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4 Wednesday March 2 2016 The Northern Journal is an independent newspaper covering news and events in the western Arctic and northern Alberta. The Northern Journal is published weekly by Cascade Publishing Ltd. Printed at Star Press Inc. Wainwright AB. Publisher.................................................................................. Don Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.21 donnorj.ca Editor...................................................................................... Craig Gilbert 867-872-3000 ext.24 newsnorj.ca Reporter........................................................................ Dali Carmichael 867-872-3000 ext.25 reporternorj.ca Comptroller........................................................Jessica Dell 867-872-3000 ext.20 webnorj.ca Advertising............................................................................ 867-872-3000 ext.26 adsnorj.ca Administration.............................................Jeremy Turcotte 867-872-3000 ext.26 adminnorj.ca Production Manager.......................................Sandra Jaque 867-872-3000 ext.22 sandranorj.ca Graphics.........................................................Paul Bannister 867-872-3000 ext.27 graphicsnorj.ca Letters to the Editor Policy The Northern Journal welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include a phone number so the author can be verified. Names will be withheld on request in special circumstances where the reasons are determined to be valid. The Journal reserves the right to edit letters for length libel clarity and taste. Opinions expressed in letters and columns are not necessarily those of the publisher or editor. EDITORIAL LETTERSTOTHEEDITOR 2013 CCNA BLUE RIBBON CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2013 C M C A AUDITED Advertising Deadlines Display ad deadline is Thursday at 400 p.m. Classified ad deadline is Thursday at 500 p.m. Email adsnorj.ca Subscription Rates Prices include GST. 47.25 in Fort Smith 52.50 elsewhere in Canada 105 in the USA overseas 164.30. The Northern Journal acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund CPF for our publishing activities. ISSN No. 0707-4964 Editor Congratulations and thanks Don and San- dra Jaque for 40 years of ink-stained sweat and devotion to journalism North of 60. I wish your legacy could have been passed on. Our world will be a little smaller a little grayer with the shuttering of the Northern Journal. Its a sad day when any town or city loses a newspaper... theres one less voice to shout the news champion the cause filter the gossip and promote the local commerce. I have been a modest photo contributor to the Journal for a couple of years. Ill miss the chase and getting my stuff in by deadline and seeing my work in print. Thanks for giv- ing me the chance to do this and good luck. Bill Braden Yellowknife PhotoDonJaque Editor Congratulations to Don Jaque and staff on a long and illustrious life of serving community and progressive thought in Canadas North through the high standards set in the Slave RiverJournalandlatertheNorthernJournal. Though saddened by the news that Northern Journal will be discontinued I know I am joined by non-government organizations like Alternatives North and many other groups and individuals seeking to improve north- ern lives and the northern environment in expressing best wishes and gratitude for the thorough and competent reporting you have brought to issues of great portent to north- erners. Our families our communities our cultures our land and the respectful caring and attention to all of these entities are first and foremost in our lives and your coverage consistently recognized and contributed to those priorities. Over the years your enterprise has brought northhiredandtrainedmanynewjournalists who continue to serve our communications across the North today and will undoubt- edly do so into the future. A northern pub- lishing tradition of record this service has helped young reporters to gain important experience through northern news services and then seen them go on to contribute ter- itorially and nationally in other roles. It is a phenomenon that reflects the skills and insights of our publishers and editors like those of the Northern Journal whose work we are privileged to enjoy in our territorial news services. Finally I cannot fail to mention the edito- rials typically thoughtful critical challeng- ing and informative and again reflective of the issues so important to our population and often focusing on key issues of social economic and environmental justice for all. To publishers and staff I expect we will be hearing from you in new and unique ways. Thanks again for your years of work provid- ing us with the news. Bob Bromley Yellowknife Two weeks ago staff at the Northern Jour- nal were served notice the print edition could no longer be sustained. This weeks issue will be the last the newsroom terminated - at least as it exists now in Fort Smith. The on- line edition will be continued in some form but it too will need revenue to carry on. The Journal meeting was depressing. Jobs were lost and our national award-winning news- paper sustained in a small NWT town for 40 years was being shuttered. It was a necessary business decision. The cost of wages printing freight and other ex- penses had outstripped revenue. The move of major advertisers away from print media particularly the loss of GNWT advertising with the economic downturn piled on top were a perfect storm. The Northern Journal had diversified into different markets but many commu- nity entrepreneurs say they dont need to advertise or are using social media and only a few businesses remain loyal to print media. Neither the Alberta NDP nor the new federal Liberal government has sorted out how they will communicate programs and initiatives and advertising budgets remain frozen. Many of the big players in the oil- sands industry withdrew advertising from the Journal some time ago as a result of our coverage of health and environment issues around Fort Chipewyan and Fort McKay but the crash in oil prices took away the rest. The biggest financial hit impacting all NWT newspapers has been the reduc- tion in advertising by the NWT govern- ment. The Northern Journal likely could have been sustained if it moved to Yellow- knife a bigger commercial market with di- rect access to GNWT managers. Operating in a smaller community however is always more challenging. Newspapers create jobs contributing to the economy. Calculate federal transfer payments based on the number of newspa- per industry employees and the direct cash allotment to the GNWT last year exceeds the amount of money spent by all depart- ments on newspapers advertising and the amount continues to decline in 2016. Add in other taxes and money spent on living expenses that bolster local economies and the direct benefits from the newspaper in- dustry in the NWT far exceeds the cost of advertising. Why would the GNWT which says attracting new residents to the NWT is a priority reduce advertising expenditures and eliminate those jobs The GNWT has de-funded the newspaper industry in the NWT and in so doing is losing money. It makes no sense. Whatever the financial math we prefer that newspapers were valued and supported for the multiple services they provide to North- ern communities particularly journalism which has an important role in keeping so- ciety informed robust and free. Seventy years ago newspapers were respected as a cornerstone of democracy. Today that seems largely forgotten. Newspapers have provided a central point for the dissemi- nation of information and a critical part of that involved building credibility and respect over time reliable proven ac- countable sources. The role of a newspa- per of record - getting the facts right pro- viding information from official sources dispelling rumours - has been important. That need still exists but has no equal in new media. Multiple sources of information have grown up making the field of media rich and di- verse but now a crunch has come and news- papers are the current victim. Online news sources the CBC plus Facebook and Twitter will fill the need but will it be done as well Note that online news sources are also not supported with secure revenue streams so they too will be vulnerable. The devices we carry are a portal to lim- itless information but what we get through them often lacks scrutiny and in some cases is purposefully biased supporting a cause or ideology. That can be hard to discern in an online world where scams and deception are a new normal. Social media by nature can have a fragmenting effect on our society. For example Facebook is a tremendously ef- fective resource for connecting groups with a common purpose but the communication is targeted the groups closed and so iso- lated from the broader community. Oddly many people - including highly-placed government administrators - use only so- cial media to get their messages out now and do not recognize or understand that limitation. Our society is changing rapidly including how it connects or doesnt. The implications of that have not been thought through. They need to be. The Journal has had a good run and al- though it may become a notch on the belt of history its loss offers a lesson. A world without multiple competing comprehen- sive news and information sources par- ticularly one with a limited number of dedicated journalists is a step backward. It is not wise to try to hold back the hands of time but protecting what is important and valuable when the way forward is un- planned and unguided is not only a good idea it is essential. Death of a newspaper by a thousand cuts Willie Thrashers hard driving guitar rhythms and songs about indigenous culture were appreciated in communities from the Mackenzie Delta to Fort Smith in the last two weeks as he returned to the North including his native Inuvik for the first time in over 35 years. He and his partner and accompanying vocalist Linda Saddleback were visiting from their long time home in Nanaimo B.C. as part of a Northern Arts and Cultural Centre tour along with Kevin Howes a music historian. The tour was based on a compilation of musicians called Native North America Vol. 1 with folk rock and country music performed by 23 aboriginal musicians and groups from 1966 to 1985 that Howes had authored. Thrasher is one of the feature artists on the album. Praise for the Journal