State of affairs: Update on the Bulletin

After a two-week rest, the Bulletin team has been back on the newsbeat to publish outstanding newspapers this August. Readers can rest assured that the Aylmer Bulletin is faring well as Aylmer moves into month 18 of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

For several years, Canada has faced the loss of more small local newspapers than anytime in previous decades. Readers sent letters of support for the Aylmer Bulletin, stopped by the office to offer donations or to volunteer. Local advertisers have supported the paper and promoted their businesses in print. Another piece to the puzzle that keeps the local paper in business is a renewed interest on the part of the federal government to help journalism. Several funding programs have increased local journalism in Aylmer, like in so many communities. The provincial government, for the first time ever, has run a major information campaign in English. The French campaign is also in the Bulletin, but it is the helpful information in English that has really turned heads and helped this vulnerable population. 

The help has been appreciated, and the team at the Bulletin is happy to report the newspaper is still very much here to stay. Indeed, the team is growing. At the bottom of this page, readers may find a few new names in the various departments. They appreciate public support, and leads. Send in news items or contact information for possible advertisers!

---Gatineau Bulletin

22,000 households in central Gatineau now receive the Gatineau Bulletin. This is a new bilingual newspaper, sister paper to the Aylmer Bulletin, West Quebec Post and Pontiac Journal. Readers called and wrote in after just the first edition. Publishing since June of this year, the response has been a confidence boost for everyone at the Bulletin. The ad sizes and prices are the same as the Aylmer Bulletin’s. So is the newsroom contact; information, comments and networking contacts are appreciated. 

---Municipal elections

As the deadline approaches for declaring candidacy, readers may be interested to know that only Gilles Chagnon (Lucerne district) is running again in his riding. The full slate of declared candidates is forthcoming in the paper, as well as interviews with each one. A debate is slated for October 13 at the British Hotel. Readers are invited to send in platform questions of relevance to municipal affairs. The letters section welcomes these discussions on issues, so long as they are not blanket support letters for a candidate.

Rest assured, dear readers, that your local newspaper is facing a busy season with plenty of news.