Lisa Sygutek: Supportive federal policies have been game changers for community newspapers

Treyton Chomyn reads the Crowsnest Pass Herald, a weekly community newspaper in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., that is nearing its 97th year of publication. The paper's owner and publisher, Lisa Sygutek, writes that two federal measures — the Online News Act and the Local Journalism Initiative — have enabled the publication to increase staff and story volume, diversify coverage and improve consistency in reporting. Photo by Lisa Sygutek / Crowsnest Pass Herald

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As a small businesswoman and the owner of a community newspaper approaching its 97th year of publication, I feel for the first time in many years that reaching the 100-year milestone is a real possibility. Two federal government policies have been game changers for my newspaper and for our community.

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Prior to the Online News Act, Google did content licensing agreements with a few larger Canadian news publishers. Small independent community newspapers like mine were left to wither and die on the vine. Google, at its discretion, was picking the winners and losers in the Canadian media landscape. Thanks to the Online News Act, my paper, the Crowsnest Pass Herald, now receives about $35,000 annually from Google.

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The other policy is the Local Journalism Initiative (LJI). The LJI supports the creation of original civic journalism in underserved communities across Canada. It allows media organizations to hire reporters or pay freelance journalists. A great feature of the LJI is that the content produced is made available to other media organizations through a Creative Commons licence so that other communities across Canada can learn more about my community.

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In 2023–2024, the LJI program contributed to the hiring of approximately 700 journalists across Canada. Recently, the Crowsnest Pass Herald received LJI funding of about $39,000.

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So, what does this kind of support mean to the publisher of a small, independent community newspaper like me?

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Let me state unequivocally, these programs have a direct and measurable impact on both editorial capacity and business growth. Comparing our 2025 and 2026 editions, the change is substantial and consistent. In early 2025, the Pass Herald was typically producing 16- to 20-page issues. We are now consistently producing 20- to 24-page editions. This represents an increase of four to eight pages per issue, or approximately 192 to 384 additional pages annually across our publishing schedule.

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This increase is not cosmetic. It reflects a real expansion in reporting capacity. We have transitioned from a limited reporting model to a multi-reporter newsroom. This includes the LJI reporter, and thanks to funds we received under the Online News Act, the addition of a second reporter hired by the paper as well as expanded use of contributors.

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This has allowed us to significantly increase story volume, diversify coverage and improve consistency in our reporting.

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That increase can be measured directly in story output. In 2025, we were producing approximately nine to 12 core stories per issue. In 2026, that number has increased to between 16 and 21 stories per issue. This represents an increase of approximately 60 to 90 per cent in editorial output and reflects a shift from a single-thread newsroom to a multi-reporter operation capable of covering multiple issues at once.

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Most importantly, the nature of our coverage has changed. Whereas our coverage a couple of years ago focused primarily on community events and features, we are now consistently reporting on civic governance, economic issues, development decisions, institutional accountability and regional matters. This aligns directly with the intended purpose of the LJI program.