By now, the vast majority of Facebook users in southeast Saskatchewan have been shut out from viewing local news on their Facebook feeds by Meta, which is the parent company for Facebook and Instagram.
Earlier this year, Meta threatened to turn the lights out on articles from Canadian news outlets in response to the federal Liberal government's Online News Act. Google has issued a similar threat.
As part of the Online News Act, tech companies will be required to compensate media organizations if they want to host Canadian news content on their platforms. Rather than collaborate with the feds, Meta has decided to take their ball and go home.
Meta announced it would start turning out the lights on Canadian news outlets on Aug. 1, and that the work would be complete within a few weeks.
The Estevan Mercury is Estevan's oldest business. We've been around since 1903, and we're celebrating our 120th birthday this year.
At the Mercury, we've been proud of the following we've had on Facebook, with more than 9,300 followers – an impressive number for a small-city paper in southeast Saskatchewan. We've cultivated our base of followers and we've always worked hard to engage them by making local news our top, and often, our only priority, posting several articles per day.
We've also used our Facebook page for contests, promotions and photo albums.
And we recognize the value of Facebook in situations of public safety, such as highway closures, weather alerts, increased police presences and, most importantly, missing person cases.
While we've lost a link for reaching out to you for an indefinite period of time, that doesn't mean we aren't going to stop bringing the news to you. Here's how we'll continue to keep you engaged:
*The first and foremost option is, obviously, through our paper. The Estevan Mercury is Saskatchewan's premier weekly newspaper. And that's not just us saying that; it's coming from the judges at the Saskatchewan Weekly Newspaper Awards. In recent years, the Mercury has been recognized for the strength of its front page, editorial page, stories, photography, advertisements, special sections and overall product. We're going to continue to deliver a great product to you every week. Be sure to check out your mailbox, drop box, newsstand and other areas where the Mercury is distributed.
And you can continue to trust us for your advertising. The Mercury is still distributed to more than 6,500 homes throughout southeast Saskatchewan on a weekly basis. We remain your best option, and your best value, for reaching your customers.
*Through our website at www.sasktoday.ca. We've been talking a lot about SaskToday since it launched in July 2021. We're going to talk about it even more. This is your provincial news hub, a place where you can find stories about not just the people of your community and region, but the people of Saskatchewan. Local and provincial news, crime stories, sports, culture articles – you'll find them all at SaskToday.
If you are looking for a direct local emphasis, be sure to visit www.sasktoday.ca/south/estevan-mercury. It will be updated several times a day with stories that affect the region. We encourage you to visit repeatedly as we continue to cover all facets of life in Estevan, both print and online.
*Follow us on Twitter at @Estevan_Mercury. Just like we used Facebook to bring news directly to you, we continue to do the same with Twitter, as we share stories with our followers.
*Follow us through the Estevan Mercury's LinkedIn account, which will also have stories throughout the day.
*Subscribe to our newsletter, either through SaskToday, which is delivered every weekday, or through the Mercury's newsletter, which goes out daily Sunday to Friday. Be sure to check out this week's paper to find out how to subscribe to our newsletter.
You don't need Facebook to access the local news. We did just fine without it for more than 100 years. We'll continue to bring you the news moving forward.
We'd like to thank you, the readers, for your continued support of the Mercury, and we look forward to continuing to serve you in the future.
