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For as long as there’s been a Free Press, there have been Free Press readers.
For those of you counting at home, that’s a readership record that officially reached 153 years on November 30, the anniversary of the first edition of Western Canada’s oldest newspaper rolling off a press in a Main Street shack.
That’s a legacy made possible by those who put their trust in us every day. So, let me begin tonight by offering more than a century and a half of thanks to those who have been an essential part of the Free Press story.
An original first edition of the Manitoba Free Press, published November 30, 1872. (Mike Deal / Free Press)
In the past three years, however, we’ve benefited from a group of readers prepared to dig a little deeper to help power the journalism our newsroom produces.
When we marked our 150th anniversary, we created the patron subscriber tier for Free Press readers. These are readers so committed to our mission that they go above and beyond their subscription by gifting $150 or more.
I’m going to pause for a moment to let that act of faith in the Free Press sink in.
In an age where the digital space is increasingly chock full of misinformation and disinformation, AI slop, clickbait and algorithms taking you where you don’t want to go, there are those willing to do more so that our newsroom can do even more.
And when I reflect on the year now drawing to a close, it’s clear the support of our patrons enabled us to deliver more when media outlets elsewhere shed jobs and did less.
The power of patrons helped drive the reporting awarded the top prize from the Canadian Association of Journalists. A panel of current and former journalists selected that investigation into Manitoba’s childcare system by reporters Jeff Hamilton and Katrina Clarke out of a record number of entries — 540 — from print and online news publications and broadcast stations across the country.
Patrons power a newsroom that still puts reporters on the road to cover the NHL, CFL, and come February, the Winter Olympics in Italy.
And a patron-empowered Free Press is one with the ambition to launch a media literacy project now available in every school across the province.
Earl Grey Press reporters Sebastian (from left), Isabel, Willow and James are on the beat at their school. (Mikaela MacKenzie / Free Press)
Those stories, those initiatives, that ongoing commitment were captured in the slogan we launched this spring amid a trade war and talk about turning this country into the 51st U.S. state: Canada Proud, Manitoba Strong.
To those who share that sense of pride by supporting this Canadian institution as subscribers, I offer my sincere and enduring gratitude.
To those who want to further strengthen Manitoba by further investing in the Free Press, please consider becoming a patron.
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