Our Newsletter
THE CONNECTOR
SUMMER EDITION 2024
QCNA NEWS
Reframing for the Future:
Two Days In Montreal
QCNA member newspapers sent delegates to Montreal on June 27th & 28th to meet with QCNA staff and attend two days of strategic planning, the AGM and the Annual QCNA BNC Awards Gala. It was a lot! But in a good way. It was an incredible opportunity to connect and set the tone for the future of our newspapers. Please read more about QCNA’s direction and the successes of 2023 that we are building upon in our Annual Report which includes a summary of QCNA’s activities by our President, Brenda O’Farrell.
NEWS FOR MEMBERS
The Annual QCNA Better Newspapers Competition WINNERS!
QCNA is encouraging media outlets to register directly with Google by completing their open call application form by April 30, 2024 at midnight ET. If you fail to register by Google’s deadline, you will not be eligible to participate. Register here.
There are three possible paths for a news outlet to be elgible. Refer to Section 27 of the legislation, The Online News Act, for full information.
QCNA Board of Directors
As you can tell by this photo, the mood was palpably positive at QCNA’s 44th AGM on June 28th. Remaining as the executives are Brenda O’Farrell (The 1019 Report) as President, Nikki Mantell (The Low Down to Hull and Back News) as Vice-President, and Lily Ryan (Aylmer Bulletin) as Treasurer. Also returning board members are Cynthia Dow (Gaspe Spec), Charles Dickson (The Equity) and Michael Sochaczevski (The Suburban). Newly re-elected to the board for 2024-2025 is Sharon McCully (The Record). We are thrilled to have her return!
Cynthia, Nikki, Charles, Brenda, Lily. Missing from this picture are Michael and Sharon.
QCNA announces recipients of its 2024 LJI Program
QCNA has announced the recipient list for the 2024-2025 Local Journalism Program. This year there are 22 approved LJI recipient newspapers.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) supports the creation of original civic journalism that covers
the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada. Launched by the Government
of Canada in 2019 and ongoing through 2025, the LJI provides eligible
Canadian news organizations with funding to hire journalists or pay freelance journalists to
produce civic journalism for underserved communities.
GRANT INFORMATION
Internship Program
The official language media internship program has been launched for 2024-2025. Eligible media will have been sent an invitation to apply via the Consortium of Official Language Community Media. The Consortium successfully negotiated to become the administrative organization for the Department of Canadian Heritage program. The program has changed slightly in order to better reflect the realities of our newsrooms. If you would like further information, please contact QCNA at info@qcna.qc.ca
GRANT INFORMATION
Special Measures for Journalism
Deadline extended to July 26th.
This grant provides a flexibility to allow publishers to direct funds to the areas of greatest need. Recipients can spend the funds on a variety of publishing activities, such as content creation, production, distribution, or business development.
Please read eligibility criteria carefully and contact the program office if you have a specific question.
Quebec Budget: Highlights Concerning Media
On March 12, the Quebec government announced its budget for 2024-2025 and here are the highlights affecting media:
The Ministère de la Culture et des Communications has been allocated an additional $30 million over 5 years.
- Renewal of the assistance measure for Recycle Médias (major part of the $30 M)
- Renewal of the 35% payroll tax credit to support the print media
- Renewal of the digital transformation program (see note above)
- Increased support for the Conseil de presse du Québec
Explore Group Insurance Plans
The QCNA office has renegotiated our life insurance and health benefits plan. Our advisor, who is with M. Bacal Group, is working with AGA Financial and they are able to offer newspapers with a minimum of two permanent staff the opportunity to join a group policy. Please reach out to the QCNA office to be put in touch with our advisor.
ON THE CALENDAR
QCNA EVENT
Great Idea Exchange for Publishers & their teams
Join us on August 30th at 11 am. An invite via email is forthcoming.
This month’s topic:
Digital News Options
With a presentation by Martin Caron of Reseau.Presse on the “Evopresse” platform that Francopresse.ca is on, and you can share what web experiences have worked and not worked for your news outlet.
GET INVOLVED
PARTNER ASSOCIATIONS
Recycle Médias
Recycle Media has a new administrative body: Éco Entreprises Québec. Most member newspapers are required by law to register. Please click on the button below to read more.
TRAINING
Renewed: Committees!
QCNA’s two days of in-person strategic planning in June inspired many to join in on important committee work. Please, get involved! For more on committee descriptions and time commitments, please click the button below.
QCNA PARTNERS IN THE NEWS
From QCGN:
Myths about privileged, unilingual anglophones persist, study finds
The recent study by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages challenges some of the persistent myths about Quebec’s English-speaking community and its relationship with the French language… “This study is the kind of thing that will go a long way towards repairing divisions,” says QCGN President Eva Ludvig. “We have more in common than we think we do.”
From francopresse.ca
Entente Google : les médias de langues minoritaires sur leurs gardes
Le groupe choisi par Google pour distribuer ses 100 millions de dollars à travers l’écosystème médiatique canadien est formé de petits médias. Le choix rassure plusieurs acteurs du milieu, mais ceux de langue officielle en situation minoritaire continuent de suivre le dossier de près.
