Tumbler RidgeLines only newspaper still publishing in northeast B.C.

TUMBLER RIDGE, B.C. — Tumbler RidgeLines became the only newspaper still in print in northeast B.C. after Alaska Highway News and Dawson Creek Mirror published their final editions last week.

Publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines, Trent Ernst, said the local newspaper is written by people who live in the community for those who live there.

“My goal really was to be hyper-local, which is an internet term meaning that I just write about things that happen in Tumbler Ridge,” Ernst said. “So, most of the time, [the coverage] doesn’t really affect or influence anybody who lives outside of town.”

The publisher said some exceptions exist, such as nearby wildfires or significant updates on the Wolverine mine.

“This is sort of my duty to step up and be a part of making sure that residents of Tumbler Ridge still have a local person telling them about the things that are happening in Tumbler Ridge,” Ernst said.

When he was a “wee lad,” he wanted to be a novelist after reading J.R.R. Tolkien and Clive Staples Lewis.

“I wanted to do that. I wanted to tell stories and write books,” Ernst said.

After high school, he said he went to college and entered a program called Print Futures, designed to teach a person how to edit in professional settings, write press releases and write in different situations.

At the same time, Ernst was working at the student newspaper. He used the practical experience and what he learned in school to build his repertoire.

After college, the publisher said he worked as a freelancer for 15 to 20 years, writing for the Vancouver Sun and other publications.

“Then, I had kids, and I was like, ‘okay, well, I need a real job,’” Ernst said.

He worked a couple of other jobs before working for the Tumbler Ridge paper, and when the owner passed away, Ernst said he had nothing else to do in Tumbler Ridge.

“Despite attempts to change, it’s still primarily a coal mining town. There’s a lot of coal, and I’m not really a coal miner,” Ernst said.

“So, I sort of did what I knew, which was to write, design, photograph and put out publications.”

Five years later, he’s still writing and publishing a physical newspaper.

The Tumbler RidgeLines newspaper publishes once every two weeks, and Ernst said he wants to keep it in print so there are no barriers to receiving the news. 

“There’s a lot of people who don’t like reading stuff online, so I wanted to have a physical paper so that they could pick it up, hold it in their hands, read it and get the news,” Ernst said.

The publisher said he’s adopted a “hybrid” model, using the popular website Patreon for readers to contribute to his newspaper.

Users can choose to contribute different amounts per issue, starting at as little as $5, and anyone who pays $11 and above will get the newspaper delivered to them.

Despite the publisher’s efforts, he is unsure if he will be able to continue this way.

“If things keep going the way they’re going, there’s not much of a future,” Ernst admitted.

He said if the Government of Canada had a way to supplement newspapers, it would be helpful.

The only support the Canadian government offers is a way for newspapers to function as non-profits, so if someone donates, he could write a tax receipt, which could be written off.

“Unfortunately, the process of doing that is highly convoluted, and last I checked, there might have been like one or two newspapers that had actually gone through the process, jumped through all the hoops to be able to do that,” Ernst said.

Tumbler RidgeLines can also be found online, and the paper’s Patreon can be found here.

Before Glacier Media announced the end of the Alaska Highway News and Dawson Creek Mirror, the Fort Nelson News closed its doors on September 29th after 64 years in business.

The full interview with Ernst and Jordan Soggie can be found below: