Facebook Blacks Out Six Rivers News

Call it a back-handed compliment or a validation of the work we do — though not from a source of any authority. Facebook’s ongoing blocking of posts containing Canadian news content has taken aim at yours truly, Six Rivers News.

Primarily a 24/7 internet radio station and online newspaper that publishes regional news stories, Six Rivers News “flew under the radar” of the Facebook news ban until early October, when stories posted to social media suddenly went black. 

This was the response by Meta (Facebook’s parent company) to the passing of Canada’s “Online News Act”, which required social media companies to pay for the articles that were being posted to the platform. 

The Act would require direct arrangements between Facebook and Six Rivers (or SaltWire, Reuters, Canadian Press etc.) for the use of that material. 

The basic argument is that these social media giants were profiting from that content appearing on their systems, where they sell advertising and profit from the work of other companies and individuals.

Therein lies the conundrum.

News Director and radio host Bill Martin of Six Rivers News has long held a dour opinion of Facebook as a source of information (far too often, it is dis-information that goes around unchallenged). 

While initially Six Rivers’ articles were shared frequently on Facebook’s many community groups, and in particular, two local pages specific to Oxford, the ‘free use’ of Six Rives content on that platform without any great benefit in return was grating. 

Six Rivers, like other web-based organisations, relies on direct views of its content. Perhaps as important, the comment section below our news articles is meant as a space for discussion and elaboration on the news we present. 

When articles are posted to Facebook, readers rarely would comment on the Six Rivers News page, preferring to add their comments to that Facebook post instead.  This separates the content from the community, and essential feedback and engagement between us and you is lost.

So…. this Facebook ban, while validating our operation as a true news outlet, may actually be more in line with our desire for true community sharing. You, the reader, are welcome to read our content and engage with it here on our web portal. There is no other media platform with a focus like ours on the communities bounded by the Tidnish, Shinimicas, Philip, Pugwash, Wallace, and Dewar rivers — with a growing demand further into Cumberland South.

Our community calendar, our advertising partners, our news content, our charitable activities… all of this serves your community. And if we may be so bold, your support of the Six Rivers suite of information, services, and outreach activities has a feedback effect that enriches our community. 

We tell your stories. We promote your local activities. We give you an on-air voice to talk about the things that matter to you. And none of what we do originates in media headquarters in Halifax or Ottawa or Toronto or Washington. We are local.

While it is certainly inconvenient for some that they can’t access and share our news stories on Facebook, it isn’t the end of the world. If anything, it is a chance to build a stronger relationship with your local news and community events platform. Certainly you can tell your social media friends and contacts that Six Rivers News has a story on a subject that matters to you. The only caveat is that Facebook won’t allow a direct link to the people who actually wrote the story in the first place.

The solution is simple: make SixRivers.ca one of the first places you visit on your home computer, tablet, or mobile phone (dare we suggest, even before opening the Facebook App?).

And do make it a habit to listen to Six Rivers Radio —internet radio— as well. There may not be radio towers involved, it won’t tune in on your car radio — at least not yet — but any internet connection using Chrome, Safari, Edge… your browser of choice… will bring you to us for live information programming from 9:00 to 11:00am weekdays on Morning Talk, great east coast music Saturday night at 8:00 pm with Saturday Night in a Harbour Town, and more all hit music 24/7 all year long. 

We are building a massive archive. You can find every story ever written on the news site, and our weekday radio interviews are now saved in their own archive to listen at your pleasure, on demand.

Keep up to date with the news makers and people in the news, with local figures like Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton, Cumberland County Mayor Murray Scott, Oxford Mayor Greg Henley, and Member of Parliament Stephen Ellis, and even a live monthly appearance by Premier Tim Houston — unfiltered.

Six Rivers News was created to fill the void left by The Oxford Journal, which ceased publishing in 2015, and the ever-deteriorating local news coverage by traditional media which is more and more controlled by people from afar. 

Six Rivers News, Radio, and TV is owned and operated by the not-for-profit Six Rivers Hope Centre Ministries located in Pugwash. All income is channelled back into the Hope Centre, which provides facilities and services dedicated to the greater community.

Bookmark or add this link to your favourites for direct access to our internet radio station: https://usa10.fastcast4u.com/sixrivers.

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