By Delphine Petitjean, journalist and editor of the digital media On a le choix, based in Cornwall, Ontario.
This article was originally published in French. Translation by Clément Lechat.
This article is part of a content exchange between Documenters Canada and On a le choix. To learn more, visit www.onalechoix.com and subscribe to its newsletter.
I was invited to share my experiences regarding the media coverage of city councils in my region: an opportunity to remind ourselves that in a digital world saturated with content, real engagement is necessary to inform ourselves and forge critical thinking.
Media, content, information, press, journalism
A trained journalist, I founded a local, digital and professional media two years ago, with my partner, who comes from the television field. We bridged the absence of a francophone press in our region since 2016. Ten years later, the explosion of content creators of all kinds sometimes makes recognition and adherence to reliable sources harder. Extensions with “TV” or “FM,” with no remaining link to the former traditional broadcasting channels, and used indiscriminately, also generate more confusion.
It even happens that we do not know how to name ourselves anymore. I understood that the word “media” means nothing to many youths, even more so when they are anglophone (média would be the equivalent of social media, somehow). Hence, we’d better introduce ourselves personally as journalists. And at times, we face situations for which we were not fully prepared upon returning to the world of journalism.
An era in full, and an entire country
City council meetings are open to the public, filmed and broadcast online, and all media are welcome to attend. No registration or advance notice is required.
A priori, it is a good thing. But this tolerance has a magnitude that I didn’t know before, coming from a country where journalism is a protected profession.
Thus, one day, a municipal council meeting was covered by an “event television” outlet that came to promote a specific agenda item on the meeting’s agenda. In the report that was later broadcast, this routine meeting, comprising various items on the agenda, was turned into a ‘pilot meeting’ organized in collaboration with the neighbouring city on the subject in question. This illustrates an informational bias, where political news becomes event-based.
Presence makes a difference
Conversely, when citizens and the press are in the room during city council meetings, the impact is real. I saw it, for instance, when it came to voting on a bylaw opposing Bill 5, which threatened protected species habitat preservation in Ontario. The tension was palpable. Whatever the issue under deliberation, civic engagement can tip the scales.
During another meeting, a homeless mother stood up to express her difficulties. As it was unplanned, she was asked to sit down, but she continued. At some point, the meeting broadcast was suspended. A man, present in the room, filmed this woman’s intervention. The video, largely shared on social media, allowed me to learn about her case, because I was not attending the council this evening. We came to interview her and gave a right of reply to the city’s social services and housing administration. Our reporting caused a great stir, and within a week, the family was offered a housing solution.
My conclusion
Vigilance and engagement are essential. This is a collective responsibility. In 2026, the professional press faces the challenge of navigating among all the “media” to uphold rigour and ethics. It interrogates, verifies, and double-checks. And we need to support it. If one doesn’t have the time to attend one’s municipal council meetings, it is better to subscribe to a local newspaper.
According to a Nanos survey conducted in 2025 for the Consortium of Official Language Minority Community Media, citizens’ trust level toward their local community media was good. Nevertheless, due to their proximity, these press organizations merit even more support.
With the local press, we certainly chose a better way to inform ourselves and forge critical thinking over the issues that immediately impact us. Initiatives like Documenters Canada also allow obtaining information from a direct source, transparent and fact-checked. This is essential for democracy.