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Inside The Narwhal

The Narwhal’s response to the Facebook news ban in Canada has earned us an award nomination

The Institute for Nonprofit News has recognized our efforts to double down on our direct relationship with readers amid turbulent times for journalism in this country
By
Arik has been experimenting with a host of different strategies to strengthen reader relationships in the aftermath of Bill C-18
Aug. 8, 2024 2 min. read

We probably don’t have to tell you: the past year has been a pretty wild one for the news industry in Canada. 

Last summer, when the Canadian government passed the Online News Act, Meta and Google both threatened to block all news content for users in our country. Instead of panicking, we saw an opportunity to start building more direct relationships with our audience.

Those efforts turned out to be pretty successful: thousands of you signed up for our newsletter and hundreds became members of The Narwhal.

Now, we’ve earned an INNovator Award nomination from the Institute for Nonprofit News, a network of more than 450 independent news organizations, including only a handful of Canadian members. 

The award, which we’re nominated for alongside Documented NY, recognizes work that has a positive financial impact on a newsroom and will help serve its community or audience into the future.

It’s a thrill to be nominated — an acknowledgement of how we can find ways to not only survive, but thrive, as a sustainable news organization in turbulent times.

And with social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram now permanently blocking news in Canada, and the growing concerns around Google search traffic in the wake of its AI push, the lessons we’ve learned about strengthening connections with readers and members are proving invaluable (stay tuned for more engagement efforts on that front!).

Thank you, Narwhals, for reading and supporting our independent journalism.

More ways you can stay connected with The Narwhal

Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
Yes, I’ll support independent journalism
Another year of keeping a close watch
Here at The Narwhal, we don’t use profit, awards or pageviews to measure success. The thing that matters most is real-world impact — evidence that our reporting influenced citizens to hold power to account and pushed policymakers to do better.

And in 2024, our stories were raised in parliaments across the country and cited by citizens in their petitions and letters to politicians.

In Alberta, our reporting revealed Premier Danielle Smith made false statements about the controversial renewables pause. In Manitoba, we proved that officials failed to formally inspect a leaky pipeline for years. And our investigations on a leaked recording of TC Energy executives were called “the most important Canadian political story of the year.”

We’d like to thank you for paying attention. And if you’re able to donate anything at all to help us keep doing this work in 2025 — which will bring a whole lot we can’t predict — thank you so very much.

Will you help us hold the powerful accountable in the year to come by giving what you can today?
I’ll support independent journalism

Published By
Arik Ligeti is The Narwhal’s director of audience, with a focus on growing a dedicated community of members and readers. Arik prev...

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