Our services

News service

A journalist posted in Ottawa covers current social and political news concerning the country's Francophone and Acadian communities. APF member newspapers use the articles (more than 350 a year) as they please. Photos, a weekly cartoon, and columns on language and literature are also made available to members and a selection of archives is offered on the APF website.

Political lobbying

Lobbying is one of the main activities of the APF, which does its utmost to defend the interests of Canada's Francophone newspapers. Be it the Standing Committee on Official Languages, the provincial and territorial governments, the federal Department of Public Works or the Department of Canadian Heritage, the APF has a direct relationship with all the political bodies relevant to the development of the Francophone press. Among other things, it keeps an eye on the enforcement of the Official Languages Act with respect to advertising. In 2008, the APF's efforts focused mainly on the renewal of the Action Plan on Official Languages (including the Lord consultations and publication of the Road Map for Linguistic Duality) and the process leading to the establishment of the Canada Periodical Fund, projected for 2009. To increase its influence, the APF has in recent years joined forces with other newspaper associations, such as the Quebec Community Newspapers Association (QCNA) and Hebdos Québec.

Training

The APF offers its newspapers a training program that includes workshops for publishers during the annual conference and internships for journalists during the year. A "full service" membership entitles newspapers to reimbursement of participants' travel costs.

Conference and awards for excellence

The APF's annual conference is an highly anticipated event that gives members an opportunity to get together to share tips, find out what's new in the industry, and take part in various training workshops. The conference location changes from year to year and recent conferences have been held in Ontario (Sudbury), Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The awards gala is the highlight of the APF conference. Some fifteen awards are bestowed in recognition of the minority print press's greatest successes over the past year.

Special projects

The APF's most recent projects include a complete review of its membership criteria, the development of a national brand image, and the gathering and marketing of APF newspaper readership data.

Other

Subscription exchanges The APF coordinates a subscription exchange program between members, giving newspapers the opportunity to obtain fresh ideas about advertising, graphics and journalistic content by consulting their sister publications. Les Cahiers du Textuel The APF subscribes to the Textuel Plus theme content service. This monthly offers ideas for soliciting local advertisers and provides items such as horoscopes and crosswords, as well as articles, columns and photos. National supplements National supplements are sometimes produced and our member newspapers receive a premium for inserting them in their publications. An insert illustrating the advantages of advertising in local Francophone newspapers will be launched in the spring of 2009.