CHCO-TV and NB Media Co-op premiered the first episode of NB debrief hosted by Tobin Haley, a show dedicated to amplifying community voices on prevalent issues across the unceded territory of that Mi’kmaq, Peskotomuhkati and Wlastoq nations that now make up New Brunswick. NB debrief additionally acts as an “alternative to the corporate media monopoly” as it is in collaboration with two independent media outlets committed to social justice and covering “issues and perspectives erased in mainstream commercial media”. 

To discuss her experiences with NB Media Co-op and other media outlets in New Brunswick, Susan O’Donnell, activist and writer based out of Fredericton, is invited as the first guest of the series. As an advocate for environmental, labour and feminist issues, O’Donnell encourages rigourous discourse to counter corporate narrative on topics such as workers rights, unions, and economic issues. With the majority of New Brunswick media outlets displaying hostile behaviours to many residents whilst excluding their narratives, O’Donnell finds it more important than ever to cover the real stories of New Brunswickers and their experiences with the dominating news source, “telling their stories was just so important for morale.”

To elaborate on media bias and monopoly throughout New Brunswick, Tracy Glenn and Matthew Hayes of NB Media Co-op are invited to share their experiences and the creation of NB Media Co-op. “Business classists are really oriented towards a narrative that is generated by one family that owns most of the industry in the province,” says Hayes, “and the family itself and their financial interests are off shore.” Despite being mostly known for their business in oil, forestry and manufacturing, J.D. Irving also monopolizes the media in New Brunswick. “They own all the English daily newspapers,” adds Glenn, “we can’t expect Irving media to cover the stories that it should.” Glenn and Hayes explain that the creation of NB Media Co-op was ultimately created to stray away from aggressive legal tactics, oppressive stories, the exclusion of minority groups throughout the province, and the “distorted views on these problems and how to go about it.” 

NB Media Co-op, Charlotte County Television, along with the few other independent media outlets throughout the province, are banding together to ask New Brunswickers questions such as: Whose problems are these? Whose narratives are we listening to? How can we deal with the root causes of these issues of injustices and exclusions?