By CPRS Manitoba Board of Directors
The Manitoba Government’s decision to convene a public consultation on the state of local journalism represents a notable departure from the previous administration, which at times took an adversarial stance toward the press—including public threats of legal action against journalists for critical reporting. Encouragingly, a diversity of perspectives—from independent media to industry associations like the Canadian Association of Journalists—have been included in the early dialogue. This shift opens the door to a more collaborative and solutions-oriented conversation, but it also raises important questions about who frames that conversation—and to what end.
But this welcome plurality raises a deeper question: Why aren’t these organizations—journalists, civil society, and communications professionals—leading the public conversation on journalism’s future themselves?
It’s not that government has no role. Media policy, cultural investment, and equitable funding mechanisms fall squarely within its jurisdiction. But governments are also partisan actors, and democratic health depends on journalism’s independence from political interference, not just in content, but in sustainability models, institutional relationships, and public perception.
What we at the Canadian Public Relations Society of Manitoba want to add to this conversation is not a defense of journalism for journalism’s sake. It’s a call to action: to recognize the shared responsibility between public institutions, the media, and the communication professionals who navigate both worlds, to reinvigorate journalism’s relationship with the public, not just its business model.
As public relations practitioners, we are acutely aware of how information is framed, delivered, and received. The most ethically grounded among us adhere to codes of conduct that prioritize accuracy, transparency, and public interest. Scholars like James Grunig have long argued for two-way symmetrical communication, a model that stresses dialogue and mutual understanding over persuasion and control. This is not just a best practice for organizations—it’s essential for democratic discourse.
Journalism provides one of the most powerful external forces to hold institutions to account when internal advocacy for transparency and reform falls short. In that way, a free and rigorous press is not the enemy of public relations; it’s our counterpart in serving the public good. We rely on journalists to surface truths that otherwise go unheard. We also rely on their platforms to reach people efficiently with urgent or essential information.
But the core issue facing journalism today is not only financial. It’s existential. There is an abundance of content in today’s information marketplace—but not an abundance of trust. Not an abundance of clarity. And not an abundance of public understanding of what distinguishes journalism from everything else in their feeds.
That’s why this conversation cannot only be about government ad buys or subsidies to keep local papers alive. Those revenue streams matter—but they don’t answer the deeper question: What is journalism’s value proposition to the public, and how do we renew it?
Every public relations strategy, every marketing plan, every business model is built on understanding and responding to the audience’s needs. Journalism must do the same. In fact, some of the most innovative newsrooms in Canada already are. Initiatives like The Local in Toronto, The Discourse in B.C., and Indiegraf have begun to reimagine journalism through community ownership, civic dialogue, and service-oriented models. They ask not just how do we fund journalism? but how do we make journalism matter to people again?
This is a conversation CPRS Manitoba believes we must take part in—not to defend our own professional interests, but because we see ourselves as stewards of information in service to the public. Our members work at the intersection between institutions and the communities they serve—helping organizations communicate clearly, listen meaningfully, and respond with integrity. When practiced ethically, public relations is not about controlling the message; it’s about ensuring that public feedback informs decisions, and that leadership is accountable to the values it claims to uphold. But for this feedback loop to function in the broader public sphere, we rely on journalism as an independent force—one that can verify, challenge, and elevate public concerns beyond institutional boundaries.
We support a local press that is independent, adequately resourced, and embedded in the communities it serves. But we also believe that public engagement on this issue must go further than a consultation hosted on a government platform. It must become a civic conversation about what kind of media we want—and need—in a functioning democracy. That means reaching beyond the industry bubble. It means not just asking how to fund journalism, but how to co-create it with the public in mind.
Let’s not simply ask government to do more. Let’s ask ourselves—journalists, communications professionals, educators, and community leaders—what we’re doing to help the public see the value in local journalism and how we might build that value together.
At CPRS Manitoba, we are ready to be part of that solution. We believe the future of journalism requires collaboration across sectors—where public trust is seen not just as a media issue, but as a shared responsibility. We are committed to convening conversations with our members about how ethical communication practices can reinforce the conditions in which local journalism thrives. We are also prepared to partner with organizations like the Canadian Association of Journalists, community media, and policy leaders to explore sustainable, community-rooted models of public information.
We call on the Manitoba Government to continue broadening the tent—ensuring that journalists, not politicians, remain at the center of shaping journalism policy. And we call on all sectors to invest in renewing journalism’s civic value, not just its financial viability.
Because without public trust, none of us—government, journalism, or public relations—can fulfill our role in a healthy democracy.