Our story

In November 2003, The Tyee began its swim upstream against the media trends of our day. We're independent and not owned by any big corporation. We're dedicated to publishing lively, informative news and views, not dumbed down fluff. We, like the tyee salmon for which we're named, roam free and go where we wish.

More than 10 years later, the Canadian media ecosystem is a little bit healthier. We've helped revive old-style, long-form reporting and shed light on the stories and solutions big media ignores. Our writers are some of the best in the country. Together, we've broken major stories and won major awards. The Tyee is now a widely read and respected platform for the forward-thinking, fact-based conversation our province and country desperately need to have. To read a timeline of highlights of The Tyee's first 10 years, click here.

Our readers helped us get here. Hundreds of thousands of people across the province, country and globe visit The Tyee every month, including influentials and policymakers who have cited our stories in provincial and federal legislatures. The Tyee has earned praise from Margaret Atwood, Douglas Coupland, Lawrence Martin, and several other recognized Canadians. Even so, our most loyal readers are ordinary people deeply invested in the public debates that shape our day. The Tyee is proud to have informed and hosted such debates for more than 10 years now. We look forward to 10 more.

As noted at the outset, the word tyee is by local current definition a Chinook, Spring or King salmon of thirty pounds or more. But the original word carries even more weight. In the Chinook language, tyee means a chief, a king, "anything of superior order" -- even an online magazine.

That's something to strive for every day as we continue to swim against the current.

Awards & Recognition

FAQ

1. Who reads The Tyee?

The Tyee receives between 800,000 and one million pageviews each month. More than 60 per cent of our readers are from British Columbia (and 40 per cent from the Greater Vancouver area). We also have more than 32,000 subscribers who receive our headlines by email, 43,000 Twitter followers, 14,000 Facebook fans and more than 19,000 registered commenters.

Download our media kit for more information about The Tyee's readers.

2. What does "tyee" mean and how the heck is it pronounced?!

The word tyee is by local current definition a Chinook, Spring or King salmon of thirty pounds or more. But the original Chinook word carries even more weight. In the Chinook language, tyee means a chief, a king, "anything of superior order" -- even an online magazine.

It's pronounced "Tie - yee."

3. How is The Tyee funded?

Just over half of The Tyee's revenues are from two ongoing investors. They are Working Enterprises, a Vancouver-based labour-affiliated investment group that has as part of its mission funding socially-responsible organizations, and Eric Peterson and Christina Munck, whose B.C.-based Tula Foundation funds a wide range of progressive programs including those of the Hakai Institute on the B.C. Central Coast.

The Tyee is not yet profitable. Should it ever become profitable, the investors have agreed they would reinvest those profits into the publication. The Tyee's investors do not seek to sell the publication. They are open to approaches from other interested investors.

An additional 20 per cent of Tyee revenues come from advertising and sponsorships and another 20 per cent from reader contributions to our "Tyee Builder" program. The final five per cent comes from events like the Tyee Master Classes, desk rentals, and other miscellaneous revenues. Reader contributions to the Builder program go directly and in full to our reporting budget.

Some of the public-interest reporting projects that The Tyee publishes are produced by its sister non-profit, Tyee Solutions Society (TSS). The Tyee is a major, but not exclusive, media partner for TSS.

Serious journalism costs serious money. Consider supporting The Tyee's public-interest journalism for as little as $3/month.

4. What is the Tyee Solutions Society?

Tyee Solutions Society (TSS) is a separate non-profit society focused on producing catalytic, solutions-oriented journalism in the public interest.

The Tyee is TSS’s major media partner, but TSS has also had its work published by other media outlets such as CBC Radio, Walrus Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Waterloo Region Record, Sing Tao, Windspeaker, Megaphone and others.

Catalytic journalism is solutions-oriented reporting that uses traditional investigative techniques to empower citizens with the information needed to seize opportunities for positive change. TSS reporting examines and explains the facts, and identifies achievable solutions to issues impacting the lives of Canadians.

To date, TSS journalism has shed light on important public-interest topics from green building to Aboriginal education to sustainable local food economies. TSS stories have been republished widely and won major national journalism awards.

Visit the TSS website to learn more about their work, charitable funding opportunities, and media partnerships.

5. How can I report an error or omission?

Thanks for the eagle eye! Send an email to editor@thetyee.ca or, better yet, drop us a note in the comments section below the story.