Committee Reports – AGM 2023
Presidents Report | AdCanada Report | Membership Report | Nominating Committee Report | Executive Director’s Report | Convention Report | C.A. Maclean Report | BNC Report | NMC Activity Report
and other documents:
Notice of Motion Sept 2023 | Letter to Minister Schulz | Presentation to Senate | Audit (PDF)
President and Government Affairs Report – 2022/2023
September 2023
Given the significant overlap, the President’s Report and Government Affairs Report have been combined for this year.
Government advocacy at the Federal and Provincial levels has again been the main focus of the association. UCP leadership change and a Provincial election have made it a difficult time to engage with the Provincial Government.
Bill C-18: The Online News Act
Recognizing the tremendous strain on our industry and the need to find ways to support newspapers, the Federal Government put forward Bill C-18 – The Online News Act. The goal of the legislation is to force the large digital platforms, namely Goggle and Meta, to share some of the revenues they gain through their dominant positions in the online advertising market. It is a contentious piece of legislation and there are a wide variety of thoughts regarding its design and potential outcomes. AWNA’s submission to the Senate Transportation and Communications committee is attached to this report. It gives a good overview of AWNA’s position on the legislation. We’ve had numerous meetings leading up to and throughout the passage of the legislation. Here is a brief account of the more significant ones:
On September 8th, 2022, the Government Affairs Committee met with Rachael Thomas, Conservative MP for Lethbridge, as she was seeking input on C-18. The Federal Conservative Caucus has generally been sceptical of C-18 and MP Thomas is a member of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. We had a productive conversation, outlining the many challenges our industry is facing and how C-18 may or may not help different types of newspaper operations. There was significant concern on both sides that small news operations could be left out of C-18. Some of these concerns were addressed in later changes to the proposed legislation.
AWNA’s Executive Director, Dennis Merrell, and President, Evan Jamison, appeared as witnesses before the Standing committee on Canadian Heritage on October 18, 2022. We provided a five-minute address to the committee and answered questions about the state of the industry and concerns around the proposed legislation. A transcript can be found here: https://openparliament.ca/committees/canadian-heritage/44-1/47/
Prior to Dennis and Evan appearing at the Senate, the Government Affairs committee met Senator Paula Simons January 10th, 2023. Senator Simons met with our committee at the offices of the St. Albert Gazette. We had a long and engaging conversation about the state of our industry, the proposed legislation, and how it could affect the different newspapers across the province.
On January 20th, 2023 the Government Affairs committee was invited by Sophie Gaulin, Publisher of La Liberte and a News Media Canada Director, to join a call with Paul Thomas (CEO of Star News Group) and Emma McDonald (Head of Government Relations at Minderoo Foundation). Paul and Emma had hands on experience negotiating with Google and Meta after Australia passed similar legislation to C-18. They were able to provide some insight into what the bargaining process looked like in Australia and what we might expect to see in Canada.
Dennis and Evan appeared as witnesses to the Senate Transportation and Communications committee on May 9th, 2023. We provided a five-minute address to the committee and answered questions about the state of the industry and concerns around the proposed legislation. A transcript can be found here: https://sencanada.ca/en/Content/Sen/Committee/441/TRCM/53EV-56189-E
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)
The Provincial Government continues to implement its new Extended Producer Responsibility recycling program. AWNA is very concerned about the impact of this program on Alberta newspapers and has been engaged at every step of the process. EPR could cost Alberta newspapers upwards of $1 million per year in new recycling fees. A cost newspapers can’t afford. Our most recent submission to Minister of Environment and Protected Areas is attached to this report. It provides an overview of our position.
Members of our committee attended numerous EPR town halls and information sessions held by the government. On June 13th, 2022, the committee met with Keith Pridgen, Senior Policy Advisor Alberta Environment. Having attended numerous stakeholder engagement sessions prior to this meeting and not feeling we were getting our message across; we were finally able to speak directly to a more senior person in the ministry.
Evan Jamison was invited to speak at Barrhead Town Council on March 14th, 2023. One of their councillors read a story about the effect EPR could have on local newspapers and wanted to hear directly from the industry. After learning more about our concerns, Barrhead Town Council wrote a letter supporting our call for an exemption from EPR. The letter was distributed to the minister in charge and to other Alberta municipalities. Lamont and Fort Macleod councils followed suit with their own letters of support.
AWNA Vice-Present Lisa Sygutek was able to secure a meeting between Minister of Environment Rebeca Schulz and our committee on September 7th, 2023. We made effective use of the little time we had and were able to relay our concerns in person. The minister did not make any commitments during our meeting, but we hope it spurs further conversation.
The Alberta Forest Products Association has been supportive of a newspaper exemption from EPR and we remain in contact with them.
Electricity
On August 31st, 2022 Duff and Evan Jamison met with Dale Nally, Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity, to discuss high power prices in the Province. Electricity and associated distribution costs have climbed significantly over the past few years and are projected to continue going up. High electricity cost is affecting the ability of our local paper mill, Alberta Newsprint Company, to operate profitably and deliver newsprint to their customers on time. It is also affecting printing facilities that are already wrestling with significant increases in the costs of other consumables. It is unclear that there is any relief in sight, but it is on the government’s radar.
Public Notice Advertising
AWNA continues to provide support to member publishers whose local councils are enacting advertising bylaws that allow them to stop posting public notice advertising in their local papers. Both Banff and Sylvan Lake town councils recently brought forward advertising bylaws. The Banff bylaw was voted down but, unfortunately, Sylvan Lake council passed their bylaw.
Members are encouraged to let AWNA know if their local governments bring forward advertising bylaws, so we can help fight against them.
AWNA is also working to secure a meeting with the Minister of Municipal Affairs so we can discuss the changes made to the Municipal Government Act, their effect on local newspapers and the right of local citizens to be informed.
Other Industry News:
Postmedia closed their Webco printing facility in Leduc on August 24th, 2023. We have seen 12 printing facility closures in Alberta Since 2010, with 6 facilities still operating. More than 53 printing facilities (that primarily print newspapers) have closed across Canada since 2010. Fewer than 40 are still operating across the country.
The Alberta Newsprint Company (ANC) paper mill in Whitecourt was taken offline for the weeks in June 2023 due to a ransomware attack. Paper inventories at most printers were drawn down to extremely low levels, but we are not aware of any members that weren’t able to get their papers printed during the prolonged outage. As the volume of printed paper continues to decline, there are fewer suppliers to the print industry. When a large supplier like ANC goes down, there are few other players able to step in. We see an increasing risk of supply chain disruptions as volumes decline and print shops, and their suppliers, continue to consolidate.
In Closing:
As with last year, our current board of directors, executive director, and staff at AWNA have worked well together. A diverse group of people from diverse operations. People that have a keen interest in supporting and advocating for our members. I wish to thank them for their time and efforts over the past year.
Again, I also encourage our membership to be active and engaged with their association. It is important that we hear different voices, concerns, and ideas. Newspapers around the world are operating in a very challenging and dynamic environment. We need all the ideas and support we can get, as we work to chart a path forward.
Submitted by:
Evan Jamison, President – AWNA 2022/2023
AdCanada Advertising Report Sept 2023
2022 Summary
In anticipation of revenues reverting back to the pre-pandemic levels, the 2022 budget was built around the 2020 forecasted spend levels ($1.298MM) as our benchmark for 2022 volumes.
Despite the cumulative loss of nearly $450,000 in pandemic-related spending from the provincial and federal governments realized in 2021, 2022 AWNA revenues still managed to exceed budget expectations by 5%, coming in at $1.369MM for the fiscal year.
While there were cases of ‘significant’ resurgent activity from previously dormant or near dormant accounts, the primary reason for the increase came as the result of several small, incremental spending increases from ongoing clients or opportunities with new, mid-level clients.
Overall numbers notwithstanding, another positive surfaced in the review of the Revenue by Sector comparison of 2021 vs 2022 with stability (or increases) shown across the board with the only significant decreases in spending coming from federal government, insurance and as expected, the retail sector.
The higher-than-expected revenues resulted in proportionate increase to budget on the AWNA royalty with the actual royalty paid coming in 8% above our forecasted level.
Q1-Q3 2023
Through the first 7 months of 2023, actual AWNA revenues are double our projected volumes for the period ($1.44MM vs $717,000). While ad spending tied to the provincial election did exceed our forecast by approximately $100,000, spending increases have been realized from a variety of sources and more importantly, several new advertisers.
We have also seen stability in terms of the number of active advertisers in 2023 compared to 2022, with community newspaper spending generated from 50 advertisers thus far in 2023, compared to the 52 accounts that were active Jan-July 2022.
Through July, some of the highlights include:
- – Government of Alberta (Non-Election) – ~$350,000 Gross
- – Stars Ambulance – $36,000
- – Direct Energy Volunteer Citizen of the Year -$35,000
- – Metis Nation of Alberta -$40,385
- – Taco Time – $19,000
- – Pizza 73 – $62,000
- – Lowe’s Canada – $23,000
- – Alberta Teachers’ Association – $23,000
- – United Farmers of Alberta – $45,000
- – Rocky Mountain Equipment – $21,000
- -AgSafe Alberta – $18,350
- -Canadian Energy Centre – $97,735
- -United Farmers of Alberta – $73,000
One of the trends that appears to be gaining momentum with advertisers across the spectrum is the use of content or ‘a story’ to convey a message or market a product or service. While initially and predominantly a strategy built for online and a tool used to circumvent ad blockers, with the added benefit of being searchable, many advertisers are using ‘Branded or Sponsored Content’ in place of traditional ‘ads’ for their campaigns. Sometimes this manifests at the AdCanada level with a direct request from the advertiser or agency with for a proposal for a Sponsored Content campaign. More often however, it materializes in the form of a Press Release and the hope that a publisher might be convinced to run it as is and unpaid. Regardless, AdCanada has created some simple Branded Content programs that tie the editorial the client is looking for to the paid space we require. The programs are usually well-received by the advertiser and we see Branded Content as representing a tremendous opportunity for newspapers moving forward.
2023 INITIATIVES:
2023 Media Study: How Geography Impacts Shopping Habits, Patterns and E-Commerce in Canada
In the spring of 2023 AdCanada and Totum Research conducted the latest study in the ‘How Geography Impacts…’ series. We felt that coming out of the pandemic, a study that focused on the difference in shopping habits could prove valuable. In order to give the study the broadest appeal possible, the decision was made to execute the study as a national project, expanded from the traditional prairie focus.
The results of the study were released in early February and did confirm variances in both shopping habits of Canadians living in urban and rural areas in addition variations in shopping habits by province.
Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, especially on the heels of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, the study unveiled that across all nine product types measured, the resounding preference of Canadians was for an ‘in-person’ shopping experience rather than an online one. From a marketing perspective, this helps to connect the preference for a ‘traditional’ shopping experience to the use of ‘traditional’ media to promote those products and services.
In support of the study, we developed a 4-page brochure that focussed on the highlights from that study. We printed 5,000 of these things and have a multi-part strategy for getting them distributed.
- Back in early May we distributed just over 1,000 of them to the ‘active clients’ in our database. These are clients that we’ve had some kind of interaction in the past
- Phase two will see us mail an additional 1,034 of them to newspaper publishers and sales directors of publications that belong to News Media Canada.
- The final phase will take place early in September and see us mail out the remainder to advertising agency and advertiser contacts using a database that we’ve purchased from a third-party supplier. So these would be people that we’ve had no contact with, don’t know and are likely people that don’t have much of a track record with the print industry. So while a bit of a shot in the dark, this group also represents some good potential.
Local Edge YouTube Series
We continue to work on our biggest marketing initiative for 2023, The Local Edge video series. A YouTube series that we’re hoping will give us a platform that draws attention to the enduring value of local media, in particular community print.
To date, we’ve filmed 11 of the 13 episodes we’re contracted for, with 6 episodes in full release. We’re using LinkedIn as our primary platform for getting each episode in front of the intended audience so the ones that have been produced can be found on the AdCanada LinkedIn page if you’re interested in checking them out.
The formula we’re using for each episode is to build around 6 or 7 minute interviews with key/well know advertising agency personnel, newspaper publishers, local business leaders/politicians. Through four episodes, guests have included:
Sarah Thompson, President, Dentsu Media, Canadian Media Directors Council
Sarah Unruh, Media Director, McKim Sherpa
Tim Beach, Former Media Director, Cossette Media Toronto
Scott Stewart, Media Supervisor Carat, Starcom, Trigger Communications
Lynn Hoffman, DSA Mediology
Chris Ashfield, Grasslands Publications
Kevin Weedmark, Moosomin World Spectator
Lana Meier, Interlake Publishing
Brandy Frederickson, Drayton Valley Free Press
Paul MacNeill, PEI Canada
Brent Fitzpatrick, Executive Director Humboldt Chamber of Commerce
Martin Shields, MP Bow River
Cherilynn Joly-Nagel, Farmer, Speaker, Farmer Advocate
OCNA Representation
AdCanada is in the midst of negotiations with the Ontario Community Newspapers Association about assuming the sales and marketing function previously provided by AdReach. It is anticipated that the agreement will be finalized in the next couple of weeks with an eye towards an October 1 launch.
With the addition of approximately 200 community newspapers to the AdCanada roster, we are very much looking forward to the increased value that this partnership will bring to AdCanada and the added visibility it will provide to the existing members of our roster.
Jeff Beardsworth, CEO/ Advertising Director,
AdCanada Media Inc.
Membership Committee Report – Sept 2023
We currently have 85 members.
Print edition = 70 members
Digital Only = 15 members
Within 2023, a number of Post Media publications went to a digital only format.
They include: Airdrie Echo, Bow Valley Crag & Canyon, Cochrane Times, Cold Lake Sun, Drayton Valley Western Review, Hanna Herald, Pincher Creek Echo, Vermillion Standard, Whitecourt Star, Fairview Post, Mayerthorpe Freelance, Nanton News, Peace River Record-Gazette, and the Vulcan Advocate.
We also accepted the Respect, in Cold Lake, as an affiliate member. Respect was launched by Jeff Gaye in 2018 to provide community news, stories, and special features for readers over 50 years of age in Cold Lake, Bonnyville, and St. Paul. It is a bi-weekly publication, as such does not meet our membership by-law requirements to be a full member.
The Membership Committee has reviewed our membership requirements and has
submitted proposed changes to allow current members to continue to remain members. We looked to other associations for examples of their membership requirements and have submitted a proposed change based on our findings and desired standards.
Amanda Zimmer, Chair Membership Committee
Nominating Committee Report – Sept 2023
The following members of the Association have put their names forward to run in the September 22, 2023, election:
President:
Lisa Sygutek: Publisher, Crowsnest Pass Herald
Vice President:
Shannon Peace: Publisher, Pincher Creek Shootin’ the Breeze
Directors:
- Craig Barnard: Senior Vice President, Postmedia
- Jeff Burger: High Prairie South Peace News
- Evan Jamison: VP Manufacturing Great West Media, St. Albert Gazette
- Amanda Zimmer: Publisher, Claresholm Local Press
- Daria Zmiyiwsky: President, Black Press Media Prairies
Submitted by:
Evan Jamison, President, AWNA
Nominating Committee Chair
Executive Director’s Report – September 2023
The AWNA continues to function within its means, after adjusting its business plan to sustain operations.
There have been a few bright spots, most notably the fact that Ad Canada has nearly doubled the amount of lineage it has placed in member newspapers. Some of the activity has been new business, so we hope to see more of that.
OCNA is also considering a major change and is negotiating a contract with Ad Canada. This will bring more stability to what is becoming a national sales operation for community newspapers, which should be a good thing.
President Evan Jamison has done a thorough job reporting on the AWNA’s advocacy efforts. We will continue to work on your behalf to ensure that Bill C-18 results in meaningful financial assistance to small community newspapers. There is also hope that the federal advertising tax credit will bring added relief, and we’re finally seeing some movement on the federal government advertising front.
Staff has been maintained and we expect to be able to continue at the current level in 2024. Maurizia Hinse is still handling our blanket classified/value ad programs and member services, while Chrissie Hamblin prepares the monthly statements and assists with the annual audit. Julie Anne McRae provides consulting services to both AWNA and Ad Canada, helping with both organizations ad services, while assisting with communications, our member database and audit.
Year-end financial statements; audit findings report
The association had a clean audit in 2022, with no control deficiencies noted by KPMG.
Much of the deficit AWNA incurred was due to the loss on its long-term investments, related to the market downturn experienced in 2022.
Uncertainty in the markets has continued in 2023 to the extent that investment growth has been flat – $4k increase, and the cumulative loss in the association’s portfolio has been $33,000 since January 2022.
The cyclical nature of the marketplace should ensure we’ll see growth in the portfolio that will replace the rental income we’ve lost because of the sale of our building.
AWNA’s revenue from its advertising services in 2023 is up slightly over the previous year. Blanket classified and value ad revenue has declined, but Ad Canada revenue has increased by a similar amount.
We expect to achieve a break-even financial result at year-end.
The association has a healthy amount in reserves – with $1.25 million in net assets, the same position we were in on December 31, 2022.
Industry collaboration
The AWNA continues to meet monthly with its provincial association and national counterparts, working in concert with them particularly on national initiatives such as the Online News Act, federal government advertising, the journalism labour tax credit, the Canadian Periodical Fund, and the Local Journalism Initiative.
We will continue to work hard on your behalf to keep these issues in the forefront.
Provincially, our advocacy goals are to engage Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver with a view to reopen the discussion about public notice ad requirements, as well as to lobby for an outright exemption from the province’s EPR (province-wide recycling program).
We need members’ engagement to help us to speak loudly.
This is equally important on the advertising front, as Jeff Beardsworth and his team are always looking for new ways to engage with their clients, needing your help along the way.
We look forward to working with you in 2023-24.
Dennis Merrell, CAE, Executive Director
2023 Convention Report – September 2023
The 103rd annual general meeting and convention of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association will be held Sept. 22, 2023 at Chateau Lacombe in Edmonton.
The most notable change in this year’s meeting is a move from late spring to the early days of fall. It was hoped odds of the premier and a number of cabinet ministers attending the bear-pit session would increase if the meeting was moved further from the provincial election.
Premier Danielle Smith has indicated she will not be in attendance and minister participation has yet to be determined. A request for topics/questions in advance has also put the value of the session in question.
Another significant change is that winners of the BNC Awards of Excellence, BNC General Excellence Awards and photo awards will be honoured during an extended luncheon rather than over an evening dinner celebration. The Direct Energy Volunteer Citizen of the Year will be announced and awarded at this time as well..
With a more compact day, the convention committee hopes more AWNA members will be able to attend. A $300 bursary has also been provided to the first 50 registrants to assist with travel costs.
For those unable to attend, the AGM and awards will be available via livestream.
The AGM will be held over two sessions and lively discussion about topics such as whether or not digital-only publications should be allowed membership, and what this looks like, on the agenda. The newly-elected board of directors will be installed and have a first meeting later in the day.
The Pluck a Duck fundraiser will again use a random spinning wheel program to select winners. Ducks are $20 each, with 70 per cent being paid out as prizes and 30 per cent supporting the CA Maclean Bursary Foundation. Ducks were available for purchase in advance and will be sold at the convention as well.
After a day of business, celebration and camaraderie, a hospitality suite gathering will wrap things up, following the AGM.
A number of members registered for the Bing Crosby Memorial Golf Tournament, to be held Thursday afternoon (Sept. 21) on the Riverside Golf Course in Edmonton.
The annual AGM is an opportunity to keep publishers engaged with the association in a meaningful way. Our industry is facing ongoing challenges and we are stronger when we face them together.
In-person registration remains low despite the single-day event and financial assistance. We welcome feedback from all members as we continue to attempt to engage as many members as possible. Please feel free to pass comments along to me – publisher@shootinthebreeze.ca.
Kudos to Daria Zmiyiwsky for her work on the awards ceremony and to Maurizia, Dennis and Julie Anne for doing the bulk of the planning and organizing, and supporting the board in its efforts.
Shannon Peace, Chair
2023 Convention
C.A. MacLean Foundation Report Sept 2023
The Committee held a conference call in December of 2022 to elect new board. Thank you to:
President, Dave Bruha
Officers: Amanda Zimmer, Rebecca Dika, Eric Anderson, and Mario Prusina
C. A. MacLean Bursary Foundation
The 25-year average rate of return in the C. A. MacLean Foundation is 4.75%.
A decision was made to use the funds to assist with convention expenses for attendees. $300 vouchers will be provided to the first 50 register members to assist with the expense of attending the annual AWNA convention. Any member who cancels their registration, the voucher will be used for the next person in line.
Ducks will be available for sale as a fundraiser for the bursary at the convention reception.
Civil Society Fund
We were denied funding this year.
Amanda Zimmer
CA MacLean Foundation Committee
Better Newspaper Competition Report
422 entries were received for the AWNA Photographic awards and Awards of Excellence which is 112% over last year’s entry numbers. Considering we reduced the number of available categories to enter, this shows a welcomed growth. The increase in submissions to the various advertising categories was the most positive change, more than double what we’ve seen in the last ten years. A huge thank you to the publishers and sales managers that went out of their way to make sure their advertising teams got to enter as well along with their editorial staff.
In the Photographic Awards we retired the Photo Illustration category as entries had declined drastically in the last few years. We introduced a new category to replace it, inspired by one that appears in the SWNA’s awards, Best Wildlife Photo. 15 entries made for a good start.
For General Excellence, we asked that members submit two months from 2022, one edition from March and one edition from September, the one that was considered the best issue for each of these months. 35 members sent in editions to be judged, comparable to last year.
The AWNA would like to thank Jamie Nesbitt, Brooks Bulletin for printing the Better Newspapers Competition handout.
Daria Zmiyiwsky, Chair
Better Newspaper Competition
News Media Canada Report Sept 2023
Federal Advocacy Priorities
POLICY
Online News Act
Bill C-18 received Royal Assent on June 22nd. In response, Meta has blocked news and has given notice that it is terminating agreements with publishers. Google’s stance is more constructive. On September 1st, the government unveiled the accompanying regulations. There is a 30-day comment period. Highlights include:
- Floor of roughly 4% of Canadian revenue.
- Incentive for publishers to join a collective.
- Agreements are to be within 20% of the average agreement.
- An appropriate portion of the compensation will be used for the production of local, regional and national news content
- Agreements must prohibit the following:
- (a) taking retaliatory action in response to an editorial decision of a news business;
- (b) restricting actions a news business may take to protect journalistic independence; and
- (c) intervening in a news business’s editorial process.
Federal Advertising
We have asked the federal government to direct 25% of advertising spend to domestic private sector news organizations and that government reporting becomes more transparent. There is a possibility that the Senate Transport and Communications Committee will study the issue this Fall.
CBC
We have asked Heritage to fulfill the Liberal party’s campaign promise to eliminate commercial advertising, including branded content, associated with CBC/Radio-Canada’s news sites and news programs.
FUNDING
In our Pre-Budget Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance, we asked the government to address the following in the Fall Economic Statement.
Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit
To incent more long-term newsroom investment: Increase the Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit from 25 per cent to 35 per cent – based on a salary cap of $85,000 per eligible newsroom employee – and do not deduct monies received via the Canadian Periodical Fund.
Advertising
To keep scarce advertising dollars in Canada: Establish tax measures to incent businesses to advertise with private sector Canadian news outlets, and bring fairness to the different tax treatment of advertising purchased from foreign websites.
Local Journalism Initiative
To enhance reporting in underserved communities: Extend the Local Journalism Initiative for another five years at $25 million per annum.
Prepared by Paul Deegan
President and CEO, News Media Canada
Notice of Motion Sept 2023
The following resolution is to be voted upon at the annual general meeting of the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association, to be held on Friday, September 22 at the Chateau Lacombe, Edmonton.
Resolution moved by Amanda Zimmer seconded by Shannon Peace that the AWNA Bylaws be changed as follows:
4. SPECIAL MEMBERSHIP
PROPOSED WORDING:
(E) Membership Criteria – Digital News Publications and News Websites
General membership in Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association shall be open to individuals or companies who own and publish digital news publications and news websites in Alberta that meet the following criteria, in addition to other membership requirements:
- Your media outlet is available to the general public in digital format or via the Internet.
- You conduct business in a professional manner.
- You abide by copyright laws, journalistic standards, and other laws applicable to media organizations.
- You are primarily focused on local or regional news to a specific geographic community; with a minimum of 80% be staff produced or locally written; and sell advertising space.
- You create original news content and are not an aggregator of content or links created by other media outlets.
- You regularly publish new, original news content, using recognized standards of professional journalism, at least once per week.
- You do not serve as a platform promoting the interests and/or opinions of a special interest group, individual or cause.
- Your business is registered or incorporated in Alberta or NWT.
- You have an office in Alberta/NWT and have publicized a telephone number, mailing address or other means for the public to contact you during usual business hours.
- You have been in the business of news publishing for at least 18 months.
- Social media pages and groups do not qualify
- Annual documentation showing the analytics of the number of users to be provided with membership application.
The online newspaper member is entitled to the benefits of membership including attendance and participation in AWNA sponsored programs, seminars, training and conventions and AWNA committee membership.
You are expected to adhere to the other membership bylaws.