“It’s been really eye-opening trying to find the strength and perseverance to keep going,” said co-owner and editor-in-chief Kerry Benjoe.
Article content
Following a brief hiatus due to financial pressures, Eagle Feather News is set to return with a revamped quarterly magazine and a new online platform under the moniker EFN Media.
“We’re taking Eagle Feather into a new generation,” said co-owner and editor-in-chief Kerry Benjoe in an interview Thursday.
The magazine, which started as Thunder Cloud News more than 25 years ago, covers all of Saskatchewan with “topics of interest” to readers in First Nation and Métis communities.
Advertisement 2
Article content
A soft launch of EFN Media was held Friday morning at the Regina-based First Nations University of Canada, where students, faculty and community members received a first look at the online news platform and magazine, which are both expected to be out in early July.
When Eagle Feather News was circulated across the province as a monthly newspaper, Benjoe said they printed about 10,000 copies. She says they plan to do the same with the quarterly magazine.
“I wanted to keep the print element of it, and so we envisioned a different format,” she said. “It’s visually appealing, there’s more attention to detail, colour, branding, all of that.”
The news platform, which will be available online and accessible through a smartphone app, is being relaunched in conjunction with Pattison Media. Pattison touts itself as the country’s largest western-based media company, creating and distributing local content in 32 markets across Western Canada through its radio, television and digital platforms.
The “mutually beneficial” partnership with EFN includes an agreement for sharing of content and advertising revenue, thus “emphasizing a commitment to economic reconciliation and support for Indigenous journalism,” says an EFN media release.
Headline News
Article content
Advertisement 3
Article content
“Pattison Media hopes our support and partnership will lead to sustainable success for Eagle Feather News and create more opportunities for indigenous journalists in all our newsrooms,” Rob Schween, president of Pattison Media, said in the release. “We look forward to working with the professional journalists at EFN who will help us to better represent those Indigenous perspectives and languages through content sharing.”
Pattison Media’s digital news portal for its online properties is being extended to include Eagle Feather News, which enables the outlet to “rapidly produce rich online stories and offer enhanced advertising opportunities for supporters,” says the release, adding that the Pattison agreement also provides “support with portal management, technical support, and will help the publication meet its business goals with sales strategy support and advisory.”
According to EFN, the partnership will aid in the development and exposure of Indigenous journalists and storytellers. It also allows EFN Media to “stay focused on telling Indigenous stories in Saskatchewan” while business operations are “backed by the extensive resources and support of Pattison Media.”
Advertisement 4
Article content
The magazine’s first edition has been developed in collaboration with students from the Indigenous Communication Arts program at the First Nations University of Canada, providing a platform for 13 emerging writers.
Recommended from Editorial
Benjoe, who has been at the helm of the publication since 2021, noted that many readers access their news straight from social media rather than going to the website.
“One of the things I realized early on was that our online presence was lacking,” said Benjoe. “It was very lacklustre, it wasn’t user friendly, it wasn’t vibrant, it wasn’t interactive. It was very stagnant.”
Amid major layoffs at mainstream media organizations in recent months, Eagle Feather News announced a hiatus in February after the outlet couldn’t bare the financial pressures and uncertainties of an unstable industry.
Following the implementation of the Online News Act last summer, Eagle Feather began losing advertisement revenue. The law was designed to help media outlets by ensuring “dominant” platforms compensate news businesses when their content is made available through their services. But in response to the act, Meta banned news links and content posted by publishers and broadcasters in Canada from being shared on its platforms.
Advertisement 5
Article content
“A lot of people are plugged into social media, especially Facebook,” Benjoe said back in February. “That’s where a lot of our stories would be shared and where a lot of traffic would be generated to our news site… Once the block came in, people stopped having that conversation.”
Benjoe said the outlet was only able to stay afloat until December with help from the Local Journalism Initiative, a federal resource that supports original journalism covering the diverse needs of underserved communities. Funding through the initiative is available to eligible Canadian media organizations to hire journalists or pay freelance journalists.
“Shutting down Eagle Feather News took a lot out of me personally because I really love the newspaper and am passionate about it,” she said.
Benjoe recalls the urgency of rethinking what Eagle Feather News could be in its new era. Partnerships with Pattison Media and the First Nations University, among others, helped to save and revitalize the outlet, she said.
“It was a lot collaborative efforts and a lot of stressful months and sleepless nights to get to this point,” said Benjoe. “It’s been really eye-opening trying to find the strength and perseverance to keep going.
Advertisement 6
Article content
“I really believe in Eagle Feather and EFN Media and what we stand for and how valuable it is to the community.”
Benjoe again emphasized that the resurrection of EFN Media wasn’t solely her doing.
“I really give credit to the community who really believe that EFN Media is something they need and want in this province.”
Readers can find the new and improved site at eaglefeathernews.ca. It is expected to be up and running the first week of July.
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Article content
