It’s the first week of September. Classes are back in session at the University of Winnipeg. That can only mean one thing: it’s the start of a new publishing year at The Uniter! Actually, that’s only one of many things it can mean. But as managing editor of this newspaper, it’s probably the only one that I would reasonably be writing about.

To those of you who are new to our little community and campus newspaper: pleased to meet you. To our returning readers: welcome back. We missed you.

And you may have missed us, especially if you primarily consume Uniter content through social media. You may have noticed that things have been a little quiet on our end. That’s

because, like all other Canadian news outlets, we’ve been locked out of sharing any of our work on social media. Tech companies have responded to the Online News Act, which requires them to pay news organizations for their work, by erasing us from their platforms entirely.

It’s a huge problem, not just for us but for all Canadian newsmakers and newsreaders. Local news in particular is being hit the hardest by this move. Fortunately, our features editor Matthew Frank’s robust cover feature this week will fill you in on the situation and how it’s affecting the newspapers you know and love.

In the meantime, you’ll need to find our work by going directly to uniter.ca, or by picking up a physical copy of The Uniter in sweet, sweet newsprint. Go ahead, smudge some ink on your fingers.

Published in Volume 78, Number 01 of The Uniter (September 7, 2023)