There is less than a week before the start of National Newspaper Week (NNW) in Canada! Thank you to everyone who has agreed to support this national industry initiative. The Publisher’s Toolkit is available online here with ideas and material to support local promotion of National Newspaper Week.
Newspapers Matter Online Hub
The NNW program is designed to motivate Canadians to show their support for newspaper journalism in Canada, by pledging their support online at newspapersmatter.ca. The Newspapers Matter site is scheduled to go live by the end of this week, just a few days in advance of the National Newspaper Week kickoff on Monday October 1.
National Ad Campaign
If you signed up online to support the National Ad Campaign with a print ad space donation you should have an insertion order confirming the booked space (from either AdCanada, AdReach or Glacier National Sales). If you don’t have an insertion order publishers can still participate by booking the space themselves and downloading the ad material.
National Campaign Ad Material
Print ad material (in a variety of sizes) for the National Campaign is available to download from the News Media Canada website here. Newspapers are encouraged to customize the ad by replacing the News Media Canada logo with their own logo. Publishers who prefer to re-size ad material to fit their exact specifications can download source files here.
Digital ads in various formats are also available for publishers who wish to add a digital component. Insertion orders have not been provided for digital support, so publishers can just book digital ads at their own discretion. All digital ads should link to newspapersmatter.ca.
The National Campaign ads should run between October 1 and October 7. Don’t worry if your publication date is near the end of the week … we are trying to keep the momentum going all week long!
Editorial Support
Consider running an op-ed during National Newspaper Week to highlight the importance of newspapers as a trusted source of information in your community. There are a selection of Op-Ed pieces online that editors can choose from to publish verbatim or use as inspiration for their own piece.
News Media Canada has commissioned an editorial cartoon specifically for National Newspaper Week. Nationally syndicated editorial cartoonist Patrick LaMontagne has created an exclusive cartoon highlighting truth in journalism. His current clients can choose to use this cartoon during the week of October 1-7 and he will also offer community newspapers special pricing for one-time use. Contact Patrick directly at cartoon@cartoonink.com to obtain high-resolution artwork for publishing.
Carrier Appreciation
This year, we celebrate Canadian Carrier Appreciation Day on Saturday, October 6, to recognize the critical role of newspaper carriers in providing Canadians with access to trusted journalism. News Media Canada has produced an ad for publishers to run locally as desired.
Please note, this is in addition to the National Campaign and publishers should book their own space. Click here to access the ad in print and digital formats – source files are also available to download at the bottom of the page to customize specifications.
Local Influencers
This week don’t forget to confirm your local influencers. The goal is to have high-profile local personalities post an image of themselves reading their local newspaper (either in print format or on a tablet or their phone) with a caption that reinforces why newspapers matter – now more than ever – and that drives their followers to newspapersmatter.ca to pledge their support. Download the Community Toolkit Guidebook here for tips on reaching out to influencers and pre-written content for emails and social media posts.
We also encourage all publishers, editors and reporters to participate by posting a photo to your own social media channels with your newspaper highlighting some of the reasons why newspapers matter to you and your community! Don’t forget to use the program hashtags #NewspapersMatter and #NowMoreThanEver.
Don’t Forget to Share!
Click here to send us photos, video, and editorial coverage of your events and other ways you celebrated National Newspaper Week.
Thanks to everyone for supporting this national initiative! We all need National Newspaper Week to make an impact. Now more than ever.
