The Outhouse is open for business!
Read Cabin Radio's very first newsletter. Remember: The Outhouse is where you find all the best reading material.
Welcome to the first newsletter from The Outhouse, Cabin Radio’s understaffed newsletter production wing. Thanks for signing up! More than 1,000 people signed up for this newsletter before we’d even written one, which is a misplaced and wonderful show of faith.
We asked what you wanted in a newsletter and the general consensus was: links to our news reports that you shouldn’t miss, some extra writing from me and our team, and links to other things we think you’d be interested in. We’re going to do all of that.
You asked us to include upcoming events, so that’s in here too – and you can always check our events calendar (and add to it!).
We’re also going to be launching a new podcast in the near future with our best interviews, journalism and news analysis. Watch out for that.
In a nutshell, we’ll try to make this really useful. Your feedback is appreciated. Email me with suggestions and ideas, and pass this newsletter on to anyone else who might enjoy it.
Note to self: not sure “Share The Outhouse” is the best terminology.
This opening edition might be a little longer than most. We’ll give you the important links first in case that’s all you have time for, then more detailed stuff is underneath.
— Ollie
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Our most important stories this week
What’s the deal with Meta banning news?
Events guide
What we’ve been reading
Stories to catch up on
Yellowknife’s July was one of the hottest and driest ever
I am routinely mocked at our studios because when Cabin Radio holds gatherings – like watching the Super Bowl or the Oscars – I use that time to study weather statistics. Frankly, Yellowknife temperature data is more interesting than football. There’s not a lot I can do to change that.
This time, I didn’t even need a major sports event. This article looks at Yellowknife’s temperature and rainfall data for July: checking this out earlier this week, it quickly became obvious that we had record heat and a near-record absence of rain.
It was already hot and dry before July. We’re also told to brace for the same in August, and our wildfire stats (OUTHOUSE BONUS! This is the first time I’ve shared that spreadsheet publicly) suggest the number of active fires is still growing by the day – it hasn’t levelled off. So wherever you live in the NWT, expect more smoke and more disruption. Sorry.
More important reading this week:
Inuvik residents, unnerved by fire, are told to be prepared
Late-breaking news published as I was finalizing this: Inuvik residents are being asked to get ready just in case a nearby wildfire gets closer, but the town senior administrator told me there’s an air of panic that they’re now trying to get on top of. “We are nowhere near any threat from the fire. We are nowhere near an evacuation.”
Inuvialuit sign oil, gas co-management deal with NWT, Yukon, Ottawa
The federal government agreed to "shared decision-making" with the Inuvialuit, NWT and Yukon governments over Arctic offshore oil and gas.
This smoke is horrific. How long will it last?
We know. It's miserable outside. Here's a guide to where you can find smoke forecasts and what to expect from the rest of this wildfire season. (And hey, you know we have an air quality map and a wildfire map both updated in real time, right?)
Daughter launches fundraiser over fear her father will lose his YK home
A Yellowknife man's daughter launched an online fundraiser in his name over her fear that he may soon lose his home because of an unpaid loan.
NWT and South African firefighters share a moment
Firefighters from South Africa and NWT residents performed for each other in Fort Smith as the crews arrived to help the territory battle a severe wildfire season. (Plus video!)
Highland dancers hold ‘midnight fling’ atop Pilots’ Monument
A "midnight fling" next to a Yellowknife icon capped the world's northernmost highland dance contest, held this past weekend. (Plus video!)
Prosecutors finish review of investigation into NWT in-custody death
Nearly two years after a woman died in RCMP custody in Tuktoyaktuk, prosecutors have finished reviewing an investigation into her death.
‘This is worse than 2014’ says NWT’s environment minister
2023's wildfire season is worse than the infamous “summer of smoke” in 2014, the NWT's environment minister said, while insisting the territory has the resources to cope.
NWT hosts new all-British season of TV show Alone
They filmed a whole season of Alone just with British people, outside Fort Providence. Episode one aired in the UK on Sunday. (We’re trying to do a podcast episode on this, so stand by. Meanwhile, Fort Providence’s Big River gas station is holding watch parties! Oh and on the Mornings at the Cabin podcast, from 21:30 on Wednesday’s edition, you can hear my review of how my fellow Brits are faring. Spoiler: Badly. They are faring badly.)
Audiology wait times better in Beaufort Delta, worse in Yellowknife
The maximum wait to see an audiologist has improved in the Beaufort Delta but increased by 16 months in Yellowknife. You could be waiting more than three years.
Deh Cho Bridge cable breaks, GNWT investigating
A large cable that helps to support the NWT's $200-million Deh Cho Bridge broke, triggering an investigation. The bridge remains open.
Listen: Diavik’s new solar plant
Outhouse exclusive. Angela Bigg, Diavik’s president, took my questions about the diamond mine’s announcement that it’s about to build the North’s biggest solar plant – right before it closes. (This is the kind of thing you’ll get in our podcast – interviews and longer-form news analysis that give you more than we’re able to bring to the written coverage. We’ll also provide audio versions of our best written work.)
Meta bans news
As you probably know, Meta – owner of Facebook and Instagram – has banned news on its platforms in Canada over a fight with the federal government, which wants Meta to pay news providers. Meta says that isn’t fair. Here is a more detailed report if you’re interested.
My opinion on this is nuanced. There is no doubt that Meta has eaten away a huge chunk of revenue that used to go to news outlets, and in part uses the content newsrooms to provide to keep its audience on its platform, earning ad revenue as a result.
But newsrooms also benefit from Meta, or else I don’t know that the complaints from the media sector would be quite as loud as they are. I can see aspects of both sides’ arguments. All of this is happening far above Cabin Radio’s pay grade (nobody ever stopped to ask how we feel about any of this), so it’s unfortunate to be caught in the crossfire of a war that frankly doesn’t really involve us.
The good news? So far, the number of viewers reading our news has not gone down. In fact, it has gone up. If August carries on like this, we’ll set a monthly record for readership.
I don’t pretend to know how to explain that. It’s far too early to draw any conclusions about what the Meta ban is or is not doing to news readership, and there are many variables that go into any day’s traffic to a news website. Wildfires, for example, are an obvious reason for lots of people to be reading the news right now. But so far, there has not been a point at which our audience disappeared off a cliff after being given a shove by Meta. If anything, the opposite has occurred.
You signing up for this newsletter is a big help. And if people ask you, “Hey, what happened to my Cabin Radio on Facebook?” – send them to this page, which explains everything and helps them find their news again. (You can still send links to our website in messages, even if you can’t post them on your page etc.)
Our redesigned website is really helping us to showcase everything we do: not just written news but entertainment broadcasting, video, weather and lots more. We have a new app on the way, too, and I hear loud and clear the request for the app to provide news alerts.
Bottom line: thanks for all of your support. So far, we feel like our bond with our audience is serving us well and we will work very hard to keep it that way.
(And I’m just saying… if Facebook remained news-free forever, and people learned to go to news websites for that while saving Facebook for pleasant personal moments… would we not, uh, be cool with that? I’d be cool with that. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say that out loud as the editor of a newsroom.)
Events coming up
This weekend: Enterprise Gateway Jamboree, Rainbow Run in Yellowknife on Saturday. Open Sky Festival in Fort Simpson, at which we’ll have radio host and reporter Megan Miskiman, say hi to Megan if you’re there!
Next week: Dark Sky Festival is cancelled, sadly. NWT Chamber of Commerce golf tournament on Friday, August 18.
Our full events calendar has more information. Please send us your events because we rely on you to make sure everything is on the calendar!
What we’re reading
This week brought to you by assistant editor Emily Blake, who actually reads other things, whereas I just stare at our own journalism until my eyes shrivel into raisins.
‘Disaster’: warning for democracy as experts condemn Meta over Canada news ban
From Emily: Meta has begun its widespread ban on Canadian news in response to the Online News Act. This article explores what that could mean for democracy and the spread of disinformation. “If credible content decreases, the problem is just going to intensify.”
Meet the purple flower that thrives after wildfire — fireweed
From Emily: The iconic purple fireweed can be found growing across the NWT. This article explores the role it plays in forest land reclamation and the many ways it can be used.
Housing is a direct federal responsibility, contrary to what Trudeau said. Here’s how his government can do better
From Emily: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently said housing is primarily a provincial/territorial responsibility but some experts say the federal government has a large role to play. In this piece, University of Ottawa housing policy researcher Carolyn Whitzman and UBC law associate professor Alexandra Flynn argue Canada's housing crisis “has its roots in the federal government's neglect of affordable housing over decades.” They set out five priorities for Ottawa to address the issue as well as recommendations for provincial, territorial and municipal governments.
Next time
I’ll gradually introduce you to our staff in these newsletters, since it’s important to see that the people bringing you the news are actual (really nice) humans, working hard to get it right.
Over time, I’ll also keep you updated on Cabin Radio’s progress toward an FM licence. As you probably know, we’re working through a years-long bureaucratic process governed by people who’ve never been to the NWT, which is frustrating but we’re surrounded by good people helping us out.
On that note, thanks here to Lawson Lundell, whose lawyers – led by Toby Kruger – continue to represent us for free in the Federal Court of Appeal regarding the CRTC ruling earlier this year. Nothing is ever straightforward and there would be zero chance of us being able to make our case without their assistance. More to follow about that appeal and our new application for an FM licence.
Thanks for reading this. I would love your feedback and especially correspondence about articles we write, events we should include, and anything of note in the Northwest Territories. You can leave comments (yes, comments!) on Substack, too.
Oh and we end Cabin Radio things with pets, as we firmly established on Covid Corner if you remember that far back. So here are some puppies. Contact the NWT SPCA if you need one (or six) in your life. Already got pets in your life? Send photos, you know you want to.
Congratulations Ollie and team. Love the newsletter.
Love this! I have always preferred to get regular news digests from sources I trust that package up their top stories with a bit of commentary, nice to have that from Cabin now too.