July  Newsletter

FSJ & District Member News:

We are considering putting on some Small Business Christmas parties this year. If your small business is interested in attending a Christmas party, please send an email to admin@fsjchamber.com by July 30th, 2023

FEATURED MEMBER BENEFIT

BILL C18

The following information is provided courtesy of Adam Reaburn, Energeticcity.ca / MooseFM

UPDATED June 22, 2023 – The Senate gave final approval to Bill C-18, and Meta has confirmed they will move forward with removing news from Facebook and Instagram. It is not clear when Meta will remove news from its platforms, but they did say it will happen before the new law takes effect.

Original Post

In the next few weeks, you may no longer be able to access local news on the social media platforms Meta owns, Facebook and Instagram. You will no longer be able to share a story with friends or access the Facebook page of a Canadian news organization.

Why is this happening? It all has to do with the Federal Governments Bill C-18. The bill is expected to become law this week, and once that happens, Facebook has told the Canadian Government it will ban all Canadian news from being shared on its platform. 

Under the new law, Meta and Google would pay news organizations in Canada if their articles are shared on their platforms. While I don’t understand why Google, Instagram and Facebook need to pay us when we use their platforms to share our articles, we are past the point of debating the merits of this bill. Google has also threatened to remove news articles from their search engine but has yet to provide as detailed a plan as Meta.

The bill was designed to help fund local journalism. I’m just not sure relying on Facebook and Google is the best way to improve the current financial situation of journalism in Canada. News organizations all over Canada have been cutting staff because advertising revenue has dropped. Much of that revenue has gone to Meta and Google. Here in Fort St. John, we used to have three weekly newspapers, a daily newspaper, a TV station, three radio stations and two local news websites. The newspapers have disappeared along with their reporters, and now we only have one weekly newspaper.

Meta has said once this bill becomes law, they will ban all sharing of Canadian news on their social media platforms. That means even you won’t be able to share articles on Facebook or Instagram. That is deeply concerning. I know many people in this region rely on Facebook for local news. Or, as some like to say, they wake up and scroll through Facebook as if they are reading the morning newspaper.

Another issue with the ban is that it will only help to perpetuate the misinformation that already circulates on their platforms. We use Facebook to find out what people are concerned about locally to create a starting point for our stories. Sometimes the story may simply be a way to set the record straight about the post that was shared on social media. 

Our job has always been to collect all the facts and let you decide if you agree with a decision a local politician makes. Now on social media, you will only see one opinion rather than both sides of the story.

So how should you support local journalism in Fort St. John in the future? It is a simple change, but a change. Start by visiting your favourite local news websites every day.

Here at Energeticcity.ca, we publish almost ten stories a day, and even if you follow our Facebook, Facebook only shows you some of the articles.

You can join our daily newsletter. Every day we send an email highlighting the news from the previous day. You can join the newsletter by visiting energeticcity.ca/newsletter.

We have also launched a new mobile app that works on Android and Apple devices. Plus, you can access our articles without advertising if you become a paying supporter. You can download the app here, energeticcity.ca/app.

On top of this, we will continue to post links to our stories on Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok.

This planned change will significantly affect local media in Fort St. John and Canada. Despite this change, with your help, we can continue to cover local news in Fort St. John and Northeast B.C.  We have faced challenges in the past, and we know that with your support, we can overcome this.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.  I can be reached at adam@moosefm.ca or by phone at 250-787-7100.

Sincerely,

Adam Reaburn

LETTER TO THE PRRD

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FUNDING FOR SMALL BUSINESS

CHAMBER CHAMPIONS

Chamber Champions are often the backbone of the Chamber. Their valued support throughout the year sets them apart as a Chamber supporter within the community.

The Chamber shows its dedication to the local business community by representing their brands in different programs and projects that the Chamber supports.  The Chamber acknowledges that the Champions support the work they do, and that the Champions value the advocacy and leadership demonstrated by the Chamber in the community.

Champions are showcased on much of the Chamber’s marketing and often appear at our programs and events.  Often our Chamber Champions are first in line when it comes to launching new projects that will have an impact in the community. It is their trust in the work we do that helps us continue to do the work we do for our membership and community.

We thank our Chamber Champions for being our greatest supporters!  

If you would like more information, or are interested in becoming a Chamber Champion, please give us a call at 250-785-6037 or send an email to admin@fsjchamber.com

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