer “Three in four are worried that fake news will be used as a weapon.” p. 2 of the 2020 report's executive summary.
Information integrity on digital platforms by the United Nations (June 2023)
Associations/groups
The Local News Research Project led by scholars at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Journalism; the University of British Columbia; and Royal Roads University; provides a crowd-sourced interactive map displaying changes in the news media landscape across Canada. Check out changes affecting your local news providers.
Canadian Association of Journalists “For more than 40 years the CAJ has worked to provide vital advocacy and professional development for journalists across Canada. We are dedicated to promoting excellence in journalism—from the university classroom to the national stage!”
The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism, and fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
News Media Canada “Created in late 2016 as a product of the agreement by its members to merge the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) and the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA), News Media Canada represents hundreds of trusted titles in every province and territory. Prior to this change, our organization was known as Newspapers Canada.” – source NMC website
Media Action Plan (MAP) is made up of a committee of Canadian journalists and media workers belonging to Unifor local unions who are dedicated to protecting Canadian media.
FRIENDS (formerly Friends of Canadian Broadcasting) “FRIENDS works to protect and defend Canada’s rich culture and the healthy democracy it sustains.”
The Local News Research Project led by scholars at Toronto Metropolitan University's School of Journalism; the University of British Columbia; and Royal Roads University; provides a crowd-sourced interactive map displaying changes in the news media landscape across Canada. Check out changes affecting your local news providers.
Canadian Association of Journalists “For more than 40 years the CAJ has worked to provide vital advocacy and professional development for journalists across Canada. We are dedicated to promoting excellence in journalism—from the university classroom to the national stage!”
The Canadian Journalism Foundation promotes, celebrates and facilitates excellence in journalism, and fosters opportunities for journalism education, training and research.
News Media Canada “Created in late 2016 as a product of the agreement by its members to merge the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) and the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA), News Media Canada represents hundreds of trusted titles in every province and territory. Prior to this change, our organization was known as Newspapers Canada.” – source NMC website
Media Action Plan (MAP) is made up of a committee of Canadian journalists and media workers belonging to Unifor local unions who are dedicated to protecting Canadian media.
FRIENDS (formerly Friends of Canadian Broadcasting) “FRIENDS works to protect and defend Canada’s rich culture and the healthy democracy it sustains.”