News

By Regan Tate

Editors Note: Prepare to lose access to local news on Facebook and Google

Jul 31, 2023 | 1:27 PM

By now many of you have likely heard about Canada’s Online News Act – formerly known as Bill C-18. The new law calls for big tech companies to compensate media outlets and aims to make a more level playing field when it comes to online advertising – a revenue stream many of our local newsrooms within Pattison Media rely on, but which companies like Google and Meta monopolize.

In response to the new legislation, Google said it will remove Canadian news links from its search engine. Meta, the parent company for Facebook and Instagram, said it too would stop sharing news on its platforms for Canadians.

While this is a serious problem for news organizations in the country, there is also a risk to you – our loyal readers. It could mean that you won’t see our posts on your Facebook feed and our news stories won’t show up when you search them in Google. Our newsrooms across western Canada strive to bring you the stories within our communities that matter most and that isn’t going to change.

What may change is how you find us, but there are some simple steps you can take right now to ensure that you’ll always have easy access to free local news coverage.

1. Visit chatnewstoday.ca directly through your web address bar.
2. Bookmark our website in your internet browser. That will allow you quick and direct access to the page instead of having to search for it in the future.
3. Download our free news app through Apple or Google Play.
4. Sign up for push notifications from our news portal or daily news bulletins via email (an option we’ll be sure to promote in the coming weeks)

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Coming to us directly means that you won’t have to sift through irrelevant news stories and question what you are reading. Our newsrooms abide by the RTNDA Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct and we strive to always achieve the highest ethical standards in all that we do.

Perhaps the big tech companies and government will come to an amicable solution. Regardless of the outcome, as we said earlier, we are not going anywhere and you can do your part to stay informed by continuing to visit chatnewstoday.ca.

Thank you in advance for your continued readership and support. We look forward to continuing to share the stories about the people, places and things that make up the heartbeat of our communities.

Sincerely,

Teena Monteleone

Managing Editor, Pattison Media

and

Regan Tate

News Director, chatnewstoday.ca