March is Membership Month at the NB Media Co-op

The NB Media Co-op is 12 years old this year and we are more active than ever. A dedicated team of volunteers is working across the province to deliver news and commentary and we welcome you to join us by becoming a member, writing for us, editing for us, helping us distribute The Brief, and/or promoting us in your community. Learn more about us here. Get in touch info@nbmediacoop.org.

March is Membership Month at the NB Media Co-op

From today until March 30, we are holding a membership/funding drive. We are inviting you to sustain us and help us grow. Our goal is to increase our membership base and raise $2,000.

Sign up or renew your membership here. Annual membership is $30/year. If you cannot pay right now but want to be a member, email us, we welcome you.

If you make a contribution to us in the month of March, you will be entered in a draw to win a subscription to the ‘fiercely independent’ Briarpatch. Our monthly sustainers will also be entered in the draw.

5 things we will do with your contribution:

1. Produce our flagship online publication, the NB Media Co-op, that produces critical news and analysis.

2. Publish our broadsheet print publication, The Brief, which is distributed for free across the province every two months.

3. Produce a weekly round-up of news and analysis on our site for our readers. Sign up for the e-updates here.

4. Work to tell the stories of people who are often neglected by corporate media.

5. Provide an online listing of community events that promote social justice and equality.

5 ways to support the NB Media Co-op:

1. Not a member? Membership lapsed? Join or renew your membership today.

2. Already a dues-paying member? Make another donation, buy a membership for a friend, or propose a donation at your local’s union meeting.

3. Forward this email to five friends and ask them to join the NB Media Co-op.

4. Share our ask on your Facebook and Twitter.

5. Put the ‘fun’ in fundraiser and organize a local fundraiser for us.

5 reasons to support the NB Media Co-op:

1. We are for social justice. In New Brunswick, daily newspapers are almost entirely owned by Brunswick News, one of the Irving family companies that also holds interests in many other sectors of the economy, including forestry and oil refining. As an independent non-profit co-operative, we cover stories from the perspectives of those ignored or misrepresented in corporate media, including workers, tenants, Indigenous land and water defenders, students, and many other equity-seeking groups. Coverage of marginalized voices and un(der)reported stories is key to a healthy democracy.

Over the past year, the NB Media Co-op has published many stories about Wolastoqiyik and Mi’kmaq struggles for Indigenous and treaty rights, systemic racism and policing in NB, reproductive justice campaigns, proposed new nuclear reactors (SMRs) for NB, nursing home privatization, health care worker struggles, and the Allardville CUPE lockout. We covered Higgs’ priorities for the province, tenant rights, affordable housing and migrant workers in the context of the pandemic. Journalist, author and activist Nora Loreto delivered the keynote address at our 11th AGM, “Fighting COVID Austerity for a Just World”.

2. We need $$$$. We rely on membership dues and donations from individuals and organizations such as labour unions to sustain our work. With more support, we will be able to grow and enhance our news coverage and increase the distribution reach of our print broadsheet, The Brief.

3. We analyse the media and hold it accountable. Our events on the media are popular, with some attracting hundreds of people. Past events have included Chantal Richard on the media’s role in erasing Acadian culture and language, Erin Steuter on the fake news phenomenon, Jesse Brown/CanadaLand on forestry and the Irvings, Bruce Livesey on “The House of Irvings,” Justin Brake on being criminalized for reporting on Muskrat Falls, and Janice Harvey on how the Globe and Mail has covered the environment.

4. We bring people together. Through our publication, The Brief, our website, social media, workshops and collaboration with community groups, we seek to create a space for various social movements to connect, get the word out, strategize, and reflect. Read more about our community partners and events in our 2019-2020 Annual Report.

On January 27, 2021, along with CRED-NB and others, we co-hosted an international panel session about the links between nuclear power, SMRs, global security and nuclear weapons. On February 23rd we co-hosted an event with Société de l’Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB) titled ‘The Far-Right in New Brunswick: A Panel on Extremism and Exclusion’. The NB Media Co-op also supports Tertulia Fredericton by publishing videos of the Tertulia talks. This winter, the Tertulia series focuses on activists and social movements that have shaped our lives and allowed us to imagine a better future. We are in the third year of a partnership with RAVEN (Rural Action and Voices for the Environment) that has introduced our readers to many rural champions and land defenders across the province and allowed us to produce various media, news stories, videos and photo-stories.

5. We want to spread the independent media love. Recently, we have been very excited to work more closely sharing skills and resources with other independent media organizations across the country. Join us in March and you could win a prize subscription to Briarpatch that also gives love to more independent media!

Donate or sign up to become a member here.

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