2025 OCNA Independent Publishers' Retreat 

The OCNA invites you to join us for our annual Independent Publisher’s Retreat on Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12 at the beautiful Queen's Landing Hotel in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario.

This will be a great opportunity to network with your peers, share experiences and learn about topics and resources that might impact your business.

The event will begin with sessions on Friday afternoon, followed by an awards dinner recognizing the 2024 BNC Awards winners and the 2025 Hall of Fame Inductees. Things will pickup again on Saturday morning with more sessions and a farewell lunch. We will hold our Annual General Meeting on Friday at 12:30 p.m., prior to the start of sessions.

We are working on a full, fun agenda. We will update as sessions are confirmed. The agenda will include:

• New Revenue for Small Market News - Join Ariel Freiman in exploring innovative revenue strategies for local journalism. This presentation delves into non-traditional funding models, real-world market examples and actionable methods for sustaining small-market news. Learn how to implement fresh approaches to monetization and ensure the future of independent journalism.
• Local Media 3.0 - Seasoned media professional Guy Tasaka explores what worked for local media companies in the pre-2005 era (Local Media 1.0), what didn’t work for media companies (other than those with trillion-dollar valuations) between 2005 and 2020 (Local Media 2.0) and how to build successful and sustainable business models for the future (Local Media 3.0).

 And as always:

• Updates from News Media Canada – What’s going on with the federal government, Google and Canada Post.
• Round Table Discussions – Come with your questions for the group and leave with fresh ideas on how to improve every aspect of your newspaper.
• Updates from OCNA, Ad*Reach and AdCanada – What have we been up to and how can we serve you better.
• And – lots of time for networking.

Friday, April 11

12:30 p.m. - OCNA & OCNF Annual General Meeting

1:00 p.m. - Sessions

6:00 p.m. - Awards Dinner

Saturday, April 12

8:00 a.m. - Breakfast

9:00 a.m. - Sessions

12:30 p.m. - Lunch 

Registration fee includes all educational sessions, dinner and overnight accommodations on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Double occupancy includes all meals and sessions for second attendee staying in the same room. Should your additional attendee not wish to join for meals and sessions, need partial retreat registration, or you have questions or concerns about the agenda or registration process, please contact Karen Shardlow at k.shardlow@ocna.org. 

Register by Friday, February 21, 2025.  Rates will go up as of Saturday February 22nd.

Single Occupancy             $630  non-member fee

Double Occupancy           $995  non-member fee

Additional room Thursday night (no meals included) 

Single & Double Occupancy         $345   non-member fee

Additional room Saturday night (no meals included)

Single & Double Occupancy         $418   non-member  fee

Additional Guest Friday Dinner    $157   non-member fee 

All prices subject to HST.

Note: Additional room nights are based on availability at the resort and cannot be guaranteed. If unavailable upon booking, credit will be issued.

Cancellation policy:

No refund will be given if cancelled after Sunday, March 9.

To register, click on the appropriate button below (OCNA member or non-member) to be taken to the registration page. When you’re finished, select 'Add to Cart' and then 'Checkout' for payment options.