Inside The Narwhal

We’ve been recognized for excellence in journalism. Our members make it all possible

The award nomination from the Canadian Journalism Foundation, for photojournalist Amber Bracken’s account of her arrest at the hands of the RCMP on Wet’suwet’en territory, underscores the critical support our members provide for on-the-ground reporting

By Emma Gilchrist

April 2, 2022 1 min. read

The world is full of a lot of hard things these days: war, climate change, political polarization.

In times like these, it’s easy to feel like what we do doesn’t matter. But, as Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

The truth is The Narwhal wouldn’t exist without the generosity of thousands of readers — people who have decided to do their part to change the world.

From the beginning, we dreamt of doing something different, of breathing new life into a tired news landscape. No ads, no paywall, no clickbait. Instead, we wanted to focus on in-depth and investigative journalism — the stuff traditional newsrooms were doing less and less of.

This week that commitment paid off when we were named a finalist for the Canadian Journalism Foundation’s Jackman Award for excellence in journalism for photojournalist Amber Bracken’s work in Wet’suwet’en territory (work for which she was wrongfully arrested and detained by the RCMP).

A crowd of RCMP officers, including militarized police wait in the courtyard outside of a tiny house dwelling as Wet'suwet'en supporters are arrested — This is the last image photojournalist Amber Bracken took before she was arrested on Nov. 19 while covering opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline project in Wet’suwet’en territory.

Without our members, we wouldn’t be able to invest in sending journalists like Amber to report from remote locations for days and sometimes weeks on end.

But here’s the thing: just two per cent of Narwhal readers are members. And we’ve fallen behind on our membership targets for the year. Will you join the two per cent and become a member of The Narwhal today?

Bonus: for a limited time, we’re offering all new members a copy of our beautiful annual print edition, featuring Amber’s award-nominated coverage, hot off the press!

Our biggest dream for The Narwhal was to redefine what’s possible in the Canadian journalism landscape and to prove that when people come together, anything is possible.

Last week, many of our new members wrote to say that The Narwhal gives them something to feel hopeful about.

“What you do is vital and it gives me hope in a time when hope is often hard to come by,” wrote Brian.

Our members are proof that when you restore the connection between journalists and the public they serve, anything is possible. ✨

Thanks for all you do,

Emma Gilchrist
Editor-in-chief

P.S. We only printed 2,000 copies of our magazine this year, so if you want to lay your hands on one, make sure to become a member today.

It was a chilly winter day...

when news broke that photojournalist Amber Bracken had been arrested by the RCMP while reporting for The Narwhal from Wet’suwet’en territory in northwestern B.C.

“Soon they would put me in handcuffs and take my cameras from me,” Amber said. “After that they would take my rights.”

As a small, non-profit news organization, we didn’t want to take one of the most powerful organizations in our country to court. Ultimately, we realized we had no other choice — because an absence of journalism leaves us all in the dark.

We wouldn’t be able to take this stand for press freedom — or send journalists like Amber to cover critically important environmental stories — without the ongoing support of thousands of members like you who make The Narwhal possible.

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