Rural Disruptions

Pride, Business and Witnessing

Clearing a New Path podcast and newsletter inspire and build a more united, feminist, anti-racist rural (so-called) Canada.

There are currently 28 long term drinking water advisories in 26 communities.

There is an engaged, rurally-based audience for the newsletter and podcast.

If you can’t help with a donation, your company can always sponsor them! Please hit reply!

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In this newsletter:

• Pride

• Survey results

• NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Disrupting Rural Business: Sustainability is Bullshit!

• Philanthropy and the News

• FEATURE: Pod the North

• Rural news roundup

• Recommendations

Pride

I haven’ always been an ally, in fact, I was a homophobe.

When I wrote a column for the London Free Press 10 years ago, I talked about how I was brought up to think any other gender than cisgender (identifying with the gender one was born with) or any other sexual identity than heterosexual (male + female) was ‘wrong’ and ‘unnatural’.

I lived in a small tourist town but luckily for me, it had a world famous theatre and I had the privilege of working a few seasons in the ‘green room’ there, where the actors, stage hands, wardrobe folks and box office personnel came to eat and drink.

I saw the most beautiful, flamboyant, animated, creative people imaginable. So much talent, all there for me to absorb, at work every day. For a small-minded Catholic girl, it was just what I needed. I slowly came to advocacy and to using my voice of privilege for advocacy.

Things have changed, ebbed and flowed, throughout history when it comes to rights, acceptance and society’s interference in the existence of folks from the 2SLGBTQAI+ community. By existence I mean the right for anyone in Canada to live with dignity and acceptance, however one may identify. And by interference I mean folks thinking they have a say in how folks should or shouldn’t live.

Things have reached a boiling point in recent times.

It wasn’t until last summer, following around the Drag Storytime Guardians as they countered loud and aggressive protestors at small Ontario town Pride events, that I saw the true depth of hatred and harassment members of the 2SLGBTQAI+ community face. Not only that, but I got a glimpse into what they face the other 364 days of the year like online bullying, violent threats, physical stalking and assault.

Approaching Pride month in June, things are eerily quiet. I sincerely hope things remain that way, but I know some of us are ready to stand up and support, should the need arise.

Ways you can support in your own community:

• Fly a Progress Pride flag at your home or office (all season long, if possible)

• Put a Rainbow sticker in your business/organization window

• Attend and/or volunteer at a Pride event in your own community

• Donate/support/sponsor Pride events, queer spaces and queer youth programs in your community

• Support queer art

• Use your voice for advocacy

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SURVEY RESULTS

Out of 800 + of you, 8 of you graciously provided feedback in this 3-question survey.

Here are the results:

Some suggestions for the newsletter (edited):

• Links to emerging stories or actions we can take are always helpful

• A section of links at the end of the newsletter for those who want to go deeper would be a way to streamline the newsletter.

• I do love when you do a bit of a roundup of the podcast in your email.

• I love when you talk to and about local media outside of major Canadian centres.

• Inspiring local groups and orgs who have big impact in their communities

And some suggestions for podcast guests (edited):

• My interests lie in how can we learn to get along with our neighbours, especially when we hold such different views. I would love guests who have experience facilitating this kind of discussion.

• I'd love to see more rural politicians

• Hearing stories from women entrepreneurs in rural areas

• Indigenous stories.

• Organizers and activists for progressive initiatives from areas where progressive initiatives are deeply unpopular

• Indigenous media and journalists.

• People who do weird things in the wild!

I will actively try and implement as many of these suggestions as I can, so I thank you, kindly for your input.

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NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Disrupting Rural Business: Sustainability is Bullshit

I often feel very alone when I use terms like ‘post-capitalism’ (there’s actually an entire podcast focussed on this topic) and the ‘non-profit industrial complex’ when speaking with or networking with other business owners and/or colleagues.

I have heard the term ‘business coach’ many times but I had never heard the term Regenerative Business Designer, that is, until I attended a workshop called Sustainability is Bullshit, with

Helen Tremethick

through the Canadian Women’s Chamber of Commerce.

In this latest episode, Helen and I talk about Regenerative Business Design, what that is, and how that can play out in rural Canada. You can click below to listen.

Or you can watch the video by clicking on the image below.

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Philanthropy and the news

I have talked at length, in this newsletter, and in person to whomever will listen, that we are in desperate need of:

• Fresh, sustainable news outlets in rural and remote Canada

• A shift in HOW we tell stories and a shift away from what we used to call journalism, because we’ve always been delivered news from a white lens. (I prefer to call it ‘witnessing’)

• Innovative new approaches to sustainable business models for news outlets in rural and remote Canada

While the last podcast episode, with Prof. April Lindgren from Metropolitan University School of Journalism talked about the loss of local news and a panel at the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities conference discussed “Revitalizing the Media Landscape”, this week, the following was released:

“Journalism organizations that are considering philanthropy as a revenue source need to ask themselves if this is the best way forward. Would the time and effort required be better invested in developing a membership strategy or running a public fundraising campaign?”

*This was a partnership between Inspirit Foundation, the Local News Research Project at Toronto Metropolitan University and the Canadian Association of Journalists.

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FEATURE: Pod the North

The Clearing a New Path podcast and newsletter were featured in

Pod the North

newsletter with

Kattie Laur

! Thank you Kattie!

Pod the North is a free, biweekly newsletter for the Canadian podcasting community and Kattie Laur, is a Canadian freelance podcast producer who’s desperate to see some change in this industry.

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Rural news roundup - May 29, 2024

National

Brock-led conference in Yukon seeks to make rural Canada more resilient

British Columbia + Alberta

5 Central Alberta groups get community justice grants from province

First Nation develops ‘Innovation Plan’ for aquaculture in its traditional territory

Saskatchewan + Manitoba

Saskatchewan Polytechnic student research assistant receives $30K Wawanesa Climate Champion Youth Innovation Grant

Ontario + Quebec

Economic Developers Council of Ontario partners with Canadian Centre for Rural Creativity for the “Pathways to Practice” sessions

Atlantic Canada

N.B. commits $2M to launch AI-powered volunteer ride platform

Territories (Northwest, Nunvut, Yukon)

Yukon commission’s pitch to cut rural MLAs met with some criticism

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Recommendations

Book

Awe the New Science of Every Day Wonder by Dacher Keltner : “From a foremost expert on the science of emotions, a groundbreaking and essential exploration into the history, science, and greater understanding of awe.”

*This book was actually referenced and the author interviewed in a documentary series we watched on being in nature and its affects on PTSD called Operation Arctic Cure with war reporter Bob Woodruff and a team of veterans.

*If you’d like a topic covered, or you’d like to facilitate a conversation utilizing the Clearing a New Path podcast platform, please connect with me by hitting reply or by emailing shauna@radarmedia.co

Your feedback is always welcome.

Community news in small town Canada

And dreaming disruption in what we used to call journalism

Clearing a New Path podcast and newsletter inspire and build a more united, feminist, anti-racist rural (so-called) Canada.

There are currently 28 long term drinking water advisories in 26 communities.

Please share the newsletter, it really helps more of us connect!

Thanks to those of you who filled out the survey about content, it has been supremely helpful! If you haven’t yet, it’s just 3 questions here.

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In this newsletter:

• Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) conference - “Revitalizing the Local Media Landscape”

• NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Mapping rural news

• Six years of Doug Ford

• GUEST: Broadcast Map

• Rural pride

• Rural news roundup (I’ve shortened this up)

• Recommendations

Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) conference

I had the opportunity to attend the Ontario Small Urban Municipalities (OSUM) conference in Orillia, Ontario at the start of the month. Here’s the program.

I was eager to attend the panel entitled “Revitalizing the Local Media Landscape”.

“The demise of local media is having a significant impact on democracy and elected officials’ ability to connect with community and adhere to legislative requirements . This panel will examine the state of local media including consideration on the revival of local news and information and how this really requires an ecosystem approach, and philanthropy and other approaches can play a critical role through strategic funding.”

• Tai Huynh, Founding Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, The Local ← This panelist was unable to attend, so John Hammill was there from Village Media

• Brian Lambie, President of Redbrick Communications

• April Lindgren, Professor, School of Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan University

• Will Pearson, Publisher and Editor, Peterborough Currents

I attended the session to:

• Hear about Professor Lindgren’s research. She has been mapping the opening and closing of news organizations across Canada for many years.

• Hear from Will Pearson, publisher and editor for Peterborough Currents. I’ve followed his work for a few years.

• Hear about new revenue models for sustainable community storytelling.

You can read the full post by clicking below.

“Revitalizing the Local Media Landscape”

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NEW PODCAST EPISODE: Mapping local news

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Six years with Premier Ford

There was also a session at the OSUM conference with the host of TVO’s The Agenda, Steve Paikin, called “Six Years with Premier Ford”.

I found it really comical to be in the room to witness the eye rolling and eye widening as Paikin spoke frankly about Doug Ford’s record. Again, sitting in a room of folks who might typically vote to the right of centre, it was to be expected.

Very much a fangirl as Paikin was held up as a shining example of an unbiased journalist when I was in journalism school.

His memory of past premiers and other politicians (including those in the Ford family) and their antics is always entertaining.

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GUEST: Broadcast Map with host Ali Moosa

I had the privilege of being the one interviewed by Ali Moosa, host of the Broadcast Map podcast. We talked about lots of things (he let me rant a bit) and he called it:

“What the future of journalism could look like”

Ali talks to some big names in broadcasting. I was very honoured he reached out to me.

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Rural Pride

As we approach Pride month in June, I saw this free training around navigating hate at events (including rural ones) this year. THIS ONE IS TODAY hosted by Egale Canada.

Navigating Anti-2SLGBTQI Hate at Events – A Webinar for 2SLGBTQI Event Organizers

Wednesday, May 15, 2024 | 12:00pm – 1:00pm ET

The Community Based Research Centre also has a running list of locations to access gender affirming care in Canada.

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Rural news roundup - May 15, 2024

National

From handknit socks to rural experience, here are ideas for attracting doctors to small towns

British Columbia + Alberta

Alberta funding rural education training at post-secondaries

Saskatchewan + Manitoba

Manitoba, First Nations leaders sign declaration pledging child welfare jurisdictional transfer

Ontario + Quebec

A life in quotes: Alice Munro

Atlantic Canada

Dalhousie sociologist receives $1.9M to cultivate network aimed at reducing emissions in Canadian agriculture

Territories (Northwest, Nunvut, Yukon)

If a fibre line falls in the forest, not many people hear it

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Recommendations

Books

Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec (Author), Nick Estes (Foreword)

Wise friend and municipal leader Alysson Storey recommended this and while I haven’t managed to secure it at my library yet, I take her suggestions seriously!

Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps readers see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer. Settler colonialism tried to force us into one particular way of living, but the old ways of kinship can help us imagine a different future. Krawec asks, What would it look like to remember that we are all related? How might we become better relatives to the land, to one another, and to Indigenous movements for solidarity? Braiding together historical, scientific, and cultural analysis, Indigenous ways of knowing, and the vivid threads of communal memory, Krawec crafts a stunning, forceful call to "unforget" our history.

Podcasts

Local Edge - Episode 3: Evolution of the demographics in rural communities

I just happened to find this video podcast and happily found what Sarah Thompson, President of Dentsu Media had to say in this episode!

“A place for better understanding and connecting with small communities all across the country. Here we explore the value of these markets to advertisers, agencies, communities, and more. We bring you the latest news, insights and trends from the world of local advertising and marketing.”

CBC Massey Lectures | #1: Cura’s Gift by Astra Taylor

I have recommended this before but listened to it again recently. It is so profound, prolific and thought-provoking. Perfect for our times. (There are more episodes but this one sticks with me.

Insecurity has become a "defining feature of our time," says CBC Massey lecturer Astra Taylor. The Winnipeg-born writer and filmmaker explores how rising inequality, declining mental health, the climate crisis, and the threat of authoritarianism originate from a social order built on insecurity. In her first lecture, she explores the existential insecurity we can’t escape — and the manufactured insecurity imposed on us from above.

*If you’d like a topic covered, or you’d like to facilitate a conversation utilizing the Clearing a New Path podcast platform, please connect with me by hitting reply or by emailing shauna@radarmedia.co

Your feedback is always welcome.