By Andrea Bellerose, First Nations University of Canada student
Eagle Feather News is returning with a revamped quarterly print magazine and a new digital news platform. The publication has been on hiatus for the past six months, and there were some questions as to whether it would return. The news outlet is rebranding its name to EFN Media.
Kerry Benjoe, the managing editor of EFN Media, feels that it was necessary to bring back the print form of the magazine based on numerous requests from readers. Some do not have access to the Internet; others like having a physical paper. There were also personal reasons to bring the print edition back for Benjoe.
“One of the reasons why I was determined to keep a print edition is because I got my start in journalism by having an article published in Eagle Feather News, and I wanted to keep that going for the next generation of journalists.”
Benjoe highlighted that there are all different ways of telling stories, whether it’s digital, audio, print, or visual.
“People are going to be surprised at the quality of our paper, so we are able to take more time, care, and effort in producing these print-quality stories, and the stories are much more vibrant; there is a lot of colour. People are going to see a different Eagle Feather.”
The new publication features articles from thirteen Indigenous Communication Arts Summer Institute students. Brittany Poitras was one of the students in the program. Her experiences were positive, and she has hopes for her future in journalism.
“I’m super excited to actually see my name on a tagline in the magazine for the first time. I heard a lot of journalists that I was speaking to talk about how that was the moment that got them hooked on journalism.”
Like Poitras, Benjoe can also speak to having the journalism bug.
“I didn’t even fathom a career in journalism; it was just something that I was doing, but that journalism bug bit me, and I have never been able to get rid of it.”
EFN Media is launching the website next week at efnmedia.ca. The first quarterly magazine will come out in July.