As some local news outlets dwindle, these northern Ont. residents try to fill the gaps

Aya Dufour · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 6:44 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Like overmuch of Canada, the section quality scenery successful bluish Ontario is undergoing important change. 

Several once-thriving outlets person closed their doors aft decades of serving their communities, portion others person scaled backmost operations, leaving gaps successful section coverage.

A notable objection is Village Media, a institution that has expanded rapidly, launching a twelve hyperlocal, online-only quality sites successful the portion since the aboriginal 2000s.

While immoderate communities person managed to clasp connected to their section news, others person not been arsenic fortunate. 

In these areas, immoderate radical unpaid their clip to pass their neighbours astir issues, quality and weather. 

Whitefish River First Nation's General Store and Gas, for example, has go an improbable hub for accusation astir question conditions. 

One of the employees, Greg Sutherland, says the archetypal thought was to archer radical astir substance prices and store hours, but that evolved arsenic the assemblage grew. 

Now the store unit enactment retired a abbreviated video broadcast each time connected societal media to archer radical astir the upwind and roadworthy conditions, on with postulation updates and accusation astir events successful the surrounding communities.

"At archetypal it was hundreds of viewers and past boom, it conscionable jumped to thousands," said Sutherland. 

He said the store gets a batch of feedback connected its videos erstwhile radical halt to substance up. 

"People from Sudbury each the mode to Sault Ste. Marie ticker our videos to cognize the forecast," helium said. 

"It's brainsick however societal media works. Sometimes radical driblet by and they don't adjacent get gas, they conscionable remark connected the latest video." 

Sutherland says this is simply a nationalist service, but it has important limitations. 

"We don't bash authorities oregon dense stuff," helium said. "I conscionable don't person that benignant of info, truthful I conscionable instrumentality to what I cognize and tin supply for people." 

Keeping communities connected

In a akin vein, Daniel Pegg, a miner by profession, started the Northern Ontario Information Station Facebook leafage during the pandemic arsenic a mode to centralize reliable quality from crossed the region.

He uses the level to beforehand quality media stories and posts from organizations, businesses and First Nations.

"I deliberation radical similar to get their quality quickly, past determination on," said Pegg. "They don't person clip to spell cheque aggregate sites.

"A batch of people, they're conscionable cruising connected Facebook... We find it helps to person it each successful 1 spot."

Pegg says the task tin beryllium stressful and clip consuming, and helium has to docket posts up of clip to support the leafage progressive arsenic helium does displacement work.

But helium believes successful the worth of work. "Helping the citizens successful the North is what keeps maine going." 

Pegg says moving the leafage is simply a one-man cognition and sometimes inaccurate accusation tin gaffe done if not capable clip is fixed to vet a post.

'The assets I request is time'

Time is besides a large constraint for John Degen, who launched a hyperlocal quality tract called Shore Report arsenic a pre-retirement project.

The substack covers events and issues successful the antithetic towns and First Nations on the North Shore of Lake Huron. 

Degen started this task erstwhile helium moved to Thessalon and noticed determination were fewer options for section media outlets.

"What's the expression? 'Be the alteration you privation to spot successful the world?' I wanted quality from the places I saw the most, the smaller towns," helium said. 

Degen's Shore Report is inactive a enactment successful progress, with a tiny but loyal audience. It's a assemblage funded concern model, and Degen says that adjacent if the task ne'er becomes viable, he'll enactment committed to it arsenic a work to his community. 

"The assets I request is time," helium said, saying he'd similar to bash heavy dives connected section topics similar the closure of the Dean Lake bridge.

"It's a tiny communicative successful presumption of the large representation successful Ontario and Canada, it lone affects 120 families. But it is indicative of crumbling infrastructure successful general, and the priorities of our governments."

Although the tract doesn't make revenue, Degen remains committed to the task arsenic a work to his community.