Our Commitment To Our Readers in 2018

As a new year gets underway, we’ve been taking some time to reflect.

2017 was a breakthrough year for DeSmog Canada’s independent journalism and we really mean it when we say: none of this could have happened without our dedicated readers.

In the past year, our people-powered journalism reached four million people and our reporting informed coverage by the New York Times, Globe and Mail and CBC.

Thank you for reading, sharing and donating what you can to make this work possible.

The stories we cover don’t always have happy endings. But as journalists, we have a unique opportunity to shine a spotlight on abuses of power and increase public scrutiny of important issues. This can, and often does, change history.

As we look at the year ahead, we are incredibly excited to continue to expand and improve the way we tell energy and environment stories in Canada. These are our five key commitments to you in 2018.

1) We’ll strive to re-ignite a shared sense of common good.

Environmental debates around the world have become marked by polarization and dogma. At DeSmog Canada, we are committed to telling energy and environment stories in a way that breaks down walls and brings Canadians together to solve the biggest challenges of our time. This is a tall order, but given Canadians’ overwhelming love of nature, we are optimistic about the potential to advance this conversation in 2018.

2) We’ll showcase solutions.

Being environmental journalists at this point in history means telling a lot of bad news stories. But there are plenty of good news stories out there as well. And we are committed to telling these stories as much as possible to spark hope and light the way for others.

3) We’ll give a voice to the underdog.

DeSmog Canada exists to tell stories that aren’t being told anywhere else. Part of our mission is to give voice to people and communities who often don’t have a voice, from indigenous communities to landowners to workers. Look for us to put the stories of real people at the centre of our reporting even more in 2018.

4) We’ll hold the powerful accountable.

At its heart, good journalism challenges the powerful and stands up for ordinary people. That takes grit. And it takes caring deeply about the public interest. We promise to keep this principle at the core of all of our work.

5) We’ll be bold.

Our goal is to be bold not just in our reporting, but also in our vision for building a new kind of media in Canada. At the beginning of 2017 we counted just 22 monthly members. Now we can count more than 150 monthly members, who together contribute nearly $2,000 a month. Our goal is to reach 400 members by the end of 2018.

Monthly members provide the stability we need to dig deep into stories that aren’t being told anywhere else. If you support our vision for independent journalism in Canada, please become a member today.

Thanks again for all you do to make non-profit media a reality every day. We look forward to serving you in 2018.

P.S. If you haven’t done so yet, make sure to sign up for our (pretty awesome) free weekly newsletter.