The Coast is an independently owned digital-first news outlet, supported by and responsible to its community.
OUR MISSION
The Coast is essential media for Kjipuktuk/Halifax. Through fact-based and fearless journalism we provide a way in for citizens to find community, disrupt systems that govern us and show up for local culture. We are responsible to our readers and membership who share our belief that a free and independent press can build a just and thriving city.
OUR FUNDING MODEL & WHY OUR MEMBERS MATTER
Online publishing requires a different business model than the newspaper advertisements that supported the print Coast. A lot of sites use a paywall, so only paying customers have access to their stories. But that’s really publishing for subscribers, not a community. And we believe that a free and independent press can foster a just and thriving city.
But the free press isn’t free to make. It requires resources to pay reporters and keep the website open. Advertising alone will not be enough to support this mission. Our funding model uses a combination of digital and print advertising, sponsored content, events like Halifax Burger Week, production services like Ticket Halifax and reader contributions to keep making it.
Read more about The Coast’s membership model here.
Those reader contributions help us to sustain the award-winning, needle-pushing journalism you have come to expect from The Coast for the past three decades.
The Coast is currently a for-profit business. We are working towards a stable, sustainable, fair-wage workplace for journalists and support staff.
The Coast is owned and managed by Christine Oreskovich and Kyle Shaw.
WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?
We started The Coast back in 1993 because Kjipuktuk/Halifax had both a cool scene and deep-seated problems that were not being written about anywhere else. Since then we have published a free weekly newspaper that was an independent source of fearless local reporting and incisive cultural commentary. It was our love letter to a better Halifax.
When the pandemic arrived and the local economy shut down, we stopped printing the weekly paper, a drastic measure that The New York Times reported on. But we are doubling down on digital, publishing our award-winning journalism at TheCoast.ca.
We started The Float newsletter to act as your tipsheet to the best Coast stories of the week.
We launched The Drift newsletter - a Coast members-only chatty drop in your inbox with one story you can’t miss.
Our journalists are working on investigative feature stories that will help you better understand this city.
VALUES
STORY FIRST The Coast values good writing, and the craft of journalism. We work in complexity–not in silos. We believe in the power of words to heal, inform and excite.
PRIDE OF PLACE The Coast believes that Halifax is the best city in Canada. When we foster a geographic identity of where we live, who lives here and the history of place we can better understand each other. Our stories are grounded in unceded Mi’kma’ki.
COLLABORATION & TEAMWORK We are our best when we work in collaboration and value each member of our team for how they serve our mission.
ETHICS & STANDARDS
To view The Coast’s privacy policy visit here
To view The Coast’s comments policy visit here
OPINION AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We label opinion pieces and letters to the editor prominently, using the clearest words possible to note that they are separate from news coverage. This includes when we post links to opinion pieces on social media accounts. To submit letters to the editor or if you are interested in becoming an opinion contributor, email [email protected].
