About Us
Winnipeg Free Press is an independent publisher serving the city of Winnipeg and surrounding communities. The oldest newspaper in Western Canada, the Free Press has been published since 1872 on Treaty 1 land and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.
The Free Press creates strong and trustworthy journalism that is committed to truth, transparency and democracy. It is available daily online and at the newsstand, with home delivery offered Monday to Saturday.
The Free Press is the most read newspaper in Winnipeg with 395,000 adults enjoying our stories each week (Source: Vividata SCC | Study of the Canadian Consumer Spring 2024). With the biggest newsroom west of Toronto, the Free Press works around the clock to cover the subjects that impact Manitobans and their community.
Our Mission:
Our editorial mission is to strengthen society by ensuring there is a trusted, independent news source of information the public can rely upon to understand the world they live in, to connect with their community and to make decisions about what matters most to their lives.
Our Commitment:
As part of its commitment to accuracy and accountability, The Free Press is a member of the National NewsMedia Council and complies with the editorial guidelines published by the Canadian Association of Journalists. Those guidelines can be found at the National NewsMedia Council’s website, along with other editorial guidelines to which the Free Press makes reference, and at the Canadian Association of Journalists website. The Free Press also adheres to Canadian Press style and standards.
Our newsroom practices reflect our commitment to accuracy and independent reporting. Our responsibilities on this front are many. They include:
- identifying diverse sources and ensuring their reliability;
- verifying facts and distinguishing them from assertions;
- exercising care in the treatment of a range of situations and story elements, including treatment of explicit or violent material;
- evaluating the reliability of information, including statistical information, supplied by sources and the general public;
- ethical coverage of youth and other vulnerable individuals;
- transparency surrounding on-location reporting, use of eye witnesses, and live content;
- distinguishing between news and opinion;
- distinguishing between news and commercial content;
- ensuring that our reporting is independent of business, political, or other outside interests;
- identifying potential conflicts of interest and ensuring they are resolved;
- addressing claims of error and publishing corrections when errors appear in stories.
Responsibility for ensuring that these standards are met, and for ensuring accuracy and independence, including that the industry standards referred to above are followed, lies with the Publisher and the Editor. Our team of photographers, writers, contributors, and editors follows the external standards referenced above.
If you have concerns about editorial content, please send them to editorialconcerns@freepress.mb.ca. If you are not satisfied with the response and wish to file a formal complaint, please visit the National NewsMedia Council’s web site at www.mediacouncil.ca and fill out the form or call toll free at 1-844-877-1163 for additional information.
Use of Algorithms:
The Winnipeg Free Press uses a combination of human curation and algorithms to select and display news content on its website and apps as part of our effort to improve reader experience. We weigh what our newsroom determines is important, then we consider recency, source, and finally what is popular with each individual reader and our readership as a whole. The results of this analysis determine which stories are displayed and in which order. The Winnipeg Free Press does not use personally identifiable information (PII) in providing content recommendations.
Opinion:
The Free Press welcomes letters and opinion submissions from readers and the public, as well as from our regular contributors. Opinion submissions are identified as such and typically published on our editorial and opinion pages. The work of some staff columnists appears on news pages and can be recognized as such. We strive to publish a range of viewpoints on subjects of interest and importance to the community, while respecting the editorial standards outlined above.
Sources:
The Free Press occasionally provides anonymity to sources in accordance with Canadian Press and Canadian Association of Journalists standards. When we do so, that decision is made in conjunction with the editor and is only employed when deemed essential to the story. The rationale is explained in the story. The Free Press uses sources, both anonymous and named, to provide background, detail, and context, but remains independent of these sources in our reporting. We strive to consult a variety of sources in all our reporting to ensure balance.
Professionalism:
The Free Press recruits journalists from accredited journalism programs at universities and colleges across Canada, as well as experienced, trained journalists from other media companies. New hires in the newsroom receive on-the-job training that is commensurate with their experience to ensure that we serve readers with reliable journalism, mentoring from experienced colleagues, and guidance from editors. Professional legal advice is solicited as needed. The Free Press respects legal requirements such as publication bans.
Journalism Certification:
The Free Press is one of only two Canadian media outlets to achieve certification from The Journalism Trust Initiative.
The seal of approval comes only after a rigorous application process that includes an external audit based on benchmarks of quality, independence and transparency. The certification from the international organization launched and operated by Reporters Without Borders speaks to our commitment to journalism and the readers who trust us to deliver information they need and deserve. View Certificate
A Safe Workplace:
The Free Press is committed to providing a safe workplace free from bullying and harassment. We adhere to all legislation concerning workplace safety, which can be found at https://www.manitoba.ca/labour/safety/, https://www.gov.mb.ca/labour/standards/index.html and https://manitobahumanrights.ca/v1/.
Additionally, a number of staff members are represented by a collective bargaining agreement under Unifor.