FACEBOOK BAN: Free The Bulldog

Published 08/22/2023 · Updated 08/22/2023

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You know, we don’t really have a dog in this fight.

Your agent was just performing an impersonation of someone doing a break (and not doing it very well … breaking just isn’t a part of this guy’s composition) when whistling through the ether all the way from Cape Breton came a tweet from Clive Doucet, councillor and mayoral candidate and the rightful leader of all of Capital ward … who is this interloper Shawn Menard anyway? … who opined that the world just got a bit tougher because Facebook had banned The Bulldog.

What? I’m on a break. You can’t do that. Wasn’t it enough your agent posted faster than a one-armed paper-hanger during three tornadoes (so many page views that the website overloaded with thousands of readers and crashed twice … never happened once before let alone twice) and light rail getting another flat tire that perhaps the ruler of all that is Bulldog couldn’t put his feet up and savour the vague delights of rain, smoke, heat, massive traffic, thunderstorms, flooding, high winds, a herd of Blue Jays losses, the reappearance of his massive golf slice, a few Coke Zeroes and a lawn chair?

Appears not.

The initial reaction around Bulldog World Headquarters is that a Facebook ban isn’t good. Meanwhile Twitter and Google (that’s really serious) are rattling sabres about doing the same thing.

Yessirree, your friendly neighbourhood Bulldog is caught between trillions of social-media bucks and quadzillions of your tax dollars over on Parliament Hill and a hard place. This is an uncomfortable spot for a publication with the budget of a Grade 7 school-kid allowance. How did The Bulldog get stuck in a poker game with these guys?

City Hurts Itself With Bulldog Ad Boycott: QUOTABLE

This publication was just hoping to glide under the radar of this dispute between an army of full Brinks trucks. But then some people just achieve crap while others have it thrust upon them. We would be the latter.

So your agent was happily posting wee write-ups in our little world with only the animosity of the municipal government to handle, when the big guys showed up. Didn’t see that one coming. Kind of like when Wily Coyote drops an anvil off a dry-land cliff, misses the Roadrunner but hits a bulldog instead. Ouch.

The Bulldog is collateral damage.

You know, bad enough that the federal government has been giving barges full of cash to failing big media in an effort to keep them afloat but keeping we smaller publications, who have adjusted to the new grim media reality, out of this mix thereby making it more difficult for us to survive. The feds are supporting failure and hurting the future. At least give us a level playing field rather than getting in our way.

Nevertheless, this proud publication and other new media still have some fight left in them.

Now if this social media-government war continues, the little guys disappear, or they get paid by the Facebooks of the world (don’t get your hopes up on that one) or big media gets the social-media money (most likely). Though in being banned by Facebook, one might think that’s a good reference for link payments down the road … or not. Some people achieve unfairness while others have it thrust upon them. We’re the latter again.

All this comes as The Bulldog was achieving some remarkable gains in readership … in July of all times, when circulation goes to die. That has come due to a recent wildly successful partnership with Google News. And it looks as though we’re going to get another one with a huge native advertising corporation.

As well, The Bulldog is exploring more subscription options so that readers can better tailor our email notifications to their needs. Direct page views are the largest source of Bulldog readership so keep them coming through just visiting the site or by subscribing. And install The Bulldog’s new mobile app. It’s easy and convenient.

Lots of things going on. And here you thought The Bulldog was just a pretty face that spelt good. This canine is so much more.

Revenue has been going up but not enough. Just short of 100,000 page views a week might not be sufficient. Thus all the readership initiatives above. That said, after a few grim months last year and earlier this year with a wonky economy, The Bulldog is going in the right direction quite markedly.

Canadian Journalism Has Been Devastated

Still this Facebook tug-on-the-leash doesn’t help. And if Twitter and Google go the same route, well, that’s trouble. Google alone sends The Bulldog about a third of its readership. Your agent has kind of become accustomed to that.

Nevertheless, your agent is proud of what we have achieved together. All of us. There’s lots of which to be proud. Start with Ron Benn, our new guy Mike Patton, Donna Mulvihill and Dan Stankovic, the Bulldog Commenting All-Stars, our vast array of features and, most importantly, you the reader. And let’s throw in 100,000 page views a month.

That’s proud people bringing proud and smart readers information for a proud Ottawa.

If you like what we’re doing here at World Headquarters, tell your friends, family and colleagues. Share us on social media while you can. Maybe even share with a squirrel or two if they can operate a laptop.

We need you now. We need your help. We need your eyeballs more than ever.

That’s how we get past this Facebook thing.

Proud people doing work for which they can be proud.

This Bulldog still has some fight in it.

Which brings us to Heather Small, her song Proud and her inspirational video below. Enjoy.

Heather Small - Proud (Official video)

Watch this video on YouTube

As mentioned earlier, this publication didn’t have a dog in this fight, but this mess was thrown at this website by billions of dollars of Facebook, the federal government and big media in this country.

From the new initiatives listed above planned or already implemented by The Bulldog, we aren’t rolling over and playing dead.

We expect to be here for the foreseeable future with the help of readers like you and the people you bring to this site.

Thank you in advance. You’ve never let The Bulldog down over the past 11 years. Despite this Facebook blow, The Bulldog is sure our loyal readers will stay and bring new ones to this publication.