News deserts and Tumbler Ridge context

When shots rang out in Tumbler Ridge there was one reporter in town. He was used to covering local events like town council meetings, local hockey, or even, once, a mother duck leading her chicks through town. Then on February 10 came one of the worst shootings in Canadian history.

For the first five hours after the attack local reporter Trent Ernst was the sole journalist in the town. Then the international media descended and for a few days everyone from CBC to the BBC to CNN wanted to talk to Ernst. A few days later the new cycle shifted and the world’s media withdrew. Ernst stayed. He kept reporting, kept talking to his community. And today he talks to Canadaland about what happened before, during, and after Tumbler Ridge moved into the world’s headlines.

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: Tristan Capacchione (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), max collins (Director of Audio), Jesse Brown (Editor and Publisher)

Featured Guest: Trent Ernst

Fact checking by Julian Abraham

Additional music by Audio Network

Photo: Trent Ernst

More information:

• https://tumblerridgelines.com/
• https://www.patreon.com/tumblerridgelines

Sponsors: 

Douglas: Douglas is giving our listeners a FREE Sleep Bundle with each mattress purchase. Get the sheets, pillows, mattress and pillow protectors FREE with your Douglas purchase today. The Free bundle now ALSO includes a down-alternative duvet and cover! Visit https://douglas.ca/canadaland to claim this offer

Fizz: Visit https://fizz.ca and activate a first plan using the referral code CAN25 to get 25$ off and 10GB of free data.

CarGurus: Buy your next car today with CarGurus at cargurus.ca to make sure your big deal is the best deal.

On the next episode of Off The Record, we’re asking you: What’s a rabbit hole you dove into or just know a lot about, because of something you saw in the news or online? Was it a conspiracy? Wellness? Crypto? Culture war issues? What pulled you in? And are you still down there???

Call in and let us know on this Thursday, Feb 26th from 4:30pm to 6:30pm EST, by going to https://callinstudio.com/show/canadaland or dialing in at 1-888-401-7056 when the time comes, so mark your calendars!

Can’t get enough Canadaland? Follow @Canadaland_Podcasts on Instagram for clips, announcements, explainers and more.

If you value this podcast, support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.