Energeticcity.ca Weekly Review: 2025 Reader Survey Results

Welcome to the next installment of the Weekly Review, a series where we mention what’s going on behind the scenes and showcase the previous week’s top stories.

If you want to get this review directly in your inbox, all daily newsletter subscribers receive it every Sunday!

Behind the Scenes

A couple of weeks ago, we ran our 2025 Reader Survey to learn more about what you and our other readers are looking for in the new year. Thank you to everyone who filled out our survey! In this post, we will share some of the results as well as some of our plans based on the survey.

Overall, we were happy to hear that the majority of the people rated us 4 out of 5 stars when it comes to our current coverage. We received comments such as “pretty much the only reliable source for local news in this area” and “really glad to get local news.” Our goal is to be a trusted and reliable source of local news for the whole of northeast BC. While we appreciate the kind words, we plan to continue to improve our transparency and coverage. 

Local Coverage

A common comment we received through the survey was about our stories that aren’t about the Peace region. We wanted to share some reasoning behind the stories and how we are going to be adjusting them so you will see less.

As mentioned, our main focus is local. With all of our staff being located in Fort St John, we do our best to cover the entire region; however, sometimes a story will happen outside of our corner of the province but is still important for our readers here. A great example of this is when the Province announced new projects in response to the tariffs from the US. While we wrote a follow-up that covered how this will impact us locally, we received the original story from the Canadian Press.

The Canadian Press is a group of journalists that writes stories that cover all of Canada that can be used by any news outlet. As mentioned before, we use these stories to help fill out our coverage when it comes to bigger news that is happening provincially or federally. Normally, we try to make sure that we don’t include unnecessary stories that have nothing to do with our region but over the last few weeks there have been some that have slipped through the cracks, specifically on our social channels and in our weekend newsletters.

Over the weekend, we have limited coverage from our reporters. If something big happens, we have someone on call to cover it but that is usually only a story a two a week. We were using Canadian Press stories to fill this gap over the weekend but because there have been so many not focused on our region, we have decided to adjust our weekend newsletter and our social media channels to hopefully avoid these. Starting tomorrow, you should see less of these types of stories, but you may also see less stories in general through these channels. We will continue to monitor the situation and adjust as needed.

Supporting Local News

Another comment we received was in regards to how we fund our journalism. As mentioned in our 2024 Annual Report, we are able to pay our reporters mainly through the advertising we have on the site as well as the digital services we provide through Moose Media.

Someone then asked us why do we ask for financial support from readers if this is the case. The reason why is because our goal is to represent the people of the Peace, and becoming a Supporter​ is a great way for you to help us with that. By supporting us directly, you can help us grow our coverage while being less dependent on advertising. While we love working with local businesses with their marketing, direct support from readers provides us a reliable stream of income to continue growing our coverage. We understand that not everyone is able to do this, but every little bit helps and ensures that local news can continue to exist in northeast BC.

Plans for 2025

Again, thank you to everyone who filled out our 2025 Reader Survey. Mentioned above are a few small things we are already changing but we will be planning on making some bigger changes throughout the year. Once we have those more planned out, we will make sure to share them with you. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to reach out to our Reader Engagement Lead Greg at greg@moosemediafsj.ca

Most-Read Stories of the Week

It’s always interesting to see what the readers of Energeticcity.ca are most curious about. Sometimes it’s a big decision that will impact property taxes, and sometimes it’s a new restaurant coming to town. Here are the most-read stories for the week of February 16 to 22, 2025:

1. Treaty 8 Offices Vandalized: with racist Nazi symbols over the Family Day long weekend. As the RCMP investigate, many have condemned the act, including the BC Indigenous Relations Minister. ​
2. New Children’s Clinic in FSJ:​ brings vital services to the community. The clinic has removed the need for families to travel long distances for medical appointments, according to a press release from Northern Health.
3. High on Ice Thrills Fort St John:​ with stunning ice sculptures and more. The event took place February 14-16, 2025, and was a celebration of twenty years of the winter festival.

---

To stay up-to-date on local news and events, follow us on Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, or LinkedIn. Want to keep local journalism alive? Become a Supporter!