Hello Member,
This is personally painful, so allow me to get to the point. New Canadian Media is coming to the end of its existence as we know it. I am working with the board of directors to dissolve the nonprofit corporation because we see no path forward that is financially sustainable. I have given this enterprise my best shot, but still came up short in the face of market realities.
What we achieved together is there for all to see … and the NCM site (English and French) will remain online. The nonprofit may die, but our collective journalism will live on as a testament to what can be achieved by immigrant professional journalists who arrive in this country, but find themselves shut out. More than ever, I’m convinced that the NCM formula is an answer to journalism’s diversity problem, and more importantly, crucial to restoring trust in the media.
But to be candid, I was whistling in the wind. The truth is, few people care enough to do anything to address these fundamental issues, even after NCM won a national digital innovation award. There’s a lot of lip service paid to the idea that Canadian journalism needs to be more inclusive, but when it came time to pay even a single dollar to address systemic issues of representation, there were few takers. It is possible that the seller (me) was not the right person for the job at hand … and maybe somebody else will come along to carry the torch.
It has been a good run and I have learned a lot from all of you. I’m proud of the organization we built, the creativity and determination that it took to keep this enterprise afloat with so many conditions attached to our funding, and the support I received from NCM’s board of directors and corporate members. You must know that I arrived in Canada not knowing a single individual – no friend, no family – and none of the people who devoted serious time to governing NCM were friends in any sense of the word. And, our editors never cut corners, always trying to meet the highest editorial standards.
The process of dissolution is long and winding, but we will close in good standing. Our journalism will survive and will be an eloquent testimonial for all that we achieved. I encourage you to keep pitching to other platforms and never giving up on your love of journalism.
I want to thank every one of you for signing up for what I think is revolutionary in Canadian media. Every one of you has it in you to improve journalism in Canada and make it less about the minority that dominates newsrooms and more about those on the outside of the national discourse.
Thank you for your trust,
George Abraham
Publisher, New Canadian Media
George brings 30 years of writing and newsroom management experience to New Canadian Media. He began his journalism career with The Times of India in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), followed by stints at the Khaleej Times in Dubai and as managing editor of The Peninsula in Qatar. A journalist with high ethical standards, George won the prestigious Nieman scholarship at Harvard University (1994-95), and more recently, pursued a Master’s in Journalism at Carleton University (2004).
