The times they are a-changing at AMMSA

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Canada's largest and most respected publisher of Aboriginal news and information is heading in a new editorial direction. After 13 years, Debora Steel is stepping down at the Edmonton-based Aboriginal Multi-Media Society (AMMSA).

"Deb has been a great asset to our organization and she really helped to shape the direction we have taken over the past years. We're losing a valuable employee and a wonderful editor," said Paul Macedo, director of marketing for AMMSA. "We are excited for her though, because she is pursuing a life-long dream to live on Vancouver Island near Ucluelet, where she will be working with the Nuu-chal-nulth First Nation, and where she'll be closer to family."

With Steel's exit, the non-profit organization is being restructured. "We have a plan in place and we're optimistic that we'll be able to move in new directions. We've created a new position called director of print, similar to an associate publisher, which I'll be assuming, and our staff will take on more of the editorial and assignment responsibilities," he explained, adding that he'll now be overseeing the production, marketing and editorial departments to ensure they are all working together as a unit.

Macedo has been with AMMSA since 1991 and has seen huge growth in that time. AMMSA's first paper, Windspeaker, rolled off the presses in 1983, and was one of the few Aboriginal papers to survive following a cut in government funding. The paper's founder and AMMSA's chief executive officer Bert Crowfoot had been working on a five-year sufficiency plan for the society and was able to not only survive, but expand by gaining advertising dollars from many of the bigger corporations. "Of the 11 organizations which were being funded at the time, only two are still in place," said Macedo. "We survived that crunch by identifying the need for a national voice for Aboriginal people." In 1993, in conjunction with its 10th anniversary, Windspeaker went national. Freelancers were engaged throughout the country to ensure news from every corner of the land was included in the monthly publication. Debora Steel became editor soon after and had a crucial role in developments through the transitional time.

Alberta Sweetgrass was launched later in the year to cover local Alberta events and community news. Saskatchewan Sage followed in 1996, Raven's Eye began publishing in British Columbia and Yukon in 1997 and Ontario Birchbark was launched in 2002. "And the growth continues, as we're also now producing a quarterly business magazine. We feel that we are evolving to meet the needs of our evolving audience," said Macedo.

AMMSA also established radio station CFWE in 1987. Today the broadcasts reaches 75-plus communities in northern Alberta through a satellite network and can be heard throughout North America by satellite. The 24-hour-a-day station offers diversified programming, including news with an Aboriginal perspective, music, ethnic programs and a very lively twice-weekly bingo game. "That's another success story. CFWE has gone from a small station located at Lac La Biche with an audience of 2,000 or 3,000 to an Alberta-wide network in 75 communities and an audience of over 100,000," he says. "Plans are to come into Edmonton with the signal next year and we expect another 100,000 listeners to be added." In the more remote areas of the province the station truly is the centre of the community, with friends and family gathering to play radio bingo as a social event, and listeners learning about local events and news from around Indian country.

These are exciting times, said Macedo. "We have many plans for the future. Even after 23 years of existence and growth, there's still so much that we haven't tapped into. For example, the urbanization of Aboriginal people, as more move into the larger centres, has created new challenges as we seek to maintain contact with them. There's the potential for them to get lost in the huge numbers of the urban communiies and we want to ensure we can keep them connected to their home community through the radio station and the publications," he said. AMMSA recognizes its vital role of communicating services and programs to its readers and listeners and knows that it needs to continue to reach out to the rural areas as well as the growing audience in the cities. "We need to strike a balance because Aboriginal people are getting much more sophisticated and diverse in their interests. The communications industry needs to address these issues."

The staff is excited about continuing the work that was begun while Steel was editor, concluded Macedo. Popular investigative reporter Paul Barnsley will be taking on the role of national news editor while continuing his political coverage. Long-time employee Cheryl Petten, currently the editor of Saskatchewan Sage, will add features editor for Windspeaker to her duties, while Dianne Meile joins the staff as editor for Alberta Sweetgrass and staff writer Laura Stevens assumes editorial responsibility for Raven's Eye and Birchbark.

"We're reallocating responsibilities to ensure the same quality to which our readers have become accustomed continues and we look forward to a new stage in the growth and development of AMMSA," said Macedo.