Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
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Attention must be paid — and earned
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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about distraction.
The problem is that… well, I keep getting distracted.
On my computer screen, it’s one email notification after another. On the significant other in my pocket or no further away than arm’s length, it’s a haptic tug away from what I’m doing to look again at my smartphone. Even the watch on my wrist does more than tell time, sending me alerts that take time away from whatever else I am doing.
I am not alone. Researchers have found our attention spans are shrinking. In 2004, we could focus on a task for two and half minutes, on average, without being distracted. By 2012, that dropped to 75 seconds. In this digital decade, the median is now just 47 seconds. No wonder TikTok’s 15 seconds of fame is so addictive.
My recent attraction to distraction is partly owing to the time recently spent on a round-trip flight to England, where I was finally able to break free of that technology tether. There’s something about flying at 36,000 feet high above the clouds that’s so conducive to thinking, pondering, reflecting.
My focus on distraction — a pursuit measured in podcasts, articles and scholarly work — is also rooted in the fact that our newsroom is one of the many entities vying for your attention.
Today, “paying attention” has gained a whole new lucrative meaning in the digital world. Your attention has become a precious resource. Whoever holds your attention, holds the keys to profitability — and the tech giants invest millions in engineering ways to keep you scrolling, swiping and clicking.
I’d like to think the Free Press is worthy of your attention, rather than being a distraction. But I’m also mindful that for much of our 152-year history, the only notification you received from us was the thwap of our print edition landing on your doorstep.
It was an information bundle you could consume at your leisure — and once you had read what held your attention, there was a sense of completion. You could get on with whatever else you deemed worthy of your attention.
In today’s world, when information and “content” — the good, the bad and the ugly — are coming at you non-stop, we have to work harder to earn your attention.
That’s part of the reason for newsletters like this one: reminding you that we’re here, and inviting you to invest a moment of focus in a world of buzzes and pings.
If you’ve made it this far, I’ll hit pause to thank you for your attention. I greatly appreciate the time you take to read what I write and the stories our newsroom produces.
And since we are heading into a summer long weekend, I hope you’re able to find some time free of distraction to truly focus on what really matters to you.
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Paul Samyn, Editor
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COMING UP
This summer, home is where the vacation heart beats as Canadians are exploring their country in droves. With that in mind, I, writers and editors take readers on a cross-country journey as they reflect on some of their favourite destinations and travelling memories.
The use of solitary confinement in Manitoba correctional facilities is the subject of a class action lawsuit that’s going to trial in November. We look at the state of the practice and its impact on inmates in Saturday’s 49.8 section.
Call it a crosswalk checkup — we talk to pedestrians and area businesses one month after Portage and Main opened to foot traffic.
(Mike Deal / Free Press)
The talk of the summer season has been cancellations and game postponements throughout the Canadian Football League and Canadian Premier League soccer at home, and insufferable heat causing physical distress for athletes at international tournaments.
Zoe Pierce’s Friday feature investigates the changing landscape of outdoor sports and what can be done to adapt to these changing conditions.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are back home at Princess Auto Stadium Friday night, playing host to the Toronto Argonauts in the two clubs’ back-to-back clash and last meeting of the regular season.
Taylor Allen tackles the action from the sidelines as the Blue and Gold look to avenge their loss last Saturday in The Six.
As the countdown to the CEBL Championship Weekend begins, the Winnipeg Sea Bears look to improve their regular-season home-win record ahead of hosting the Western Conference Final.
Joshua Frey-Sam brings the courtside action Friday as the Sea Bears host the Saskatchewan Rattlers at Canada Life Centre.
REPPING THE BISON
Team Manitoba is sending 374 of the province’s best young athletes to the 2025 Canada Summer Games.
The Games, hosted by St. John’s, Nfld., run from Aug. 8 to 25. At Sport Manitoba on Tuesday, Team Manitoba was announced along with the province’s opening ceremony flag bearer, Luke Enns:
(Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
Below, clockwise from top left: athletes Luke Enns, Matthew McKay, Benjamin Purvis, Ihor Brezdun, Kishi Folarin, Piper Hollywood and Gemma Fudge-McDonald:
(Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
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BREAKING NEWS
Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter
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WELL-READ STORIES THIS WEEK
Gabrielle Piché:
Immigration cap, economic headwinds put Polo Park development on hold
The proposed $1-billion development near Polo Park was billed as a complete community, including multi-family apartment towers, retail space and parks, that would transform the space once occupied by the Winnipeg arena — but two years later, shifting economic and immigration landscapes have wreaked havoc on the plan.
Read More
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DEEP DIVES
Marsha McLeod:
‘We’re not numbers’
Indian Act's ‘second-generation cut-off’ poses an existential threat to treaty people in Canada
Read More
Nicole Buffie:
In the eye of the firestorm
As wildfires continue to rage across Canada, a Winnipeg-based agency carries out a complicated operation of deploying resources from here and around the world
Read More
Jen Zoratti:
Queen bee
Aganetha Dyck's collaborations with the hive mind proved sweet
Read More
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NEWS YOU CAN USE
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OPINIONS: COLUMNS AND ANALYSIS
Rebecca Chambers:
Squandering human brilliance on useless bright ideas
We fill our lives with useless things that give us momentary joy — like a voice-activated colour-changing light bulb — because the reality of the things that actually need fixing is too daunting, and we’re losing our ability to imagine, to play, to create a different future.
Read More
Scott Forbes:
Canada has become a petrocacy
Since the federal election in April, it has become increasingly obvious that Canada has more or less abandoned conventional liberal democracy for a different form of government.
Read More
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ON THE LIGHTER SIDE
Brent Bellamy:
Try out being a tourist at home — in Winnipeg
Many Canadians and Manitobans are rethinking their travel plans to the United States this summer. We might take this opportunity to become tourists in our own city, rediscovering Winnipeg — a city that is often underappreciated, but one that is truly unique in Canada.
Read More
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WEEKLY NEWS QUIZ
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