A news publication that’s been a staple for aboriginal people across Canada for decades is putting an end to its print edition.
Windspeaker is going digital-only as of this month. March was Windspeaker’s last printed edition, which coincided with the publication’s 33rd year in operation.
The transition to online-only has been in the works for some time. They started posting their monthly magazine editions of Windspeaker online within the last year, said Bert Crowfoot. He’s the publisher of the Alberta-based, nationally-focused magazine.
Technology has changed the way news is delivered, he explained.
“Everything’s mobile now and as technology changes we have to change with it or else we shut our doors. So we’re not shutting our doors, we’re just in transition. We’re transitioning into the type of media that is currently being used by everybody,” Crowfoot said.
“People are getting their news different nowadays. Everybody’s getting it online. Our costs continue to rise: postage, printing.”
They’ve been spending nearly $250,000 on printing and postage per year, which makes a big difference in the highly competitive and financially-strapped news industry.
In the past year, newspapers in northern Saskatchewan have shown how tough it is to continue publication. Glacier Media shut down The Northerner in August.
Windspeaker isn’t insulated from the economic struggles that other news agencies are facing, Crowfoot said.
“Newspapers all across the world are shutting down, they’re moving online. And so that’s kind of where we’re at. We’ve just reached that point where we can’t afford (it),” he said.
Crowfoot admits there will be an impact on older readers who aren’t Internet-savvy.
“Yes there is going to be casualty of some of our older readers that are more traditional that are up in the north, are not going to be able to pick up a hard copy and read.”
The history of Windspeaker
The staff at Windspeaker is no stranger to adversity, and the magazine has seen many different iterations.
Crowfoot said his philosophy has always been “when something bad happens, what’s the good? What’s the positive? What’s the lesson to be learned?”
- 1983 to 1986 – An organization named AMMSA, the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta, starts a news publication with funding through the federal Native Communication Program
- 1986 to 1990 – The news magazine named AMMSA holds a contest to rename it, and takes on the title “Windspeaker.” Its work focuses on aboriginal news in Alberta, and is published bi-weekly
- 1990 to 2015- The federal government cut off the funding that Windspeaker – and 11 other aboriginal newspapers across Canada – had been entirely reliant on.
They had six weeks to scramble and become self-sufficient. Windspeaker moves to monthly publication, cuts half its staff.
“After sitting there and watching nine out of 11 newspapers shut their doors, the opportunity was there was a void across Canada,” Crowfoot said.
So they turned from a focus on Alberta to a national focus.
- 2015 – Windspeaker starts posting online editions of their monthly magazine, continues to distribute paper copies.
- March 2016 – Windspeaker prints and distributes its last paper edition.
- April 2016 – Windspeaker starts running a new edition every two weeks instead of monthly. Crowfoot says they’re developing a website that offers daily news.
Maintaining trust with readers in the Internet Age
Crowfoot admits it’s natural to be skeptical of online news sources. But he says they’re committed to the same values that Windspeaker has always had.
One of the most important things to keep sight of, is to race for accuracy when reporting a news story instead of racing to be first, he said.
“Our people need information that is objective and that is unbiased and so we need people who can vet that. And to me that’s more of a concern than getting out there as quick as we can.”
Readers can trust that Windspeaker will maintain the standards it’s held for the past 30 years, Crowfoot said.