Guest Opinion – The Medium is the Message

Guest Column by Darrell Dunn, Editor, The Weekly Bean

The Weekly Bean held a press conference last week to talk about some changes we’re making to
our little magazine. Pretty much all of the local media showed up at Spiro’s meeting room for
conversation and nibblies. Pro tip: if you want the press to attend an event, feed them.
Journalism, like politics, runs on snacks.

That said, I wanted to talk about more than just what’s happening at the Bean. The past year has
seen major changes in the media landscape — not just globally, but right here at home. With
sustained attacks on independent journalism by the Orange Lunatic and his authoritarian fellow
travelers, formerly rock-solid institutions like The Washington Post have found their
independence trimmed back in the name of staying on the right side of Herr Trump’s version of
“truth.” Fall out of line, and you risk the attention of a weaponized justice system or an economic
bully stick.

Canada’s situation is different — but not that different. Stingray had no trouble rolling into town
and abruptly pulling the plug on our local television station. No warning. No courtesy. Just a
corporate wave goodbye and “don’t let the door hit you on your way out.” Concern for the local
audience or the people who depended on those pay-cheques? Apparently not a growth market
outside the GTA.

Still, when large corporate interests do drastic things like that, there’s often opportunity if you’re
willing to look for it. It’s a bit like climate change: you may not be able to stop it, but you’d
better learn how to adapt. Local media is doing exactly that — and it’s one of the reasons I
wanted nearly every local outlet in one room, preferably with coffee. I wanted to hear what they
had to say.

The ability to create a message hasn’t changed. I — or any other writer — can still put together a
piece and send it out to be read, viewed, googled, Facebooked, or otherwise launched into the
digital wild. What has changed is the importance of choosing the right medium to reach the
people who actually want, or need, to see it.

Back in the 1960s, Canadian thinker Marshall McLuhan famously said, “The medium is the
message.” He wasn’t talking about content so much as method of delivery. To communicate
effectively, you have to think about who your audience is, what they’re looking for, and how
they prefer to receive it. Someone who enjoys sitting down with a paper copy of the Weekly Bean
is not the same audience as someone reading this on their phone between emails — and that
matters.

Today, the “how” of delivering information comes with more choices than ever, and the list
grows daily. History tells us that power has never been particularly successful at shutting down
the flow of information — and there’s no reason to believe it will suddenly get better at it now.

So, we’ll keep publishing the Weekly Bean, and I hope you’ll keep following Border Pulse, and
all of the other media outlets in town.

Have a great week.

Read more: Guest Opinion – Mother Nature versus Mobility