Vancouver Media

Here at Pure Light Laser Clinic (dermatology, microdermabrasion, laser hair surgery, and scar revision), we're going to take this time to share the ongoing changes happening in the city of Vancouver, BC in the world of media.

Downtown Vancouver

Despite the fact that Vancouver is a city that boasts a population of approximately 1 million people, the downtown area of the city has started to become much less population dense over the past few decades. This is partly because this area is rather small and surrounded by water, which necessarily limits the amount of overall space that's available. In the end, this means smaller-sized apartments, as well as not much land to claim as your own.

This also means that many of Vancouver's residents are single who can manage to live in these smaller-sized apartments and who also prefer the lifestyle of living in a big city rather than in the suburbs. While this is the case is most big cities, it's a lot more pronounced in Vancouver.

Vancouver Compared To The Rest Of Canada

This shows that the overall demographics of Vancouver are rather predictable in nature, which means targeting this group of people is a lot easier for certain media outlets. As a result, Vancouver only has a few select dedicated newspapers, meaning that residents aren't so big on the news as a whole. Because of this, the city's newspapers don't have a cost attached to them.

To many Canadians, this isn't a big surprise, as they see Vancouver as the city of recreation and lifestyle, whereas a city like Toronto is viewed as the place to go to obtain a career and make money. You'll also pay more for a home in Vancouver than you will in any other province in Canada, which is hard to do considering how high real estate values are in the country.

The Vancouver Way

The city also has a rather long history with some west coast cities in the United States, such as Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco regarding fads, fashions, trends, and media forms. Because of this, Vancouver is still considered to be more "left-leaning," and that influence can still be found in places such as community centers and cafes, where you're likely to find flyers regarding speakers, bands, organizations, etc. coming to town.

This kind of media is one that puts forth a huge amount of cultural influence since it's free of advertisement and is also unbiased, thereby making it trustworthy. In fact, many restaurants and coffee shops in Vancouver often won't refuse to carry these kinds of flyers if they are ever dropped off because it shows their establishment as being "of the people." 

Distinguishing Vancouver

In essence, Vancouver's underground culture is certainly high, which leaves mainstream media often struggling to find a real market. The city's demographic lines are often blurred, which makes it difficult to distinguish between particular groups of people in which those outlets hope would take an interest in them.

Online media within Vancouver reflects a somewhat similar landscape as well, with many blogs focusing on topics such as entertainment news, food, and lifestyle. The regular blogger in the city is a "foodie" who is familiar with virtually every corner of Vancouver's food scene and nightlife.

However, the tendency for residents to come together and form a better demographic creates opportunities for those who offer media a much different flavour that can be enjoyed in the comfort of one's home.