Governance

The Association of Quebec Regional English Media (AQREM) was created in 1980 to provide support for paid, subscription-based, community newspapers off the island of Montreal. The idea was for more established newspaper publishers to share their expertise and resources with newer papers and to use the collective clout of Quebec regional media to lobby government on behalf of minority-language papers that were providing their communities with vital information in a shifting political landscape.

The association’s founding bylaws stipulated that only newspapers operating in mainland Quebec were eligible to join AQREM since off-island papers faced unique challenges such as the cost of distribution over vast territories where the population was not concentrated, the distance to nearest printing press, the exodus of youth from rural communities and the struggle to find qualified staff for the papers. The bylaws were later modified to include a minimum number of independent Montreal newspapers who were facing similar struggles and could bring a new perspective and expertise to the association.

A standing bylaw committee was struck and as the media landscape changed, the association kept pace to reflect these changes by adding new categories of membership to include free-distribution papers, bilingual publications, digital publications, always with a view of ensuring regional representation and support for the role of minority-language community newspapers.

In 1990 the association changed its name from AQREM to QCNA. The association was opening up to papers on island of Montreal and wanted to drop ‘regional’.  The name QCNA was chosen to be more consistent with other provincial newspapers associations that made up membership of the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (note: in 2016 CCNA and CNA merged to form News Media Canada.)

Support for newspapers

With core funding from the Secretary of State, (later Canadian Heritage), a substantial portion of the budget was devoted to covering the cost of board-member travel to Montreal for regular meetings and weekend seminars, and for the association’s ED or publishers to visit newspapers and provide targeted support and training with operational issues. Because board members had to travel from the extremities of the province to attend board meetings, they were often two-day meetings combined with workshops. The focus was on helping fledgling newspapers adopt best practices and new technology.

Since member papers were located in pockets around the province, mechanisms were put in place to enable publishers to fully participate. Member-donated ad space in each publication covered the cost of hotel rooms for a representative from each paper to attend AGMs. (In one instance, members attended the AGM in Percé with Via Rail covering the cost of train travel from Montreal to Gaspé via a contra deal.)

Examples of support:

– The First Informer, a weekly newspaper and the sole source of news for the 600 English-speakers on the Magdalen Islands, was printing its paper each week in the early ‘80s on a Gestetner. Veteran Equity publisher and AQREM board member Ross Dickson went to the Magdalens, trained staff and volunteers on an AQREM-supplied computer, found a newspaper printer on the Island and arranged for distribution. The First Informer signed a sales contract with Reseau Sélect and continued to publish for decades.

-In 1987, before computers, e-mail and pdf transfer of files, the association coordinated a province-wide publication with regional associations entitled “Communities” which highlighted the work of regional associations, the issues they were facing as a minority- language community and the innovative approaches they were taking. Each newspaper sold advertising for the section in their own regions, providing province-wide reach since the sections were printed, shipped and distributed by each member paper.

-With a $100,000 grant from the federal government, the association purchased the first Compugraphic computers for newspapers. Considered the vanguard of technology at the time, the Compugraphic allowed text to be produced in correct headline and body font and printed in galleys ready for cut and paste layout. The association retained ownership of the computers to take advantage of maintenance contracts and newspapers paid a nominal leasing fee to the association which created a revenue stream for the association. AQREM eventually dropped the leasing fee and turned over ownership of the computers to the papers.

-As technology evolved , the association lobbied for, and secured funding to purchase laptop computers for newspapers and to provide training in PageMaker, then Quark Xpress for newspaper staff.

-A one-order, one bill clearing house for federal government advertising was created to ensure members received their share of advertising, and that readers in their communities were informed on government policies and program. The 15% booking fee provided the association with enough funds to hire a clearing house manager.

The QCNA clearing house manager was in an ideal position to help gov’t ad agencies target their advertising and to flag the agency when ads appeared in majority language papers. Example: Montrealers didn’t need to know new fishery quotas but readers in the Gaspe and the Magdalens did.

Prior to the Gomery Commission in 2006, newspapers were the government’s primary conduit for information to Canadians in the communities where they lived. A freeze imposed on government advertising, pos- Gomery , translated into a loss of $300,000- $450,000 annually for QCNA papers. When the government restored advertising budgets, the trend towards digital advertising had taken hold and newspapers were shut out.

-A staple of community newspapers was the classified ad section where readers could find goods and services locally. Capitalizing on the popularity of classified ads, QCNA created a Blanket Classified program which allowed member papers to sell classified ads to a wider audience regionally and provincially, generating a lucrative revenue stream for papers. That ended with the sudden appearance of free online sites like Craig’s List, Kijji and myriad of local classified ad sites quickly replaced paid classified advertising with ‘hits’ to the web site.

Partnerships

-Since its inception, AQREM/QCNA forged strong ties with Concordia University and in particular, the Dean of Journalism, Lindsay Crysler. Through this relationship, member papers were able to offer short-term internships to journalism students for class credits. A mutually beneficial partnership, papers benefitted from skilled reporters while graduates of the J-program gained hands-on experience. Lindsay Crysler helped QCNA establish its Better Newspapers Competition and for many years acted as chief judge. As the competition grew, he recruited others to help with the judging.

-Following the 1995 Quebec referendum, renewed efforts were made to inform Canadians ‘hors Quebec’ about Quebec’s distinct character. During the referendum campaign, a number of people from across the country had reached out to Quebecers through the Letters to the Editor section in our papers. This inspired Bill Floch, then a program director with Canadian Heritage, to entertain the idea of using community newspapers across Canada to build bridges. The idea emerged of using the Young Canada Works Summer Student program to bring young prospective journalists from across Canada to work in newspapers where they would gain first-hand knowledge of the culture, concerns and vitality of the community. The Young Canada Works Program in Two Official Languages, which has staffed our newspapers for decades, was created,complete with paid transportation from another part of Canada and a lodging allowance. Bill Floch and the director of the YCW program were invited by QCNA to pitch the program to Canadian publishers at a CCNA meeting where it was endorsed.

-QCNA was one of the regional associations invited to participate in the establishment of the Quebec Community Groups Network, to create its mission statement and operating parameters. QCNA has retained its seat on the board.

-QCNA and its French-language counterpart the APF, later Reseau Presse, have had a longstanding relationship with shared minority language concerns. The collective voice of the two minority-language media groups have helped shape Official Language policy.

Lobby efforts

In the early days, AQREM’s strategy was to raise the profile of minority language newspapers at every opportunity. There were constant speaking engagements. One particularly memorable event was a meeting held at the McGill Faculty Lounge with senior federal bureaucrats from every government department. Our pitch was to demonstrate advertising in community newspapers was their guarantee the message would be read and trusted. This led to a spike in advertising from several government departments.

Publishers used their vast network of contacts in government to open doors allowing representatives to make strong cases for government advertising and support. The association’s ED, along with the president and board members, spent considerable time in Ottawa and Quebec City making direct contact with decision-makers.

QCNA joined CCNAs successful lobby effort to curtail Canada Post’s predatory pricing practices and unfair competition in the flyer distribution business.