Amanda Follett Hosgood, Northern BC reporter for The Tyee, will be in Tumbler Ridge this weekend reporting on the decline in community news BC and particularly the loss of several newspapers in the Peace Region in recent years.
The project is part of the Lieutenant Governor’s BC Journalism Fellowship, which was announced last month. The fellowship is meant to offer journalists an opportunity to take an in-depth, investigative look at a topic that interests them.
“During my 24 years in journalism, I’ve witnessed first-hand the declining capacity in small-town newsrooms,” Follett Hosgood said. “I’m excited to take a closer look at how the loss of several media outlets in Northeast BC is affecting communities in the region and what possible solutions exist for ensuring residents remain informed.”
Follett Hosgood will produce a multi-part story examining the effects of declining news media capacity in small-town British Columbia. Her reporting will focus on BC’s northeast, a region considered a “news desert” following the closure of several news outlets Dawson Creek, Fort St. John and Fort Nelson in 2023.
It will also examine the important role that Tumbler Ridge’s Trent Ernst plays in the community, as the only reporter within a 100-kilometre radius. In addition to considering the effects of declining news coverage in the region, Follett Hosgood’s reporting will seek possible solutions for better informing the public amid a changing media landscape.
Follett Hosgood is interested in speaking with community members about how the decline in local news is affecting them. What gets missed when there are fewer reporters covering local events? What is filling the gap? What solutions exist for the crisis in community news? She’s also interested in hearing about why it’s important to have a local outlet like Tumbler RidgeLines in town.
She’ll be spending the next week in the region and will be in Tumbler Ridge from Saturday through Monday. You can reach her by email at
afolletthosgood@thetyee.ca. She plans to be at Twisted Season Bistro on Monday, June 15, from 9 to 10 am, if you want to drop by and share your thoughts in person. The Tyee is an online, independent news outlet based in Vancouver, but Follett Hosgood lives in Smithers.
The Lieutenant Governor’s BC Journalism Fellowship provides funding to journalists so they can invest the time and other resources in producing excellent in-depth, investigative coverage on a topic of their choosing. The objective is to support journalists in their ambition to go above and beyond daily coverage, tackle underreported issues, and deliver deep, complex storytelling to better inform British Columbians.
Past recipients have included Francesca Fionda writing for The Tyee, Michele Brunoro from CTV News Vancouver and Kim Bolan of the Vancouver Sun.
This year’s fellowship was granted to two recipients. The other recipient, Tchadas Leo from CHEK News, will explore how aging infrastructure, climate vulnerability, and limited emergency access leave remote First Nations communities in BC exposed to public safety risks despite ongoing government funding commitments.
His reporting will explore how gaps between announced infrastructure investments and the lived realities in remote Indigenous communities reveal broader questions about accountability, climate resilience, reconciliation, and the long-term protection of vulnerable coastal and northern Nations.
Amanda Follett Hosgood, Northern BC reporter for The Tyee
