Today, we’re dropping the paywall on EDGENorth.com, which means our stories and archives are now free. We’re also reducing our publication schedule and refocusing attention on our free print magazine. Led by designer Pam Schoeman, the magazine’s gone through a sparkling redesign — stage one of which you’ll see in this month’s Oct/Nov issue.
Why’s this happening? As struggling media players “double down on digital,” focusing on print seems counter-intuitive, but we have our reasons.
Over the past year, our parent company, Verge Communications, has become increasingly busy. And though its subscriber base grew every month, the EDGE site’s always been a labour of love. As most of our small team work for both EDGE and Verge, this growth has made publishing quality material on a daily basis increasingly difficult. Providing top-notch service to our valued subscribers has been equally challenging.
Looking back, we also tried to do too much, too soon, in a very small market. As some of you noticed, we scaled back our publication schedule earlier this month. After realizing this move wasn’t fair to our editorial team or, more importantly, our subscribers, we’re making today’s move to ensure what we’re doing is sustainable.
We’ll continue publishing news, analysis, opinion and lifestyle pieces, both in the magazine and on the site. Just not every day. That said, the daily EDGE Express news digest will arrive in your inbox every morning while Jobs North remains the North’s best employment board. Committed to being a vital, independent Northern media voice, we’re also in discussions to publish an online guide to Yellowknife, as well as a special Indigenous-focused edition of the print magazine.
Thanks, so much, to everyone for their support of this project. From every subscriber to site editor Matthew Mallon to former staff writers Mark Rendell and Meagan Wohlberg to the dozens of freelancers who have shared their ideas and energy, this project wouldn’t have been possible without your enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, every dollar from subscriptions has gone to paying staff salaries, contributors and other related expenses, which means we aren’t in a position to offer refunds. That said, we’ll continue providing subscribers free admission to EDGE events. And as we pour our energy back into the print magazine, we invite you to keep reading and contributing through story submissions, hot tips, and feedback.
Thanks again for everything,
The EDGENorth Team
