In 2018, the Winnipeg Free Press announced it wanted to do a better job of engaging the various communities in Winnipeg. Did that include the faith community? I decided to find out.
As the faith page columnist since 2003, I knew that people in the faith community were disappointed by religion coverage by the Free Press. They appreciated the faith page on Saturday., But if there was news about religion in other parts of the paper, it usually involved bad news about a priest involved in scandal or someone blowing things up in the name of God in a far-away country.
The normal daily life of people of faith, including the many positive contributions they made in Winnipeg and around the world, was mostly absent from the newspaper.
After the paper made the announcement, I met editor Paul Samyn and then-publisher Bob Cox. I affirmed their desire to better serve the various communities that make up Winnipeg. And I told them one community they could serve better was the faith community by establishing a faith beat with me as a freelance reporter.
Paul and Bob said they would like to do that—but they had no money. “What if I go out and raise it?” I asked. If I could do that, they said, the Free Press would do it.
After about 10 months of visiting various faith groups to invite their support, the Religion in the News Project started in March, 2019. The first article through the project was about Father Sam Arenziano, who was being honoured for a lifetime of faithful service to the city’s Italian Catholic community.
That story, by Brenda Suderman, was on page one with a photo. I told people: “There’s a priest on the front page of the Free Press—and he’s not even in trouble!”
It was a joke, but it underscored the goal of the Project: To make sure there was a regular, fair and balanced view of faith in Winnipeg. Not just news about the bad things that happen in the world or religion, and not only on the faith page on Saturday—but all through the week in all sections of the newspaper.
Since that time, over 1,000 news articles about local faith have appeared in the Free Press, written by me and, until she retired in 2023, Brenda Suderman. The stories were about people, congregations, organizations, charities, conferences, events and more. They appeared in all the sections of the paper. (Except sports! I wrote one sports and faith story, but it didn’t appear there.) They are also all available free of charge on the Free Press website.
Today, the Free Press is the only daily media outlet in Canada with a
faith beat. (And still the only newspaper with a Saturday faith page.)
The next phase
Since I am getting older, I knew I couldn’t do this forever. And I also didn’t want to take up space that could be filled by a younger person. But how to transition the beat to keep it going?
As a semi-retired person, I could afford to do it on a freelance basis. But not many younger people could do that. My goal was to find a way for it to keep going and become part of the Free Press in a more official way,
That’s when I wondered if the partnership the Free Press has with The Narwhal, an environmental magazine, could be replicated for religion. Through that partnership, the Free Press and Narwhal share a reporter who writes about the environment. The partnership is supported by the Winnipeg Foundation.
I reached out to editor Paul Samyn, suggesting that Broadview Magazine—a magazine about spirituality, justice and ethical living—could be that partner on the faith side. He agreed. I then contacted Jocelyn Bell, editor of Broadview; she was interested. After that, I reached out to a friend at the Winnipeg Foundation; he said they were open to an application for funding.
Over summer and fall 2025, meetings were held to see it if could work. An application was made to the Foundation. An MOU was signed between the Free Press and Broadview. The Foundation granted some funding and Josiah Neufeld was hired to replace me. And now here it is—ready to go!
For me, it's been a meaningful seven-year journey. I have met many interesting people and learned many new things about different religions. Along the way, I also made many good friends. It has been a privilege to do this work.
And you can be part of it! If you believe religion is a topic that
should be covered by the media, you can help launch this new partnership between the Free Press and Broadview into the future by making a tax deductible donation
to the Project.
