Le Moniteur Acadien

Le Moniteur Acadien
Masthead of the first issue
TypeWeekly newspaper
Owner(s)Radio Beauséjour
Founder(s)Israël Landry
FoundedMarch 5, 1867; 157 years ago (1867-03-05)
LanguageAcadian French
HeadquartersShediac, New Brunswick, Canada
Websitemoniteuracadien.com

Le Moniteur Acadien (lit. 'The Acadian Monitor') is a weekly newspaper based in Shediac, New Brunswick, Canada.[1] Owned by Radio Beauséjour, it was founded on March 5, 1867, by Israël Landry. Le Moniteur Acadien is the first Acadian newspaper as well as the first French-language newspaper in the Maritimes, with its first issue being published on July 8, 1867. It had previously been individually owned multiple times, until being sold to Radio Beauséjour in 2023 for CA$1.

History

Le Moniteur Acadien at the Acadian Historical Village

Le Moniteur Acadien was founded on March 5, 1867, by Israël Landry.[2] Landry had previously lived in Chatham, New Brunswick, where he made the newspaper's initial prospectus document. Afterwards, he moved to Shediac, which had a greater Francophone population.[3] There, Le Moniteur Acadien's first issue was published on July 8, 1867,[2] making it the first newspaper for not only French people in the Maritimes but also for Acadians,[4][5] whom the newspaper's purpose was to serve.[6]

Throughout its lifetime, Le Moniteur Acadien has suffered through two fires and has been temporarily shut down,[7] including once in 1926.[6] Over time, the newspaper would also expand its readership throughout southeast New Brunswick, including in Moncton, Dieppe, Memramcook and Cap-Pelé.[8] On February 1, 2019, the newspaper was sold to politician Bernard Richard.[9]

In January 2023, Le Moniteur Acadien was acquired by non-profit radio company Radio Beauséjour for CA$1. Prior to the acquisition, Jason Ouellette, the previous owner of Le Moniteur Acadien, was hired by Radio Beauséjour as a general manager.[10] After the blocking of news content to Canadian users on Meta Platforms following the Online News Act, the newspaper began suffering major digital readership losses, with their average monthly site visits dropping to 2,500, a tenth of the visits it had prior to the blocks.[11]

Le Moniteur Acadien is a member of Réseau.Presse,[12] formerly known as Association de la presse francophone (APF), a network of French-Canadian newspaper publishers.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Some Contemporaries". Hartford Courant. 30 July 1901. p. 10. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Acadians". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Biography – LANDRY, ISRAËL-J.-D. – Volume XIII (1901-1910)". www.biographi.ca. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Today in History". The Canadian Press. Niagara Falls Review. 7 July 2001. p. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  5. ^ "Acadian Literature". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  6. ^ a b "La renaissance acadienne" (in Canadian French). Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  7. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (8 July 2017). "Le Moniteur acadien célèbre son 150e anniversaire". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  8. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (7 June 2018). "Le Moniteur Acadien est à vendre". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  9. ^ Doiron, Jean-Marc (1 February 2019). "Bernard Richard est le nouveau propriétaire du Moniteur acadien". Acadie Nouvelle (in French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  10. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (25 January 2023). "Radio Beauséjour acquiert l'hebdomadaire Le Moniteur acadien au coût de 1 $". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  11. ^ ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Société- (13 February 2024). "Après 6 mois de blocage par Meta, l'information locale semble moins atteindre les Acadiens". Radio-Canada (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  12. ^ "membres". Réseau Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  13. ^ "à propos". Réseau Presse (in Canadian French). Retrieved 13 April 2024.