‘We’ve had a longstanding relationship with Jeff Beardsworth and the team at AdCanada Media and felt that the timing was right to strengthen the voice of community newspapers on the prairies under a single sales and marketing umbrella,’ according to Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association Executive Director, Dennis Merrell. ‘It creates an opportunity for us to collaborate on new sales initiatives, deliver consistent research and most importantly it enhances our ability to provide an effective sales and marketing effort for our members, at a time when the media landscape is becoming increasingly complex.’

According to AdCanada Media Inc. Advertising Director/CEO, Jeff Beardsworth, the addition of Alberta’s community newspapers is an exciting proposition. ‘The objective of AdCanada Media right from day 1 was to remodel a sales and marketing effort that aligned to the current realities facing the newspapers industry. At scale, newspapers can be a challenging media to buy nationally, we needed to make that easier. On top of that, newspaper campaigns can be an expensive proposition in comparison to some of its competitors, we needed to take steps to address that. But above all else, readership of printed newspapers in rural markets which the prairies are full of is as strong today as it was 15 years ago. We need to do a better job of getting that message out and this partnership with AWNA provides us with a bigger podium to do that.’

Under the new agreement AdCanada Media will assume responsibility for the sales and marketing functions supporting AWNA member publications as well as the delivery of campaign execution services. The arrangement will also see current AWNA Advertising and Client Services Supervisor, Allana Bridgewater, join AdCanada in a similar role.

AdCanada Media Inc. is a for profit media agency with offices in Winnipeg, Saskatoon and Edmonton and specializes in the placement of newspaper campaigns across Canada and the United States.

For more information please contact:
Jeff Beardsworth
Advertising Director/CEO AdCanada Media Inc.
(780) 989-4901
Greg Foster – Client Services Mgr AdCanada Media Inc
(780) 989-4912
Dennis Merrell – Executive Director AWNA
(780) 989-4900
Allana Bridgewater
AB Media Services Supervisor AdCanada Media Inc./AWNA
(780) 989-4908

About News

• The majority of people follow all types of news most of the time.
  • There is a stark difference between rural and urban communities.
  • Respondents follow local news most of the time.
  • International, national and provincial news are followed most closely by people who read the local newspaper in printed and/or online format.
• Local news is most important to more Albertans than any other type.
• The printed local newspaper is the preferred source for all local information including news about people, events, jobs, businesses or sales and schools.
  • The printed local newspaper – preferred for info about local government programs and initiatives.
  • Television and the printed local newspaper  – preferred sources for info about provincial government programs and initiatives.
• The printed local newspaper is the most trusted medium for news and advertising.
  • Two respondents in five distrust news and advertising in social media.

About Local Newspapers and Their Websites

• 60% or more of the respondents receive the printed local newspaper at home.
• 80% read a typical issue of the printed local newspaper weekly.
  • The average time spent reading the printed local newspaper is 22 minutes per issue. 
  • The typical issue has an average of 1.5 readers per household.
• 16% of respondents also visit the local newspaper’s website weekly spending almost 20 minutes on the site

About Digital Media

• While significant numbers of people are involved in various online activities, for many of these activities half or more say their internet connection impacts their level of involvement.
  • 15% of respondents have no internet access.
• The most important activities for people with internet connection are email, texting and researching products and services.
  • The vast majority of online participants spend 15 minutes per day or less on any one activity

About Advertising

• More than 2 in 5 respondents find ads in the printed local newspaper useful.
  • By contrast, 80% of respondents ignore, don’t notice or are annoyed by ads on websites.
  • Up to 30% of respondents use an ad blocker to avoid digital advertising.
• Ads in the printed community newspaper are more likely than ads in other media to inspire action
  • Ads in the printed local newspaper produced more action than did online ads in every respect except going online for more information
• While fewer than 40%  of respondents occasionally click on digital ads intentionally, almost 60% say they occasionally do this accidentally.
  • Irrelevance, privacy and security were the most common reasons for respondents to avoid clicking on digital ads

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada
through the Canada Periodical Fund of the Department of Canadian Heritage.

An editorial about this issue from Consort Enterprise, Editor Dave Bruha:

Transparent — Like a Brick
Albertans had high hopes that things would operate differently under saviour Prentice who campaigned for the job of Tory leader with promises of “transparency” and “accountability”. Now, only six months into his reign, the facade is crumbling and these apparently empty promises are being exposed.
 
In just the first few days of the new premier’s first session in the Alberta Legislature, the Tory team, including Municipal Affairs Minister Diana McQueen, has proudly tabled the first round of amendments to the Municipal Government Act (MGA). This includes lessening the burden of accountability and also removes the requirement for municipal councils to be effectively transparent in their business. In fact, what is being proposed all but eliminates oversight of municipal governments by the provincial body, and to a large extent by the public.
 
Presented by PC MLA Greg Weadick, Bill 20 seems like a huge step backwards for a government trying to promote a new era of openness and accountability. The sketchy legislation, which was quickly given First and Second reading last week, will essentially allow local municipal governments to hide public business from residents.
 
Currently, the MGA requires that residents be notified of certain municipal matters, and specifies that the information is transmitted to the public via direct mailing, or through newspaper advertising. The responsibility is put on municipal governments to transmit pertinent information they have out to residents before a decision is made.
 
Several sweeping changes are proposed, including giving much authority to municipalities to determine what information they share and the methods they will use to notify the public, which could be a poster hung up in the washroom of the local gas station, or a notice obscurely hidden away on a page of the municipality’s website… or some other option that negates the responsibility of a local government to push information out to the residents – acting transparent and accountable.
 
The biggest drawback to the growing trend of relying on websites to transmit important information is that people don’t know it is there… so how are they going to find something they aren’t looking for? Are Albertans supposed to check their local municipal website every day and randomly seek out information that may or not be there, pertaining to a subject they have no knowledge of? It’s stupid!


And just as ridiculous is the explanation given by Municipal Affairs Minister Diana McQueen to rationalize this idiotic legislation: “Albertans have observed that traditional notification methods may no longer be effective in communicating with the public due to increasing costs and limited accessibility in smaller communities…”
 
Both of the reasons she offers are false. Every community in Alberta that is large enough to have a municipal government, has a post office. And the cost of mailing, compared to the rate of inflation for other services, has not dramatically increased. There is also the option of directly emailing information to residents, which isn’t even considered in the legislation. The cost of newspaper advertising — a medium that reaches over 80% of adults in rural Alberta (where most municipalities are) — has also not substantially increased in many years. By “may no longer be effective”, she must mean, “not free”, because both traditional methods are highly effective in reaching people.
 
What the PCs are really saying through Bill 20 is that they don’t care if the public is informed of initiatives that they have a right to know about: saving money is what matters. The punchline is that it isn’t their money, or the municipality’s money, it is the resident’s money and it is there to be used for the good of the public. Like for informing them of important changes that may impact their lives or business.
 
Allowing local governments to not only decide what business the public has a right to know about, but also choosing the method of transmitting that information, is a huge blow to democracy and to the principles of transparency and accountability that Prentice says are important. Apparently not as important as saving a few bucks… which is the entire premise of Bill 20 — saving some money, not informing the public.
 
Dave Bruha, Editor
Consort Enterprise