Environment & Animal WelfareSince 2022, the Winnipeg Free Press (WFP) has partnered with the digital environmental news site The Narwhal, to support a reporter who produces climate news content shared by both media outlets.
The Winnipeg Free Press is a 152-year-old daily newspaper, and Canada’s largest independent newspaper. The Narwhal News Society is a registered journalism organization (qualified donee status under the Canada Revenue Agency) that reports on climate and environmental issues. An award-winning online publication with national scope that focuses on the natural world, The Narwhal has bureaus in British Columbia, the Prairies, and Ontario. It serves a diverse audience of 350,000 readers per month.
The partnership was initially a three-year pilot project between the two news organizations, funded in part by The Winnipeg Foundation. The Winnipeg Free Press provides editorial oversight, office space, and resources such as photography, while the reporter writes for both The Narwhal and WFP.
The success of the initial partnership and the impact of local climate reporting has included investigative journalism stories covering a range of environmental issues; a close-up look into proposed mining and pipeline projects in Manitoba, human interest stories about climate impacts on Indigenous communities, and profiles of innovative local climate adaptation and mitigation ideas.
The partners agree there is a critical need for high quality, independent journalism, particularly in providing reliable information on the climate crisis—a topic prone to misinformation. The request for further funding for the climate reporter position is supported by the tenant that journalism is a pillar of democracy, and the decline of local news is eroding public trust.
“We all know climate change is one of the most critical issues of our time. And yet, not many newsrooms have someone covering climate change. I think part of the problem is that newsrooms far and wide are often struggling to ensure they are covering the basics given the challenges facing the news industry,” says WFP Editor Paul Samyn.
“This partnership is a different model of cooperation – that is very successful,” says Sharon J. Riley, Managing Editor for the Prairies, at The Narwhal. “It is a different kind of collaboration that maintains trust and the belief that a strong and independent press is critical to community success,” she added.
“Our partnership with the Narwhal allows us to deliver something that might not otherwise have been possible. The reputation of a trusted legacy brand like the Free Press working with a digital startup, is a recipe for success and a model others should look to in order to ensure Canadians get the climate coverage they deserve,” Samyn said.
The partnership between The Narwhal and Winnipeg Free Press has shown the climate reporter, Julia-Simone Rutgers, is increasingly seen as a trusted source by the public, other media outlets, and government decision-makers. Currently the only journalist in Manitoba dedicated to climate coverage, Rutgers has won several awards for her reporting from Manitoba and has received positive feedback from Indigenous communities for bringing attention to Indigenous climate issues with sensitivity.