Student and independent journalists working to adapt with Bill C-18

Bill C-18 is changing the media landscape. In the Maritimes, independent and student journalists are concerned for what it means for their readership online.

"People won't be able to find us on Facebook,” said Giuliana Grillo de Lambarri, editor of The Aquinian, St. Thomas University’s student newspaper.

“And if they don't find us on Facebook, they can very easily forget that we are there reporting.”

As for one of the last independent newspapers in New Brunswick, French paper Acadie Nouvelle is working to adapt before readership has a chance to decline.

"At this point, we don't have any clue, about how much will be the impact,” said Francis Sonier, editor and CEO of Acadie Nouvelle.

“But for sure, we expect to have less traffic from social media to our website.”

In an ever-changing market, Sonier says Acadie Nouvelle was already working outside social media due to inconsistent algorithms.

Without Meta's social media and Google results, journalism classes will also have to adjust how to teach students to share their stories once created.

"There is going to be this shift where once news is created, once stories are created, how it’s disseminated, and part of the teaching environment is going to shift on this as well,” said Jamie Gillies, chair of the journalism department at St. Thomas University.

“Before there is this discussion of what you do once the story is out there -- do you use your own, or the organization's social media, what if Meta and Google are not part of the equation anymore?”

In a dynamic business, students are ready to roll with the punches.

"We'll have to be taught how to deal with that and how to adapt to other social media,” said Grillo de Lambarri.

“The Aquinian, for example, has other social platforms -- YouTube, TikTok, Twitter."

"We are still in the process of figuring out how this is going to affect us and how to accommodate. One of the things I mentioned is QR codes to our website, maybe posters.”

For more established newsrooms, Acadie Nouvelle is working on solutions.

"Right now, we're working very hard to encourage people to subscribe, to go directly to our website and subscribe to our newsletter,” Sonier said.

“In the next few weeks, we will have a mobile application.”

Acadie Nouvelle says they plan to contact the federal government regarding Bill C-18 and its affect on their paper.

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