Briarpatch

Canadian news magazine (1973 )

Briarpatch is an independent alternative news magazine based in Saskatchewan, Canada and distributed across Canada and internationally. Briarpatch is published six times a year by Briarpatch Incorporated, an independent non profit organization. It is a member of Magazines Canada and the staff are members of RWDSU Local 568. Briarpatch is printed by union labour on FSC certified paper using vegetable based ink.

Briarpatch Magazine began as Notes from the Briar Patch, a newsletter established by the Unemployed Citizens Welfare Improvement Council (UCWIC), based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Its founders were Maria Fischer, David Hoskings and Vivian Fisher. In 1973, UCWIC was engaged in the lives of some 500 welfare recipients, through a co operative buying club, a co operative daycare and advocacy work. It was also allied with several other grassroots organizations and service agencies, under the umbrella of the Saskatchewan Coalition of Anti Poverty Organizations (SCAPO), giving rise to discussions about the need for a communications vehicle for the various agencies and their members. Although they had no budget, in August 1973 Fischer, Hoskings and Fisher decided to press forward and create a newsletter.

From the beginning, it was clear the publication intended to be more than an information sheet. Its very name represented a critical stance, being a playful pun on the last name of an unpopular local welfare officer named Brierley. The idea of media empowered citizen engagement was explained in this 1977 description of the newsletter's founding ethos:
The purpose of the newsletter was to organize low income people in order that they might change a dehumanizing life situation. They felt that there was no vehicle through which they could be informed of decisions made on their behalf, in terms which they could understand. They also recognized the need for a communication system which would express their feelings about those decisions, and their general situation, something which the established media did not seem to be doing.

Despite the challenges of operating on shoe string funding, within a year Notes from the Briar Patch had an impressive distribution network and a desire to become its own independent entity. At the same time, UCWIC was winding down. In 1974 the Briar Patch Society was incorporated, with a membership fee set at $1. For core funding, The Briar Patch turned to the Saskatchewan Coalition of Anti Poverty Organizations (SCAPO), which provided $2,500 from its pool of federal funds. Added to this was $3,800 from the Protestant, Lutheran, Roman Catholic and Anglican Aid Committee (PLRA, later called PLURA with the addition of the United Church). Briarpatch moved its main office to Regina, the provincial capital in 1975, so that it could be closer to the provincial political scene. The magazine's increasing commitment to independent journalism raised debate among board and staff over whether anti poverty groups should have direct control over content, leading to a split with SCAPO. Subsequently, The Briar Patch began to take on the look and feel of an independent alternative magazine. In 1976, the magazine expanded its mandate to include covering news of workers and Indigenous people, which led to increased coverage of labour, agriculture and Indigenous issues. As well, the board was expanded to include volunteers and contributors from throughout the province. On the Indigenous front, critical coverage of northern uranium development proved to be a popular topic. Activities of the women's movement, including early efforts to establish childcare programs and women's shelters, were also frequently reported on. Many articles were critical of the provincial government of the day, headed by the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP). In January 1978, the non profit society re incorporated as Briarpatch, Inc., and changed the publication's title to a single word, Briarpatch. Board and staff sharpened the focus on independent journalism, joining the Canadian Periodical Publishers Association and attending the founding conference of the Canadian Investigative Journalism Association. Called the Regina News Agency, the project lasted long enough to provide lively shared coverage of events during Trudeau's 1978 visit to Saskatchewan.