Failing a dedicated team for them, events were never a staple of the audience engagement strategy at the Winnipeg Free Press.

But the Manitoba daily has found “uppping its events game” has been rewarding.

In an INMA blog, audience engagement for news manager Erin Lebar says when it became clear the COVID-19 pandemic would last much longer than expected, “events felt like the best way to remain connected to our audience” outside the daily grind of reporting.

In May 2020, the paper went from producing three or four events a year, to three or four or more events a month, making its platform a meeting place for discussion, connection, “and sometimes, a little bit of fun”.

Among virtual events over the past 20 months have been “more typical” news events such as online town hall discussions – six of which have been hosted between December 2020 and October 2022 – which prompted thousands of people to tune in.

The first unique event series launched was the a book club, developed with two key principles – free registration, and a focus on highlighting local authors. The club also encourages people to buy the books from a local, independently-owned bookstore which is a partner for the series.

Registered members receive monthly discussion questions, which are also posted in a private Facebook group, and can submit questions, which are answered at monthly virtual meetings on YouTube Live. Featured are Winnipeg Free Press literary editor Ben Sigurdson and bookshop co-owner Chris Hall, alongside that month’s author.

Lebar says membership is currently “hovering at around 1500 people”, with 70 tuning in live each month and others watching a replay.

“A youth version of the club, the Summer Reading Challenge for Kids, has also been immensely popular,” she says.

Following that success, an online viewing party has been developed on the Free Press website. “At these events, a locally filmed movie is screened, for free, on a specific date and time, while a live chat takes place alongside the viewing.

“Local cast and crew members take part in the live chat and answer questions about locations, costuming, or big-name actors in the film, while other viewers simply take the opportunity to talk to new people outside of their usual bubble.”

Lebar says the first movie night was “a bit of a flop” – with an interface that was not user-friendly for a big group – but a new screening platform has been developed in-house, partnerships made with film distributors to get access to “films locals would want to watch”, and editorial jumped on board to promote the event in print, leaning on local industry knowledge.

“WFP Movie Night 2.0 was a success,” she says. “In 2021, three movie nights took place, with the highest attendance hitting 1493 households – with in many cases, more than one person watching per screen – “making movie night our most popular event series”.

The Winnipeg Free Press has made both free events, with no plans currently to try to monetise them. “Nor are we able to track conversions or subscriptions that result directly from the events on the calendar,” she says.

“There is still value here, however: Every positive interaction with a non-subscriber, every email received explaining how the book club or movie night made someone’s pandemic experience a little bit easier, every relationship made with a new organisation or company are small steps forward on our engagement journey.”