tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/canadian-journalism-62954/articlesCanadian journalism – The Conversation2023-11-30T17:21:23Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2189042023-11-30T17:21:23Z2023-11-30T17:21:23ZGoogle’s $100 million to Canada’s news industry is a small price to pay to avoid regulation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/562607/original/file-20231130-21-h7o8mw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An agreement reached between Google and the federal government means the search engine will pay $100 million annually to Canadian media outlets.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/googles-100-million-to-canadas-news-industry-is-a-small-price-to-pay-to-avoid-regulation" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The deal between Google and the federal government to <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2023/11/statement-by-minister-st-onge-on-next-steps-for-the-online-news-act.html">resolve their dispute</a> over paying for news online will come as a relief for the media industry in Canada. </p>
<p>News publishers were facing <a href="https://blog.google/intl/en-ca/company-news/outreach-initiatives/an-update-on-canadas-bill-c-18-and-our-search-and-news-products/">the prospect of disappearing from Google Search and other services</a> — the equivalent of vanishing from the internet — after Google had threatened to block news links in response to the Online News Act.</p>
<p>The deal is good news for Canadians, who had already seen news disappear from Facebook and Instagram in the summer after Meta carried out its threat <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/9934703/facebook-meta-news-blocking-canada-regulations/">to block news links rather than pay for them</a>.</p>
<p>At the heart of the dispute is the <a href="https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/O-9.3/">Online News Act</a>, also known as Bill C-18, which is due to come into force on Dec. 19. The legislation attempts to deal with the power technology giants have over how Canadians access news and information.</p>
<p>As a former journalist, researcher and <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-start-the-conversation-in-canada-79877">co-founder of <em>The Conversation Canada</em></a>, this is a story that I have followed closely.</p>
<h2>The deal in numbers</h2>
<p>Under the agreement, <a href="https://www.cp24.com/news/google-to-pay-100m-a-year-to-canadian-news-publishers-in-deal-with-ottawa-1.6665893">Google will contribute $100 million annually</a>, indexed to inflation, in financial support to newspapers, broadcasters and digital news outlets.</p>
<p>The money will be welcomed by journalism organizations, which have been facing <a href="https://angusreid.org/canada-media-consolidation-torstar-postmedia-government-funding-cbc/">declining revenues and audiences</a>. </p>
<p>But the amount is far lower than the 2022 Parliamentary Budget Officer’s estimate of <a href="https://www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/publications/RP-2223-017-M--cost-estimate-bill-c-18-online-news-act--estimation-couts-lies-projet-loi-c-18-loi-nouvelles-ligne">$329.2 million annually</a> from Google and Meta. It’s also lower than later <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/online-news-act-google-meta-1.6954656">federal government estimates</a> of $172 million from Google alone.</p>
<p>The funding is partly intended to compensate print and broadcast media for falls in advertising revenues as companies moved their ads online.</p>
<p>The $14.4 billion digital ad market is <a href="https://gmicp.org/growth-and-upheaval-in-the-network-media-economy-in-canada-1984-2022/">dominated by Google and Meta</a>, which account for 77 per cent. Google’s share is $6.7 billion; the money Google will contribute to Canadian news media accounts for just under 1.5 per cent of its digital ad business in Canada.</p>
<p>The money from Google is small considering that the newspaper industry alone brought in <a href="https://gmicp.org/growth-and-upheaval-in-the-network-media-economy-in-canada-1984-2022/">$2 billion in revenues</a> in 2022. </p>
<h2>The battle over regulation</h2>
<p>The numbers only tell part of the story. Bill C-18 is a test case of <a href="https://theconversation.com/bill-c-18-google-and-meta-spark-crucial-test-for-canadian-journalism-208827">the power of platforms</a> like Google and Meta to run and control Canada’s communications infrastructures.</p>
<p>While the agreement allows all sides to claim victory, it is clear that Google successfully extracted key concessions over how it is regulated in Canada.</p>
<p>The search giant got its core demand for funding to be capped at a set amount of $100 million — comparable to what Google agreed to <a href="https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/australia-pressured-google-and-facebook-to-pay-for-journalism-is-america-next.php">in Australia</a>, which adopted similar legislation in 2021.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Bloomberg News Corp. report on Google’s private arrangements with News Corp.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Similar to Australia, the deal with Ottawa means Google should end up being exempt from the Online News Act. The legislation in both countries contains provisions that enable platforms to be exempt if they make appropriate deals with the news media. </p>
<p>Differently to Australia though, Google will be able to work with a single body representing the news industry in Canada, though that remains to be determined.</p>
<p>Google made individual private arrangements with news outlets in Australia, deciding who to fund and by how much. </p>
<p>What is not clear, though, is how the negotiations will work in Canada, who will be involved and how transparent will the process be. </p>
<h2>Picking winners and losers</h2>
<p>Critics have warned that the lack of transparency in Australia allowed platforms to pick which outlets received the money and how much. The funding heavily benefitted mainstream media in Australia, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56101859">notably Rupert Murdoch’s media empire</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-online-news-act-may-let-meta-and-google-decide-the-winners-and-losers-in-the-media-industry-208088">Canada's Online News Act may let Meta and Google decide the winners and losers in the media industry</a>
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<p>Canadian Heritage has said that Google’s $100 million will be spread across the news industry, including independent news outlets, and those from Indigenous and official-language minority communities.</p>
<p>The provision to distribute the funding “based on the number of full-time equivalent <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2023/11/statement-by-minister-st-onge-on-next-steps-for-the-online-news-act.html">journalists engaged by those businesses</a>” risks repeating the missteps of Australia by failing to encourage newer, emergent journalism organizations often seeking to fill the gaps left by commercial media.</p>
<p>How all of this will play out, and what it means for Canadian news consumers, should become clearer in the coming weeks as Canadian Heritage sheds more light on how C-18 will work out in practice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/218904/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alfred Hermida receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He is a co-founder and board member of The Conversation Canada.</span></em></p>Google has secured significant concessions in its deal with Ottawa over Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which comes into effect on Dec. 19.Alfred Hermida, Professor, School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2088272023-07-04T16:50:44Z2023-07-04T16:50:44ZBill C-18: Google and Meta spark crucial test for Canadian journalism<p>Three events have recently marked a powerful inflection point in Canadian journalism. </p>
<p>First, <a href="https://blog.google/intl/en-ca/company-news/outreach-initiatives/an-update-on-canadas-bill-c-18-and-our-search-and-news-products/">Google</a> and <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2023/06/changes-to-news-availability-on-our-platforms-in-canada/">Meta</a> announced they will no longer share Canadian news links on their platforms in response to the new <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/online-news.html">Online News Act (Bill C-18),</a> designed to make them pay for their use of Canadian journalism. Their actions are receiving global media attention as other countries navigate platform monopolies of digital advertising dollars and the large financial losses for national commercial journalism ecosystems.</p>
<p>Second, two of the country’s largest English-language commercial newspaper companies, Nordstar Capital and Postmedia Network, announced they are <a href="https://www.postmedia.com/2023/06/27/postmedia-and-nordstar-capital-address-merger-speculation/">exploring a possible merger</a>.</p>
<p>And third, Bell Media, which owns CTV, Canada’s largest commercial broadcaster with 35 local stations in French and English, announced it would like to <a href="https://broadcastdialogue.com/bell-media-appeals-to-crtc-for-regulatory-relief-on-local-news-programming-requirements/">reduce its local news commitments</a> as currently required under CRTC regulations.</p>
<p>These events reflect the changing nature of contemporary journalism systems, described by respected global media economists as “characterized by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1176781">volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity</a>.” </p>
<h2>What’s at stake?</h2>
<p>At stake is the nature of the country’s communications ecosystem, affecting how Canadians get news and information that matters to them.</p>
<p>As former journalists, researchers and co-founders of <em>The Conversation Canada</em>, a national not-for-profit news organization dedicated to sharing insights from academics, we support the emergence of the best possible journalism ecosystem given the conditions. </p>
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<img alt="Screen view of the Google and Facebook icons" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/535416/original/file-20230703-267655-brbpwc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Will Canadians still be able to see Canadian news via Google and Facebook?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Canada is becoming a crucial test for what these systems could and should look like in the 21st century, addressing concerns of what journalism could and should do — and who should do it. Related questions include what is quality journalism content and how much of it is needed.</p>
<p>As important is how much power platforms such as Google and Meta should have to control Canada’s communications infrastructures and impact free speech, let alone considerations about the economic conditions for journalism organizations and journalists. </p>
<h2>The role of Google and Meta</h2>
<p>The decisions by Google and Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) to remove news will affect almost one in two Canadians (45 per cent) who <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2023/canada">cite social media as their go-to place for news</a>. Social media is the third most-used method to access news in Canada, after the internet (69 per cent), which is the main source of news for Canadians, followed by TV news (49 per cent). </p>
<p>For now, Canadians won’t notice anything different as Google says the changes will take place when the law comes into effect over the coming months. Similarly, Meta plans to phase out news by the end of the year.</p>
<p>If these announcements come into effect, Canadians will still be able to go directly to news sites and receive alerts about news content. Some companies have been planning alternative networks and ways to share their content.</p>
<p>Google also announced that it would close down its Google News Showcase program, <a href="https://blog.google/products/news/google-news-showcase-canada/">launched in 2021</a>. This will impact revenues of more than 150 Canadian news publishers that it currently pays to license their work, including the <em>Globe and</em> <em>Mail</em> and the <em>Toronto Star</em>. Neither Google nor the news organizations have publicly acknowledged the value of these deals.</p>
<h2>Act expected to take six months to be in place</h2>
<p>These moves by Google and Meta were precipitated by the Online News Act, which became law on June 22. It is likely to take six months to come into force as the Department of Canadian Heritage works out the details on how to enforce it.</p>
<p>The act was intended to help Canada’s ailing news industry by forcing Google and Meta to pay for news links on their platforms, with the Parliamentary Budget Office estimating it would bring in over <a href="https://www.pbo-dpb.ca/en/publications/RP-2223-017-M--cost-estimate-bill-c-18-online-news-act--estimation-couts-lies-projet-loi-c-18-loi-nouvelles-ligne">$300 million annually for Canadian media</a>. </p>
<p>There would be winners and losers under the act’s funding model, with larger conventional journalism organizations — mostly the big broadcasters, including the CBC — being the big winners. Small digital-born organizations would benefit the least.</p>
<h2>How we got here</h2>
<p>Both Google and Facebook have been working to negotiate with Canadian media in a pre-emptive strategy to avoid legislation and/or to impact the legislation in their interests.</p>
<p>The main <a href="https://www.cjr.org/widescreen/a-canadian-platforms-and-publishers-timeline.php/">focus of Google’s activities</a> has involved funding individual organizations through direct payment deals for content on Showcase. The company has also provided funding for digital innovation and training, oriented within their own proprietary systems, and boot camps for startup entrepreneurs. For example, in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Google provided <a href="https://blog.google/intl/en-ca/company-news/outreach-initiatives/gni-continues-work-towards-supporting-canadian-journalism-all-sizes/">$1.5 million to 230 Canadian newsrooms</a>. </p>
<p>Similarly, Meta has been active in securing deals with Canadian media in advance of the Online News Act, funding dozens of news publishers through its Local News Accelerator program.</p>
<p>Meta had also been funding local reporters <a href="https://www.thecanadianpress.com/about/partnerships/facebook/">through The Canadian Press</a>, investing $1 million through a one-year fellowship, which <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/meta-ends-contract-for-journalism-fellowship-program-as-bill-c-18-fallout-continues-1.1939676">has been discontinued</a> in response to the passing of the act.</p>
<p>The Canadian act was modelled on 2020 legislation in Australia. There too, the platforms threatened to and did shut down news content during the negotiations. While Australia passed the legislation, it has not been used, leaving Google and Meta to <a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-online-news-act-may-let-meta-and-google-decide-the-winners-and-losers-in-the-media-industry-208088">make private deals with media</a>. With the Canadian legislation, Google’s concern is the tax on links leaves them in a position with a potential unlimited requirement to pay. </p>
<h2>Why now?</h2>
<p>The Online News Act is one part of the Liberal government’s recent efforts to directly have a hand in subsidizing the journalism industry, a historic approach used in other countries, largely in northern Europe. This is separate to its support of the CBC, the country’s public broadcaster. </p>
<p>Ottawa has allocated more than $600 million since 2017 directly to fund journalism organizations through labour and subscriptions tax credits, which are subsidising operations, and other funding mechanisms such as pandemic relief and other financial supports.</p>
<p>And this is where the proposed moves by media giants Postmedia, Nordstar (publisher of the <em>Toronto Star</em>) and Bell come in. </p>
<p>These crises raise complicated questions about a wide range of policy directions — from financial issues for commercial journalism organizations, to changing audience consumption and trust relationships with conventional media (only 11 per cent of Canadians paid for online news in the last year) and technology companies playing a dominant role in the communications ecosystem. </p>
<p>The dominant <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1176781">perspectives on the policy responses</a> focused on “preservation” of existing players through various forms of protectionist policy, such as the $600 million in media funding from government. Less prominent are “conservation” approaches, recognizing that the legacy system is facing sustainability challenges that need to be managed but can’t be stopped. </p>
<p>These approaches can pit legacy or conventional journalism against digital media, which is a winner-take-all strategy of change that is “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2016.1176781">not supported by the facts</a>” or the conditions. </p>
<p>The larger questions for Canadians are about the nature, amount and quality of journalism and who controls its communications infrastructures. </p>
<h2>Impact of Postmedia-Nordstar merger</h2>
<p>Examples such as the proposed merger of Postmedia and Nordstar illustrate one of the trade-offs under consideration about the amount of journalism content and who is doing it, in addition to journalist economic conditions. </p>
<p>Postmedia and Nordstar account for 57 per cent of Canadian daily newspaper titles.</p>
<p>The last time the two companies made a deal to swap papers in 2017 resulted in 291 job losses and continuing centralization of content. More recently, Postmedia cut <a href="https://dailyhive.com/canada/postmedia-11-editorial-layoffs">11 per cent of editorial staff</a>. </p>
<p>A second question is having commercial organizations as Canada’s dominant media. BCE Inc., the parent company of Bell Media, has revenues in Canada far exceeding those of the tech platforms. Bell Media reported <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/bce-reports-2022-q4-and-full-year-results-announces-2023-financial-targets-891658807.html">revenues up 7.2 per cent in 2022</a>, but BCE CEO Mirko Bibic said the company’s news division incurs annual operating losses of “$40 million and growing” and that’s why “we need to accelerate our shift away from how telecom and media companies have operated in the past.”</p>
<p><a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315167497-21/economic-contexts-journalism-rasmus-kleis-nielsen">As a social good</a>, journalism is in a unique position in part because its impact is not just about economics — it has a proven impact on <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/news-hole/86C7B8933122EB6EC229E4B05BBAA27C#">democratic accountability</a>.</p>
<p>How we understand what is happening now and how we got here is necessary to make sound policy decisions moving forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alfred Hermida receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. He is a co-founder and board member of The Conversation Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Lynn Young receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She is a co-founder of The Conversation Canada. </span></em></p>A series of crises in the Canadian media sector will become a crucial test for what the country’s media landscape could and should look like in the 21st century.Alfred Hermida, Professor, School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, University of British ColumbiaMary Lynn Young, Professor, School of Journalism, Writing and Media, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2080882023-06-26T15:46:48Z2023-06-26T15:46:48ZCanada’s Online News Act may let Meta and Google decide the winners and losers in the media industry<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533842/original/file-20230625-72129-6np9vj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C234%2C4197%2C2512&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">An Australian law meant to force tech companies to fund news media lacks transparency in terms of how much money some outlets have received.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Online News Act, Bill C-18, was <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2023/06/online-news-act-receives-royal-assent.html">barely a few hours old</a> when <a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2023/06/changes-to-news-availability-on-our-platforms-in-canada/">Meta announced</a> it will soon start blocking Canadians from accessing and sharing news on Facebook, Instagram and all of its platforms.</p>
<p>The act is meant to change the way journalism in Canada is funded by requiring tech giants like Meta and Google to bargain with Canadian media businesses for using news content on their platforms. The Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated <a href="https://distribution-a617274656661637473.pbo-dpb.ca/cc009955611c336af6d46f82af210ac3445e6c551b3841adae30c1088f487b41">news organizations could share a total compensation of $329 million annually</a>. </p>
<p>But Meta explained its decision to block news by saying journalism content contributes a pittance to the company’s annual earnings — and so it would be easier to pull news altogether than comply with the legislation.</p>
<p>The Online News act was modelled on Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC), legislation that was the first to compel Meta and Google to pay for third-party news content on their sites. </p>
<p>Since the NMBC was passed in 2021, other countries, including the <a href="https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/google-facebook-payments-uk-publishers/">United Kingdom</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/01/california-news-publishers-law-meta-google">United States</a>, <a href="https://www.news24.com/fin24/companies/proposed-new-law-could-earn-sa-media-houses-millions-from-google-facebook-20220815">South Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/may/09/us-tech-companies-regulations-brazil">Brazil</a>, have considered imposing similar laws. </p>
<p>But it looks as though Canada will be the first to succeed in implementing legislation that Ottawa says will <a href="https://theconversation.com/canada-eyes-australias-media-code-to-pay-for-news-but-wants-more-transparency-178402">“improve” on the Australian code</a>. </p>
<h2>Meta’s predictable response</h2>
<p>For Australians watching the legislation proceed through the Canadian Parliament, Meta’s actions seem to signal a case of history repeating. </p>
<p>Meta acted in much the same way while the NMBC was being debated, <a href="https://theconversation.com/facebook-has-pulled-the-trigger-on-news-content-and-possibly-shot-itself-in-the-foot-155547">blocking Australians from accessing or posting news content</a>. The ban included links to both Australian and international news publications — and even charities, emergency services and Australian government Facebook pages, such as the Bureau of Meteorology.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man swipes a news story on a smart phone." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533844/original/file-20230625-17-wgicpf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Canadians may soon not be able to access news articles on Facebook and other platforms owned by Meta.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>The move was a highly public attempt to force changes to the Australian legislation to avoid being “designated” in the legislation, which would name the platforms forced to negotiate with news organizations under the code. </p>
<p>The stunt was largely successful — the government made the concessions and effectively watered down the law.</p>
<p>The Australian media industry is now feeling the effects of that decision. </p>
<h2>The Australian NMBC one year on</h2>
<p>Late last year, the Australian Federal Treasury completed <a href="https://treasury.gov.au/consultation/c2022-264356">the first review of the NMBC</a> and positioned the legislation as a success. In a lot of ways, it was. There were 34 deals made amounting to more than <a href="https://mumbrella.com.au/accc-estimates-deals-under-news-media-bargaining-code-total-over-200m-726561">AU$200 million</a> across the media sector, which represents about 61 per cent of the market being covered by at least one deal. </p>
<p>There was, however, a significant difference between Google and Meta when it came to the deals made. Meta only made deals with 13 media organizations, whereas Google secured about 23 deals.</p>
<p>I was part of an Australian research team that wanted to understand how Google and Meta were able to have such different responses to the code. We examined policy documents and interviewed news media executives about their experience of negotiating with the platforms.</p>
<p>What we found wasn’t all good news for journalism.</p>
<h2>Lack of transparency under the NMBC</h2>
<p>Some of the news executives of smaller organizations said lack of transparency around the funding led to an unintended shift. The market imbalance between media organizations and platforms was now felt much more among the media organizations themselves.</p>
<p>Commercial confidence provisions in the legislation means news organizations and platforms are not required to report how much money they received, how they invested the money they received or whether that investment aligned with the NMBC’s policy aim of supporting public interest journalism. </p>
<p>Most interviewees who secured larger deals did not want to see transparency about the amounts of money secured because they considered that information commercially sensitive.</p>
<p>But lack of transparency around the type and amount of funding effectively meant smaller, independent organizations competing for market share in a highly concentrated Australian media ecosystem were losing talent and investment. They were going to the larger media groups that were likely to have been given more funding under the code. </p>
<p>Misha Ketchell, editor of <a href="https://theconversation.com/au">The Conversation Australia</a>, said more transparency might have improved the “information asymmetry” between larger corporations and smaller independent organizations. </p>
<p>“We had no idea, and we struck a deal for a very modest amount of money,” Ketchell said. “We were really at a huge disadvantage.” </p>
<p>Ketchell told us his organization only got enough money to hire one new journalist, and that another newsroom poached one of their key staff because the other company used the funding it secured under the NMBC to offer a salary above the usual market rate. </p>
<h2>Platforms opting out of NMBC negotiation</h2>
<p>This impact was compounded by a second issue — the removal of “designation” in the code. That meant that regardless of whether a news organization was eligible under the code, there was no requirement that a platform negotiate with the organization. </p>
<p>As Nick Shelton, publisher of lifestyle-focused <a href="https://www.broadsheet.com.au/">Broadsheet Media</a>, argued: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The platforms are the ones who are in a position to determine who they deal with … . So all of a sudden you have Google and Meta, huge multinational businesses, deciding the winners and losers of the Australian media industry.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Platforms could refuse to negotiate with organizations they deemed ineligible as public-interest journalism or alternatively, to remunerate organizations they had a business interest in supporting. Our interview participants suggested both scenarios had occurred. </p>
<p>Lastly, our interviews also showed that platforms were also able to push for individual deals that aligned with their own business priorities for news on the platform. This impacted the kinds of journalism being invested in, and reliance on particular forms of funding to pay for it. </p>
<p>Some interviewees claimed the platforms were pushing media organizations toward more grant-based funding and other specific programs offered by the tech companies — such as <a href="https://support.google.com/news/publisher-center/answer/10018888">Google News Showcase</a> — to avoid negotiating individual deals under the code.</p>
<p>Others interviewed indicated that deals were framed around investment in particular types of content according to needs of the platform, such as the <a href="https://newsinitiative.withgoogle.com/">Google News Initiative</a>, rather than being paid for news content published on the platforms.</p>
<h2>What does this mean for Canadians?</h2>
<p>There are valuable lessons to be learned from the framing of the Australian code.</p>
<p>Lack of transparency and designation means the tech platforms have been able to act in the best interests of their own business priorities, rather than in the interest of the code’s stated aim of supporting public-interest journalism.</p>
<p>Canadians should consider how much influence platforms already have and how much they might seek to gain once the Online News Act comes into effect.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208088/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Diana Bossio does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Australia’s law to force tech giants like Meta and Google to pay media organizations has not always meant better outcomes for journalism. Will the same happen in Canada?Diana Bossio, Associate Professor, Media and Communications, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2081582023-06-20T20:05:31Z2023-06-20T20:05:31ZCanadians are losing their appetite for news — and trusting it less<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533006/original/file-20230620-23-onav3c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=7%2C23%2C5168%2C3414&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new report suggests Canadians are avoiding the news more and less willing to pay subscription fees.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Canadians have less appetite for news and are less inclined to pay for news online, according to the latest findings from the <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2023">2023 Digital News Report survey</a> by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2023-06/Digital_News_Report_2023.pdf">Digital News Report</a>, conducted by an international team of scholars, is one of the most comprehensive surveys about digital news consumption around the world. It’s based on a survey of more than 90,000 online news consumers in 46 countries, including Canada — covering half of the world’s population. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cem.ulaval.ca/publications/dnr-2023-canada-eng/">new data on Canadian news habits</a> shows payment for online news or access to paid services (via a library, for example), which had been growing slowly in recent years, slipped by four percentage points — from 15 per cent in 2022 to 11 per cent in 2023. This is the first decline since 2016, when Canadian data was first collected, and the lowest result since 2019.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph that shows the percentage of Canadians who are paying for news from 2016-23" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532984/original/file-20230620-27-n7wm1a.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There was a drop in the number of Canadians who are paying for news in 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters Institute/Oxford University, Centre d'études sur les médias</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Canadians also seem less and less interested in news: 80 per cent say they’re interested in news in 2023, a drop of six percentage points since 2021. However, fewer say they actively avoid the news (63 per cent) compared to 2022 (71 per cent). </p>
<h2>Social media less used for news</h2>
<p>In this context of relative disinterest in news, and while <a href="https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/meta-may-end-facebook-instagram-news-content-in-canada-over-act-1.1917262">Meta is reducing the importance its platforms place on news content</a>, more Canadians say they did not access news via social media in the week preceding the survey. This share rose from 26 per cent to 36 per cent between 2022 and 2023 — the highest result since 2018.</p>
<p>All major social media platforms are down with the exception of Twitter, which remains stable at 11 per cent for this first survey since its acquisition by Tesla founder Elon Musk. Facebook remains the most used social media when interacting with the news, at 29 per cent, but down 11 percentage points from 2022 (40 per cent) and by far its lowest result since 2016.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph that shows a breakdown of news consumption by Canadians over several social media channels" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532991/original/file-20230620-19-4awt22.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Facebook remains the most popular social media channel for news among Canadians, although more people say they aren’t using social media for news.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters Institute/Oxford University, Centre d'études sur les médias</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Still, one in four Canadians gets news primarily from social media. Television news shows remain the main source of information for the largest number of respondents (40 per cent), followed by websites and news apps (27 per cent). Those figures are the same as last year.</p>
<p>Mobile phones remain the most popular device for consulting news online, used by one in two people (52 per cent) in the week preceding the survey. But this number is down nine percentage points from 2022. This is the lowest result since 2019, which seems consistent with declining interest in current affairs and less contact with news on social media.</p>
<h2>Trust continues to decline</h2>
<p>Trust in the news continues its slow descent among the country’s anglophones: 37 per cent say they trust most news, most of the time. For French-speaking Canadians, this confidence is higher (49 per cent) and up slightly from a year ago (47 per cent in 2022). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A graph measuring trust in media from 2016-23" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532996/original/file-20230620-17-7bdfcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Trust in news media is continuing to decline, although francophones in Canada trust the news more than anglophones.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters Institute/Oxford University, Centre d'études sur les médias</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Francophones more optimistic</h2>
<p>As in previous years, Canadian francophones show an overall more positive view of their news ecosystem than anglophones, perhaps due to the language barrier and the francophone market being less oriented towards foreign media.</p>
<p>In addition to a more generalized confidence in the news, one of many examples is the level of concern about the possibility of sorting out the truth from the false online. This concern is much less widespread among francophones (47 per cent) than anglophones (65 per cent). French-speaking Canadians are also more likely to rate both algorithms and news professionals favourably as intermediaries for news access. </p>
<p>The Digital News Report looks extensively into people’s perceptions of having social platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google push news stories to readers based on their past habits. In Canada, 29 per cent of francophones and 25 per cent of anglophones find algorithms based on past consumption “a good way” to access news. </p>
<p>Canadians were slightly more skeptical about news stories selected by editors and journalists at media outlets — 26 per cent of francophones and 19 per cent of anglophones agree that having stories selected by editors and journalists is a good way to get news. All of these figures are down by around 10 percentage points since 2016. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Three pie charts which break down responses by all Canadians, as well as anglophone and francophone, to the question 'In your opinion, how important, or not, are publicly funded news services to society?'" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=350&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/533002/original/file-20230620-19-egjrfe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=439&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Almost half of the Canadians surveyed felt publicly funded news services were important to society.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters Institute/Oxford University, Centre d'études sur les médias</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In these challenging times for the country’s news ecosystem, publicly funded news services are not widely seen as part of the problem. </p>
<p>More than half of francophones (54 per cent) and 45 per cent of anglophones believe in the importance to society of publicly funded news outlets, such as CBC and Radio-Canada. Only 13 per cent of francophones and 20 per cent of anglophones feel they are not important, with the remainder either in between or refusing to comment.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/208158/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sébastien Charlton works for the Centre d'études sur les médias, which is the Canadian partner of the Digital News Reports. Canadian data collection was partly funded by Canadian Heritage. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Colette Brin's work is funded in part by the Quebec government's Ministry of Culture and Communications and Fonds de recherche du Québec - Société et culture. The Canadian edition of the Digital News Report is funded by Canadian Heritage through News Media Canada. Prof. Brin is Director of Centre d'études sur les médias, an independent non-profit research unit hosted at Université Laval in partnership with Université de Montréal and Université du Québec à Montréal. She is also Chairperson of the Independent Advisory Board on Eligibility for Journalism Tax Measures in collaboration with the Canada Revenue Agency</span></em></p>A new study of digital news consumption shows Canadians are avoiding the news more and trusting it less —especially in English Canada.Sébastien Charlton, Lecturer, Department of Information and Communication, Université LavalColette Brin, Professor and Director, Centre d'études sur les médias, Université LavalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1924672022-11-23T16:04:44Z2022-11-23T16:04:44ZHow to decolonize journalism — Podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/497076/original/file-20221123-24-8zq33s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C57%2C1902%2C1020&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Duncan McCue, left, walks with Rocky James, a podcast guest on CBC's 'Kuper Island.'
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Evan Aagaard/CBC Podcasts)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/e7d12b26-7189-4da9-a83b-09e54f131b65?dark=true"></iframe>
<p><iframe id="tc-infographic-572" class="tc-infographic" height="100" src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/infographics/572/661898416fdc21fc4fdef6a5379efd7cac19d9d5/site/index.html" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>Despite the jokes about our egos, many of us journalists got into the business because we felt a need to call out powerful institutions. </p>
<p>But journalism itself is one of those powerful institutions, and it has failed time and again to address criticisms around who gets to tell the news and whose perspectives get left out. </p>
<p>Some researchers <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190067076.001.0001">have called this a crisis of journalism, a “digital reckoning.”</a> And they are not talking about economics — with local newsrooms and news budgets on the decline — though that is part of it. </p>
<p>When it comes to reporting and covering Indigenous Peoples, journalism’s institutions have failed. For example, a good part of the reason so many <a href="https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2022/06/20/how-familiar-are-canadians-with-the-history-of-indigenous-residential-schools.html">Canadians are not familiar with the history of the Indian Residential Schools</a> is because Canadian media failed to tell those stories. We failed to address the ongoing colonialism and that has meant that urgent Indigenous issues have been ignored or sensationalized.</p>
<p>And journalism schools only recently began teaching their students how to think critically while covering stories like these. </p>
<p>Our guest <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/decolonizing-journalism">on this episode of <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em></a> has been working on correcting these issues both in the newsroom and in the classroom. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1140&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492213/original/file-20221027-40102-xuwshh.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1140&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Duncan McCue has published Decolonizing Journalism, a new book to help journalists contend with the bias in news media.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Duncan McCue is an award-winning Anishinaabe journalist. </p>
<p>He has worked at the CBC for over 20 years reporting for <em>The National</em> and as the host of <em>Cross Country Checkup</em>. </p>
<p>Duncan was part of a CBC investigation into missing and murdered Indigenous women that <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cbc-mmiw-investigations-hillman-prize-1.3501398">won the Hillman Award for Investigative Journalism</a>. Most recently, he has produced and hosted <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-podcasts/1062-kuper-island"><em>Kuper Island</em></a>, an eight-episode podcast that focuses on four students of a residential school in B.C. — three who survived and one who didn’t. </p>
<p>As an educator, Duncan has taught journalism at the University of British Columbia and Toronto Metropolitan University. And he just published a new book, <a href="https://www.oupcanada.com/catalog/9780190164263.html"><em>Decolonizing Journalism</em></a>.</p>
<h2>Follow and Listen</h2>
<p>You can listen to or follow <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9qZFg0Ql9DOA">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7">Spotify</a> or <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com">wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts</a>. <a href="mailto:theculturedesk@theconversation.com">We’d love to hear from you</a>, including any ideas for future episodes. Join The Conversation on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationCA">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheConversationCanada">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theconversation">TikTok</a> and use #DontCallMeResilient.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-toronto-star-is-making-the-right-move-by-renaming-the-lou-marsh-trophy-191831">The Toronto Star is making the right move by renaming the Lou Marsh trophy</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-shameful-history-of-sterilizing-indigenous-women-107876">Canada's shameful history of sterilizing Indigenous women</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/thunder-bay-local-news-is-important-for-conversations-on-reconciliation-114875">Thunder Bay: Local news is important for conversations on reconciliation</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stanley-trial-highlights-colonialism-of-canadian-media-91375">Stanley trial highlights colonialism of Canadian media</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/media-portrays-indigenous-and-muslim-youth-as-savages-and-barbarians-79153">Media portrays Indigenous and Muslim youth as 'savages' and 'barbarians'</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Sources</h2>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://global.oup.com/academic/product/decolonizing-journalism-9780190164263?cc=ca&lang=en&"><em>Decolonizing Journalism</em></a> by Duncan McCue</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://uofmpress.ca/books/detail/seeing-red"><em>Seeing Red</em></a> by Mark Cronlund Anderson and Carmen L. Robertson </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.versobooks.com/books/2953-our-history-is-the-future"><em>Our History is the Future</em></a> by Nick Estes</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190067076.001.0001"><em>Reckoning: Journalism’s Limits and Possibilities</em></a> by Candis Callison and Mary Lynn Young. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/492346/original/file-20221028-13-w3hbdk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">From the left: Seeing Red by Mark Cronlund Anderson and Carmen L. Robertson,
Our History is Our Future by Nick Estes and Reckoning by Candis Callison and Mary Lynn Young.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Transcript</h2>
<p>The unedited version of the transcript is available <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/decolonizing-journalism/transcript">here</a>.</p>
<p><em>Don’t Call Me Resilient is produced in partnership with the Journalism Innovation Lab at the University of British Columbia and with a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192467/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Canadian journalist institutions have failed to address their ongoing colonialism and that has meant that urgent Indigenous issues have been ignored or sensationalized.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1918312022-10-06T17:05:54Z2022-10-06T17:05:54ZThe Toronto Star is making the right move by renaming the Lou Marsh trophy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488357/original/file-20221005-20-99fn0c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C52%2C4992%2C3308&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bianca Andreescu was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year in 2019. The trophy is awarded annually to Canada's top athlete as chosen by a panel of journalists.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Hans Deryk</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-toronto-star-is-making-the-right-move-by-renaming-the-lou-marsh-trophy" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/lou-marsh-trophy-name-change-1.6596137"><em>Toronto Star</em> recently announced</a> it will be changing the name of the Lou Marsh Award, effective this year.</p>
<p>Since 1936, the award — <a href="https://www.heritagetrust.on.ca/en/pages/our-stories/exhibits/snapshots-of-ontarios-sport-heritage/influence-of-sport-on-the-arts-literature-music-and-cultural-identity/lou-marsh">named after athlete and sports journalist Lou Marsh</a> — has been <a href="https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/lou-marsh-trophy">given annually to Canada’s “top athlete of the year”</a> based on a vote by journalists across the country.</p>
<p>During a summer spent working at Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame, I frequently passed by the Lou Marsh Trophy, one of the most prestigious awards in Canadian sport. </p>
<p>The trophy itself, a 73-centimetre solid marble trophy, is a fitting representation of the award’s place in Canadian society. Unlike the small cup that is given to each recipient of the Lou Marsh Award, the actual trophy is a massive structure that cannot be physically lifted by any one person. </p>
<p>While working at the Hall, I heard stories about the monument repeatedly cracking the foundation on which it rested. As it turned out, no foundation could adequately support such a heavy load.</p>
<h2>A piece of Canadian history</h2>
<p>The Lou Marsh Award occupies a special place in Canadian sport and sport history. It creates a deeply personal connection between our sporting figures and the nation they represent on a global stage. </p>
<p>However, as scholars and athletes have recently contended with <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/sports/opinion-lou-marsh-trophy-1.6273039">the fraught legacy of the trophy’s namesake</a>, the Lou Marsh Award has itself become a ponderous weight for those who receive it.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man wearing a striped Canada jersey running in a 400-metre race" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488353/original/file-20221005-19-qal5d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Damian Warner, pictured here during the decathlon 400-metre run at the World Athletics Championships in July 2022, was the recipient of last year’s Lou Marsh Trophy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(AP Photo/Ashley Landis)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Although the athlete-centered award is intended to be one of the highest honours that can be given, cutting across gender or sporting distinctions, these recipients have accepted it under the shadow of Marsh’s legacy.</p>
<p>In February 2021, Janice Forsyth, professor of Indigenous Land-Based Physical Culture and Wellness at the University of British Columbia, <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-lou-marsh-trophy-builds-on-a-racist-legacy-tainting-the-awards-meaning-154322">wrote a piece about the implications of the award being named in Marsh’s honour and</a> “what it is like to win a sport award named after a notorious racist.”</p>
<p>As Forsyth and other Canadian sport historians like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2013.785750">Bruce Kidd</a> have explained, Marsh’s work for the <em>Toronto Star</em> was often plagued by both overt and implicit racism. </p>
<h2>Lou Marsh’s legacy</h2>
<p>As a sports journalist, Marsh was charged with being the eyes and ears of Canadian sports fans, documenting key events and recreating the performance of emerging athletes. For this reason, his writing about specific athletes <a href="https://learninglink.oup.com/access/morrow-4e">altered the ways those athletes have been memorialized today</a>. </p>
<p>Marsh’s power to shape narratives both informed his contemporary readers and distorted our views of <a href="https://canadianscholars.ca/book/race-and-sport-in-canada/">Canada’s sporting past</a>.</p>
<p>When Marsh employed racial epithets or derogatory stereotypes in his reporting, he did so as a tastemaker in a position of power. Marsh’s blind spot regarding athletes of colour, exemplified through his <a href="https://www.canadashistory.ca/explore/first-nations-inuit-metis/who-do-you-think-i-am-a-story-of-tom-longboat">relentless derision of his supposed “friend” Tom Longboat</a>, reveals him to be a figure of questionable journalistic integrity. </p>
<p>Moreover, his specific derogation of athletes themselves is even more troubling for his long-time association with Canada’s “Athlete of the Year.” We understand more now, but it is not merely a matter of looking at Lou Marsh with 21st century eyes: it involves reviewing his work from the perspective of the athletes he knowingly harmed through his writing.</p>
<h2>Awards are inherently political</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="A black and white photo of a man in vintage NHL referee uniform" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=962&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1209&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1209&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/488376/original/file-20221005-12-ym59a3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1209&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Lou Marsh was a Canadian athlete, referee and sports journalist who worked at the <em>Toronto Star</em> for 43 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Alexandra Studio/Toronto Star archives)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>The Star</em> is <a href="https://www.thestar.com/sports/opinion/2022/09/26/the-lou-marsh-trophy-is-getting-a-new-name-with-help-from-star-readers.html">taking submissions from the public on a new name</a> for the trophy. A committee will choose a replacement before this year’s award is handed out in December. No doubt there will be resistance by some individuals to the name change, likely more from a place of preservation than a feeling of genuine loss regarding Marsh himself. </p>
<p>But the award is not a page in a history book; it is an evergreen celebration of Marsh himself, perhaps more than the individual who receives it.</p>
<p>Even in cases where awards are created in good faith, the physical and cultural space they occupy <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/Oscar%C2%AE-Fever-History-Politics-Academy/dp/082641284X">makes these awards an inherently political issue</a>. That allocation comes at a high cost, which involves near-constant scrutiny and critical interrogation. </p>
<p>As such, these memorial awards are intended to reflect the needs and interests of the present population, rather than simply one individual from the past. </p>
<p>American historian <a href="http://cup.columbia.edu/book/preserving-memory/9780231124072">Edward Linenthal argues that</a> “our choices about who gets remembered, what gets remembered, where acts of remembrance take place, and how we express the significance of remembrance is as much — or more — about the future than the past.” </p>
<p>Even if Marsh represents an important component of the <em>Toronto Star’s</em> past, he cannot and should not dictate their future depiction of athletes. Anything that in any way detracts, or even distracts, from the honoured athlete and their achievement should be eliminated.</p>
<h2>More than a name change</h2>
<p>There is no question that changing the name of the award is an important acknowledgement of the untold damage that has been done through Marsh’s pernicious treatment of many Canadian athletes. </p>
<p>But if the work ends there, then changing the award’s name risks being dismissed as a knee-jerk response to public outcry, rather than an indication of genuine reflection on past inequities and a commitment to a new approach. </p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/janice_ubc/status/1574514976592642049?s=20&t=rXyWor7aprtZPNm8hsSSVg">In a tweet thread responding to the announcement of the name change</a>, Forsyth wrote:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The Star can do more than change the name. It can address its legacy of teaching Canadians that it’s okay to treat athletes like chattel, that athletes should shut up and do their job, that they need to put up with the abuse they experience. That’s the legacy we’re dealing with.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although the name change is a necessary first step, until we properly understand the damage done through Marsh’s journalistic outputs on sporting history and their persisting influence on contemporary Canadian culture, we will still feel the immense weight of this dark legacy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/191831/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor McKee receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada</span></em></p>While changing the name of the Lou Marsh Trophy is a necessary first step, the weight of Marsh’s legacy will be felt until we fully understand the damage done by his history of sports journalism.Taylor McKee, Assistant Professor, Sport Management, Brock UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1888752022-09-06T20:01:28Z2022-09-06T20:01:28ZWhy Ottawa’s efforts to get Google and Facebook to pay for news content misses the mark<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480433/original/file-20220822-76838-aw9uc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=31%2C0%2C5145%2C3445&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Bill C-18, the Online News Act, is trying to get the dominant digital platforms to negotiate mutually-acceptable agreements with Canada’s online news outlets. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/why-ottawa-s-efforts-to-get-google-and-facebook-to-pay-for-news-content-misses-the-mark" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>We have seen drastic changes in the media industry over the last two decades. Between <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2022/04/government-introduces-a-bill-to-ensure-fair-compensation-for-news-media-and-the-sustainability-of-local-news.html">2008 and 2021, more than 450 news outlets closed</a> across Canada and at least one-third of journalism jobs disappeared. </p>
<p>The digital platform giants — notably Google and Facebook — are very much part of this media ecosystem, but are they positive contributors? </p>
<p>By reproducing or linking to articles they don’t create, but earn ad revenue from — they claimed <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2022/04/government-introduces-a-bill-to-ensure-fair-compensation-for-news-media-and-the-sustainability-of-local-news.html">80 per cent of online ad revenues</a>, or almost $10 billion, in 2020 — these big tech companies seem to deprive news publishers their rightful due. So should publishers be compensated for the use of their content? </p>
<h2>The Online News Act</h2>
<p>Many countries have debated this question; few have acted. In 2019, the European Union <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/mar/31/europe-efforts-to-curb-internet-giants-only-make-them-stronger">instituted a so-called “link tax”</a> — essentially a licensing fee that search engines and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/news-aggregator">news aggregators</a> have to pay publishers for using their content. In 2021, Australia <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-56163550">brought in a law</a> that compels Google and Facebook to negotiate deals with the country’s news publishers.</p>
<p>Now, Canada is weighing in. In April, the federal government tabled legislation that channels Australia’s approach. Bill C-18, the <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2022/04/backgrounder--government-introduces-legislation-to-ensure-fair-compensation-for-news-media-and-the-sustainability-of-local-news.html">Online News Act</a>, is a sharp-elbowed nudge to get the dominant digital platforms to negotiate mutually-acceptable agreements with Canada’s online newspapers, magazines and TV and radio broadcasters. </p>
<p>If they cannot come to terms, the parties would have to enter a binding arbitration overseen by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the arm’s-length regulator. If enacted, would Bill C-18 “contribute to the sustainability of the news market,” as the government promises? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/a-paltry-number-of-canadians-are-paying-for-online-news-118651">A paltry number of Canadians are paying for online news</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s true that news outlets have <a href="https://citap.unc.edu/local-news-platforms-mis-disinformation/">struggled to make money</a> ever since the internet upended their gravy train — classified ads and print subscriptions. But it’s also true that search engines and aggregators have expanded the online news market. They direct substantial traffic to the publishers’ websites, particularly traffic from casual readers that otherwise would not take place.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A man browses on an iPad." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480434/original/file-20220822-65891-rlafhl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">News outlets have struggled to make money in recent years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A look at the ‘link tax’</h2>
<p>There is no evidence that shows news outlets are worse off because of Google, Facebook and other aggregators. If anything, evidence (and lots of it) shows that, overall, news outlets would be in worse shape without these digital platforms.</p>
<p>That’s what I found in <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2837553">a study I undertook with economist Joan Calzada</a> of the “link tax” imposed by Spain (before the EU-wide directive was instituted in 2019). </p>
<p>In 2014, Spain began forcing aggregators such as Google News to pay a link fee to original publishers. Google responded by shutting down its Spanish edition. We found that after the shutdown, <a href="https://smith.queensu.ca/insight/content/research_brief_a_google_tax_may_be_a_bad_idea_after_all.php">Spanish news outlets experienced a reduction in the number of daily visits</a> of between eight and 14 per cent. </p>
<p>To add insult to injury, advertisers stopped placing ads on their sites, causing a collapse in ad revenues. Particularly hard hit were smaller news publishers — lower-ranked sites with a larger share of casual readers. </p>
<p>During the same period, Germany instituted a link fee as well. In this case, Google News required German publishers to waive the linking fee. A <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4158137">study from the University of Munich</a> found that publishers deciding to opt out from Google indexing faced disastrous consequences: daily visits to their sites significantly dropped and traffic was diverted to competing sites that opted into indexing. </p>
<p>These and <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w28746">other studies</a> show news publishers benefit from the Googles of the world. So would Bill C-18, as it currently stands, really change anything for the better? </p>
<h2>Right side of policy</h2>
<p>The current debate is based on a false premise, that news outlets are not already being compensated, instead of focusing on the rightful split of joint revenues between the platform and the content creator. </p>
<p>If Bill C-18 passes, we can expect big publishers to receive most of the funds — that’s what happened in Europe and Australia. Smaller media outlets with low brand awareness will suffer unless they band together and bargain collectively with the digital giants. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An illustration shows hands holding a phone that reads news." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/480435/original/file-20220822-76834-d44eah.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Between 2008 and 2021, more than 450 news outlets closed across Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We can expect Google, Facebook and their ilk to adjust their market behaviour. What would stop them, for example, from tweaking their algorithms to benefit news publishers offering the most favourable arrangements? </p>
<p><a href="https://www.dropbox.com/sh/npict8uzrow3sk3/AABO5qZ8qEnEEphhmlVOE-8la?dl=0">Recent evidence</a> shows Google Australia started recommending less “expensive” content after the law was passed in Australia. </p>
<p>Alternative policy responses must be considered. In the past, when Google faced similar legal trouble, France and Belgium set up lump sum funds that were shared by news publishers based on a predetermined formula. Such an approach ensures a fair distribution of funds across content creators and doesn’t distort market behaviour of the platforms involved.</p>
<p>Bill C-18 is just one of three pieces of legislation now being considered by the House of Commons. There is also a proposed bill that addresses hate speech and other online abuses and another that brings online streaming services under the Broadcasting Act. </p>
<p>It’s clear Canadians approve; <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-liberal-internet-regulation-bill-c-11/">polling</a> shows a majority support greater government regulation on the internet. While it’s good to be on the right side of public opinion, it’s better to be on the right side of policy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188875/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ricard Gil received funding from the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Technology, Innovation and Competition (CTIC) and Warren Center for Network & Data Science to study the impact of search engines on the online news market. </span></em></p>There’s no evidence that news outlets are worse off because of Google, Facebook and other aggregators. If anything, evidence shows that, overall, news outlets would be in worse shape without them.Ricard Gil, Associate Professor, Smith School of Business, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1854772022-06-24T11:02:29Z2022-06-24T11:02:29ZOur fifth anniversary: Readers weigh in<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469863/original/file-20220620-14-l538pq.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C15%2C5097%2C3462&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Conversation Canada is five years old!</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Five years ago, <em>The Conversation Canada</em> quietly crept into existence. It was known as a “soft launch” — a term sometimes used as a cover in case something goes terribly wrong. Luckily, nothing did. </p>
<p>We published eight stories on that very first day, including some on topics that are still very much relevant five years later — the impact of <a href="https://theconversation.com/climate-change-is-making-cities-sick-and-we-need-to-act-78447">climate change on cities</a>, the “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-glass-cliff-is-steep-for-canadas-female-politicians-78988">glass cliff</a>” that female politicians face, why Canada needs a <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-canada-should-introduce-universal-drugs-coverage-79824">pharmacare plan</a>. That first edition also included a <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-wanna-be-white-can-we-change-race-78899">provocative piece on race</a>, a subject that has been one of the cornerstones of our coverage throughout the years.</p>
<p>Our co-founders Mary Lynn Young and Alfred Hermida of the University of British Columbia School of Journalism, Writing and Media, also wrote <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-start-the-conversation-in-canada-79877">a first-day essay</a> on why <em>The Conversation Canada</em> was needed. They’ve done another wonderful piece to mark our fifth anniversary.</p>
<p>To mark this big birthday, we recently invited readers to send us their thoughts. We heard from people across the country and around the world.</p>
<p>“We should all read about info that makes us go, ‘Hmm, never thought of that, that way,’ ” wrote Mark Brown of Gananoque, Ont. Good journalism should not only inform, but it should also open a reader’s mind to new ideas and other perspectives.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>The Conversation</em> constantly makes me think — and often outside my own comfortable box of knowledge or long-held views: that is good for both my brain and my soul.
<strong>Judy Humphries,
Gravenhurst, Ont.</strong></p>
<p>I am so fed up with polarization. I breathe a sigh of relief when I can read articles that make me think and weigh actions being taken in our world.
<strong>Jacqueline Kelly,
Grimsby, Ont.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Given that our authors are academics, we know that our articles are often used in classrooms.</p>
<p>Wendy Burton, a lecturer with the department of politics and public administration at Toronto Metropolitan University, told us that <em>The Conversation</em> is “just what my first-year university students needed — plain language discussions of current research, written by reputable sources. … Several students have told me they have now bookmarked the site and check it regularly.”</p>
<p>Rosemary Evans said as a high school principal at University of Toronto Schools “it is very important to me to support students and staff to seek out sources which provide a balanced, carefully researched, thoughtfully reasoned, understanding of contemporary events accessible to a lay audience. … The scholarly integrity of <em>The Conversation</em> makes it a ‘go to source.’”</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Congratulations! <em>The Conversation</em> is a ‘must read’ for me every morning — no matter what else is hovering, I always open and I enjoy the browse. I value highly that the content is authored by Canadian academic professionals and that the content is evidence-based.
<strong>Bonnie Woodland,
St. John’s, NL</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Since our very first day, <em>The Conversation Canada</em> has published provocative stories about race and racism — something that most traditional media in Canada have historically under covered. Many readers also told us they are regular listeners to our anti-racism podcast <em><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Don’t Call Me Resilient</a></em>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>As an Indigenous woman, I tire of being spoken of as resilient — I am not resilient, I am only a person who has to circumvent my life around so very much bureaucracy and institutional barriers. I am not alone. Many other ethnicities in Canada live the same way. Canada is not the ‘true north strong and free’ and <em>The Conversation</em> has not shied away from making us all think about that.
<strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/norma-dunning-392572">Norma Dunning,</a>
Edmonton</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Sheri Zhang of Gatineau, Que., told us she appreciates the articles we’ve published <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/search?q=anti-asian+racism">about anti-Asian racism</a>, which has become a worse problem since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. </p>
<p>Usha Srivastava especially enjoyed an article <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-are-all-niqabis-now-coronavirus-masks-reveal-hypocrisy-of-face-covering-bans-136030">that pointed out the hypocrisy of people complaining about Muslim women who wear a niqab</a> at the same time face masks were being promoted as the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19. “Keep up the hard work, it is well worth it,” she wrote.</p>
<p>One of the things that surprised us the most since our launch is that <em>The Conversation Canada</em> has developed a very large international audience — 69 per cent of our readers come from outside of Canada.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>The Conversation Canada</em> helps to put in perspective events that deserve more than the sole French view, be it economical, political, international or simple and ordinary. Kind of a fresh air breeze.
<strong>Michel Breisacher,
Paris</strong></p>
<p>As an avid reader of <em>The Conversation Australia</em> and now having a family connection to B.C., I find <em>The Conversation Canada</em> is an invaluable read. With you overseeing the same level of high-quality journalism underpinned by scientific rigor as I enjoy here, l read to find out what we as nations have in common and where we differ. Whether it be our treatment of our First Nations peoples, the environmental issues we face, social justice concerns or the escalating energy crisis and need to decarbonize, I conclude the challenges are the same.
<strong>Mike Vanderkelen,
Geelong, Australia</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>What could we do better? Some readers would like more stories on the arts and music. Others think we use too many hyperlinks in our articles, which they find distracting. Many readers told us they appreciated that we publish in both <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca-fr">French</a> and English. Several cited our ability to counter the disinformation that permeates social media.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><em>The Conversation</em> represents all that is good about journalism, research and efforts by so many people of good will to better understand the world we live in…. As misinformation and disinformation spreads, <em>The Conversation</em> represents an important bulwark designed to protect the truth, promote in-depth thinking and most importantly spur change based on reasoned insights and innovative thinking.
<strong>Ron Burnett, President Emeritus, Emily Carr University of Art + Design,
Vancouver</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Those who took the time to write to us about this major milestone were incredibly kind. We would be nowhere without you. We hope you will continue on this journey with us and <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters/canada-daily-7">stay up-to-date with our daily newsletter</a>. Thank you — and here’s to the next five years!</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Always reliable, readable and short. Perfect.
<strong>Gail Benjafield,
St. Catharines, Ont.</strong></p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185477/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
“Always reliable, readable and short. Perfect.” Our readers offer their thoughts on the fifth anniversary of The Conversation Canada.Scott White, CEO | Editor-in-Chief, The Conversation CanadaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1855412022-06-24T10:55:23Z2022-06-24T10:55:23ZThe untold story of Canada’s journalism startups<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470368/original/file-20220622-34601-35c970.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C4013%2C3024&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Conversation Canada is celebrating its fifth anniversary. It's one of dozens of digital news organizations that has found a niche in the changing media landscape in Canada.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(THE CONVERSATION)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/the-untold-story-of-canada-s-journalism-startups" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>The fifth anniversary of the launch of <em>The Conversation Canada</em> is an opportunity to reflect on an untold story of the Canadian news media.</p>
<p><em>The Conversation Canada</em> is one of more than 120 novel English-language digital-born journalism organizations to launch since 2000. That’s more than the number of daily newspapers that populated the country in the latter part of the 20th century. </p>
<p>In reflecting on the past five years <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-time-to-start-the-conversation-in-canada-79877">as co-founders</a> and journalism researchers, we locate <em>The Conversation Canada</em> as part of <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3621685">an emergent journalism infrastructure</a> populated by a new group of vital contributors who range from cottage industry to larger-sized established organizations. </p>
<p>These players — such as <em><a href="https://thelogic.co/">The Logic</a></em>, <a href="https://mediaindigena.com/"><em>MediaIndigena</em></a>, <a href="https://thenarwhal.ca/"><em>The Narwhal</em></a>, <em><a href="https://www.sprawlcalgary.com/">The Sprawl</a></em>, <em><a href="https://thetyee.ca/">The Tyee</a></em> and <em><a href="https://www.villagemedia.ca/">Village Media</a></em> — are shaping what it means to be a journalist and what journalism could and should do in this country. They have taken advantage of low barriers to entry online and the potential of a digital space that affords a place to experiment with diverse approaches. </p>
<p>Yet the decline of legacy, commercial media has been a singular focus of policymakers and journalism coverage even as these new digital-born journalism organizations are winning recognition at industry awards and filling gaps in news coverage.</p>
<h2>Tackling critical issues</h2>
<p>Our research for the past two years has focused on identifying and understanding this wave of digital-born entrants. We’ve found that the majority of the new digital news organizations are still up and running, even though many startups fail in their first few years. Like <em>The Conversation Canada</em>, more than half have launched since 2015.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Climate activists holding up a variety of signs demonstrate in downtown Calgary" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470671/original/file-20220623-52182-2w9vtx.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of the new digital news organizations in Canada have focused coverage on specific issues like the climate crisis.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A majority of the new journalism organizations are located in British Columbia and Ontario, although they are largely in non-urban centres. Some 40 per cent have a national and/or international outlook in their coverage, which is a surprise given the fears about the loss of local news.</p>
<p>Many of these new organizations are consciously mission-driven, with some acknowledging their roles as a response to urgent global concerns and living in a settler-colonial nation state. Some take explicit stances on harms and fault lines in legacy media reporting including justice for Indigenous peoples, racial injustice, the climate crisis, the economy and more.</p>
<p>Just under two-thirds of the new digital-born news media were started by a mix of veteran and emerging journalists, and the rest by media makers, business people or activists. </p>
<p>This new system is, however, not without its challenges such as sustainability, scale, living wages, attracting audiences and the influence of funders, to name just a few. </p>
<p>The increase in the past two decades in the number and range of journalism entrepreneurs and owners is important because there is evidence the concentration of ownership has contributed to a limited diversity of perspectives and types of organizations that could and have engaged in journalism in Canada. </p>
<h2>Trend towards not-for-profits</h2>
<p>Our research shows a shift to not-for-profit organizations doing journalism in the past two decades, including <em>The Conversation Canada</em>. </p>
<p>The evolution in types of ownership and business models is significant given the highly concentrated nature of Canadian journalism ownership, which has been a concern since the first government committee <a href="https://publications.gc.ca/Pilot/LoPBdP/BP/prb9935-e.htm#A.%20The%20Daveytxt">explored the issue in 1970</a>. </p>
<p>Contemporary Canadian journalism has also had a largely commercial orientation, despite the important presence of a public service broadcaster, with <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/comparing-media-systems/B7A12371782B7A1D62BA1A72C1395E43">professional ideals of objectivity and independence</a>.</p>
<p>These elements have contributed to a widely shared and relatively homogenous perception of journalistic roles among public and legacy media. Largely, described as “<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-political-science-revue-canadienne-de-science-politique/article/abs/is-there-a-distinct-quebec-media-subsystem-in-canada-evidence-of-ideological-and-political-orientations-among-canadian-news-media-organizations/835FC4D4BDAAF96976B53F28D0A05619">monitorial</a>,” journalism roles in Canada have focused on a five-point “<a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/canadian-journal-of-political-science-revue-canadienne-de-science-politique/article/abs/changes-in-canadian-journalists-views-about-the-social-and-political-roles-of-the-news-media-a-panel-study-19962003/535827D9F0BF053D9BA3D17A59E50FC3">creed</a>”: “accurately reporting the views of public figures, getting information to the public quickly, giving ordinary people a chance to express their views, investigating activities of government and public institutions, and providing analysis and interpretation of complex problems.”</p>
<h2>‘A single newspaper agenda’</h2>
<p>Such professional commercial logics span Canada’s anglophone and francophone media systems. A recent study by scholars in Québec found the perception of similar content focus in Canadian media. These scholars suggest this finding validates prior research that there is “<a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210428185800id_/https:/www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/835FC4D4BDAAF96976B53F28D0A05619/S0008423920000189a.pdf/div-class-title-is-there-a-distinct-quebec-media-subsystem-in-canada-evidence-of-ideological-and-political-orientations-among-canadian-news-media-organizations-div.pdf">a single newspaper agenda in Canada</a>,” with the caveat that this agenda is “beyond Québec-specific issues.” </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="People walk by two newspaper boxes in downtown Toronto" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/470457/original/file-20220623-51459-5mozlo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As legacy newsrooms in Canada have struggled and downsized, a new crop of digital-born organizations have launched across the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Kevin Frayer</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These are important considerations because there is evidence the relationship between journalists’ professional ideology in Canada and perception of partisanship and politicization is paradoxical. While journalists ascribe to neutrality, audiences perceive them as partisan.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadians-trust-in-the-news-media-hits-a-new-low-184302">Canadians' trust in the news media hits a new low</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This paradox is timely as it coincides with a <a href="https://www.cem.ulaval.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/dnr22_can_eng.pdf">decline in public trust</a> in the news media. Anglophones’ trust in journalism has dropped to a low of 39 per cent compared to 55 per cent in 2016 and to 47 per cent from 55 per cent over the same period among francophones.</p>
<p>Perceptions of trust are related to “<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadians-trust-in-the-news-media-hits-a-new-low-184302">perceived lack of diversity in media ownership</a>”, as well as concerns about the media’s independence from political or business influence.</p>
<h2>What journalism can be</h2>
<p>The fifth anniversary of <em>The Conversation Canada</em> is an opportunity to express our deep gratitude to the many individuals, including its editors, who have contributed to its success — and to its <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781003140399-6/university-giant-newsroom-alfred-hermida-lisa-varano-mary-lynn-young">meaningful contributions to journalism in Canada</a>, from the coverage of <a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/topics/covid-19-82431">COVID-19</a> to the podcast <em><a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/">Don’t Call Me Resilient</a></em>. </p>
<p>Our goal in co-founding <em>The Conversation Canada</em> was to explore how non-commercial journalism values affect what journalism could and should do in this country. (We are both tenured professors at the University of British Columbia and we have not earned any revenue from <em>The Conversation Canada</em> or our roles in it.)</p>
<p>It was an initiative to see what journalism could be if written by experts in their fields and edited by journalists, deliberately welcoming those critical studies and perspectives from scholars who have been excluded and/or had to operate on the margins of the media. </p>
<p>Our approach sought to address established power relations in journalism, extending how the newsroom and its presence within a commercial landscape, <a href="https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190067076.001.0001/oso-9780190067076">largely created by white professional journalists</a> in Canada, has been habitually conceptualized, understood and practised. </p>
<p>Canada is not alone in trying to decide on policy responses to legacy journalism economic challenges while seeing the rise of newer players all trying to survive alongside the dominance of platforms such as Facebook and Google. Countries such as Australia, Belgium and others are grappling with how best to support quality journalism today to various degrees of success.</p>
<p>Our research is ongoing as part of <a href="https://journalisminnovation.ca/about">a number of related studies</a> in Canada and Australia about the impact and use of <em>The Conversation</em> content nationally and globally, funded by a Canadian federal government research grant. </p>
<p>The evidence is clear that national social, economic and political conditions have an impact on the nature of our media systems. The question for Canadians is what choices they have or should have about the kinds of journalism that are available to them, now and in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185541/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mary Lynn Young receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. She is co-founder and a former member of the board of The Conversation Canada.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alfred Hermida receives funding from the Social Science and Humanities Research Council. He is co-founder and a member of the board of directors of The Conversation Canada.</span></em></p>Canada is home to a growing number of new digital-born journalism organizations, even though government policy aimed at helping the news industry has focused mostly on the decline of legacy media.Mary Lynn Young, Professor, School of Journalism, Writing and Media, University of British ColumbiaAlfred Hermida, Professor, School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, University of British ColumbiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1758052022-03-15T14:33:01Z2022-03-15T14:33:01ZBottom-up, audience-driven and shut down: How HuffPost Canada left its mark on Canadian media<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449035/original/file-20220228-3997-1dqpiw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5982%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">HuffPost Canada was abruptly shut down on March 9, 2021, by Buzzfeed as part of a broad restructuring plan for the company. This closure came two weeks after two dozen workers filed for union certification.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>From prioritizing diversity to a bottom-up editorial process and using traditional marketing practices to develop journalistic stories, <em>HuffPost Canada</em> was a digital-first innovator. Then <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/huffpost-canada-closing-1.5942533">it was shut down</a>.</p>
<p>It’s now been a year since the small newsroom closed. Trying to make a big impact, <em>HuffPost Canada</em> fought against the narrative that it prioritized free content over quality journalism. Those who worked there thought they were playing an important role. Now that it’s shuttered, they’re moving on to different newsrooms, bringing experience that could influence practice across Canadian media.</p>
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<p>I undertook interviews with <em>HuffPost Canada</em> employees as part of data gathering for the <a href="https://www.journalisticperformance.org">Journalistic Role Performance project</a>, an international effort between 37 countries exploring if there’s a gap in <a href="https://j-source.ca/ideals-versus-practice-the-complex-roles-of-modern-journalists/">journalistic ideals compared to practice</a>. </p>
<p>After collecting thousands of stories in 2020, then coding them and surveying journalists from the news organizations who produced those stories, we’re now getting to the analysis stage. And, by coincidence, we captured some of the last days of <em>HuffPost Canada</em>.</p>
<h2>A different kind of newsroom culture</h2>
<p>With wood-planked floors, high ceilings, exposed brick and lots of natural light, <em>HuffPost Canada</em> had a different look and feel to it than many legacy news organizations. It was less utilitarian, more a place you’d want to hang out even if you weren’t working. </p>
<p>Another reason was the young and diverse staff.</p>
<p>Although some strides have been made industry-wide in terms of newsroom diversity, there’s still a long way to go based on a recent report from the <a href="https://caj.ca/images/downloads/diversity_survey_report.pdf">Canadian Association of Journalists</a>. </p>
<p>Of the more than 200 Canadian newsrooms that participated in its survey, almost half “exclusively employ white journalists.” About 90 per cent have no Latin, Middle Eastern or mixed race journalists, about 80 per cent have no Black or Indigenous journalists and about two thirds have no Asian journalists.</p>
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<p>At <em>HuffPost Canada</em>, the focus on diversity didn’t stop with the people working in the newsroom, but flowed through to the use of sources and experts. One <em>HuffPost Canada</em> editor said: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Our big thing is that we normalize diversity. We don’t have special sections, we just do it — and if that approach can influence other media, that’s a marker of success for us.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In terms of newsroom hierarchy, one reporter said there was a “striking difference” at <em>HuffPost Canada</em> compared to legacy newspapers. At her previous job, the editorial process was completely top-down: decisions about what was covered were based on what editors “felt” should get published. At <em>HuffPost Canada</em>, the reporter was able to come up with their own ideas. </p>
<h2>More than meets the eye</h2>
<p>A study participant from another news outlet acknowledged <em>HuffPost Canada</em> did some good work, but questioned why it was part of our research. He said they were “national” only because anybody could “click on them” but their “reportorial footprint” was “pretty thin.” </p>
<p>Addressing this perception, one <em>HuffPost Canada</em> editor said it was a small team and there was “no illusion” that they could cover everything. They relied on agencies like <a href="https://www.thecanadianpress.com/"><em>The Canadian Press</em></a> for stories they didn’t have the resources for and encouraged reporters to focus on what they were passionate about and develop stories they’d be “remembered for.”</p>
<p>He stressed they weren’t just going for “cheap clicks” and that speaking “truth to power” and giving a “voice to the voiceless” was their “brand.” However, he also said there was no shame in doing viral stories and didn’t understand why they were somehow considered “dirty” or labelled as “clickbait.” </p>
<p>My observations echoed his statement. At an editorial meeting I attended, there was a lot of talk about what was trending, but there was also a lot of discussion about politics, including an investigative piece coming out of Ottawa.</p>
<h2>Reader-focused content</h2>
<p>Most news organizations collect demographics to help better understand who their audience is. <em>HuffPost Canada</em> went beyond this, using data to create profiles of imaginary readers like Adam, a middle-aged millennial who had a partner named Taylor, and Adela, a young millennial who was on Instagram at 10 p.m. Before starting a story, reporters were supposed to use these imaginary profiles to “put a face” to the specific segment of the audience they were writing for.</p>
<p>Its understanding of its audience allowed <em>HuffPost Canada</em> to recognize that topics considered “lighter” or less “important” by other news outlets — like parenting — were actually important to its readers. One editor said that they always asked two questions about their content: “How does this affect me and why should I care?”</p>
<p>The editor said <em>HuffPost Canada</em> focused on making content as accessible as possible for readers, noting that information shouldn’t only be for those who can afford subscriptions or have a certain reading comprehension level. Serving only the most educated and affluent news consumers, and the use of paywalls in journalism, have both been noted as growing concerns by the <a href="https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/journalism-media-and-technology-trends-and-predictions-2022">Reuters Institute of Journalism</a>.</p>
<p>Building community was important at <em>HuffPost Canada</em>. On a Facebook page they hosted dedicated to housing, for example, information was shared no matter where it came from, including other news organizations. Additionally, they responded to corrections from readers to try and “show a human face.”</p>
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<h2>A lasting legacy</h2>
<p>I’m sure there were downsides to working at <em>HuffPost Canada</em>. As a former journalist, I’ve seen a laundry list of serious issues play out in a newsroom. However, I didn’t get to spend enough time there to get the full picture —particularly for those who might have been doing contract or freelance work. </p>
<p>But they undoubtedly exemplified priorities and practices that should be reproduced in other newsrooms: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/10776958211062683">amplifying diverse voices</a>, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2021.1942148">connecting with the community</a> and breaking from traditional formats <a href="https://doi.org/10.1145/3084381.3084404">to engage more deeply</a> with their audience.</p>
<p>When asked to describe the impact of the closure of <em>HuffPost Canada</em>, one study participant emailed this response:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We combined relevance with irreverence, having fun with the news when appropriate, and digging in with our considerable editorial talents on investigations whenever possible. We prioritized diverse communities’ perspectives and sought out — and featured — the voices not often heard from, and Canadians are seeing less of that without <em>HuffPost Canada</em>‘s contributions to the landscape. That feels like the greatest loss, and hopefully as our journalists and editors get snapped up by other outlets, is a change that’s soon seen elsewhere.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I hope so, too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/175805/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The JRP Canada study has received funding from Mitacs, Centre d'études sur les médias, X (also known as Ryerson) University, and Ryerson Journalism Research Centre.</span></em></p>From prioritizing diversity to a bottom-up editorial process to using traditional marketing practices to develop journalistic stories, HuffPost Canada was a digital-first innovator.Nicole Blanchett, Associate Professor, Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1590222021-04-21T15:22:57Z2021-04-21T15:22:57ZStopping misinformation means fixing the relationship between journalism and PR<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395765/original/file-20210419-23-1n3xqzo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C0%2C3578%2C1918&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The shifting balance between journalism and PR is fueling a lack of trust in the news. That's bad for everyone. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Unsplash/Camilo Jimenez)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Public relations and journalism exist in an uneasy balancing act, a relationship where they both rely on each other as part of a communication ecosystem.</p>
<p>It used to be that journalism was the stronger player in the relationship, but now as a result of cuts to newsrooms, PR is becoming more dominant. And this relationship could undermine already limited trust in news.</p>
<h2>Public relations and journalism</h2>
<p>Public relations is defined as the practice of <a href="https://www.prsa.org/about/all-about-pr#:%7E:text=%E2%80%9CPublic%20relations%20is%20a%20strategic,PRSA">using communication strategies to build relationships between organizations (such as corporations, institutions and government) and the public</a>.</p>
<p>Traditionally, one of the most important connections for PR practitioners has been those with journalism. PR professionals rely on their journalistic connections to help get their messages out, and journalists draw from PR to help find interesting stories, fill quotas and meet deadlines. In fact, according to the Canadian Public Relations Society, <a href="https://www.cprs.ca/Learn/Articles-White-Papers-Other-Documents/Journalism-and-Public-Relations">PR professionals tend to interact more with journalists than with any other professional group</a>.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/public-relations-is-bad-news-143230">Public relations is bad news</a>
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</em>
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<p>This relationship worked for many years because journalists had the upper hand. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2004.08.004">Journalists had a culture that made them wary of PR professionals</a>, which helped to keep the PR industry in check. When interacting with PR practitioners, journalists would choose whether to pursue a story, and how much of the story suggested by the PR professional is actually worthy of column space or broadcast time. Journalists were likely to seek out different sides of an issue suggested by a PR professional, rather than just publishing a news release verbatim. </p>
<p>In return, the PR professionals could be reasonably confident the coverage would be trusted by the public. By choosing what to cover and how to cover it, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2018/04/11/accountability-is-the-best-public-relations-strategy/?sh=13d2e4b0644b">journalism keeps PR accountable</a>. If PR practitioners do anything to threaten their relationship with news outlets, they will not be able to work effectively. </p>
<p>However, in recent years, as a result of media consolidation and the rise of social media, the relationship between PR and journalism has shifted. While this shift seems to favour PR, in reality it has resulted in declining trust in news, and that’s bad for everyone. When the delicate balance between journalism and PR is upset, we end up with an information ecosystem that is <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/the-real-reason-so-few-people-trust-the-news-media/">less trustworthy because it is driven by organizational goals rather than the public interest</a>.</p>
<h2>A shifting balance</h2>
<p>Now journalism is increasingly relying on PR to survive. As my previous work has shown, local news is facing unprecedented pressure from media consolidation and the social media business. <a href="https://futureoflocalnews.org/">As journalism jobs have dried up across North America</a>, many talented and trained journalism graduates and successful journalists are <a href="https://j-source.ca/article/opinion-why-all-journalists-should-study-public-relations/">accepting jobs in PR in order to make ends meet</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/journalism-jobs-are-precarious-financially-insecure-and-require-family-support-157012">Journalism jobs are precarious, financially insecure and require family support</a>
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</em>
</p>
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<p>At the same time, many cash-strapped newsrooms are <a href="https://muckrack.com/blog/2013/12/17/the-rise-of-prand-decline-of-journalism">turning to advertorials or sponsored content to make up for shrinking revenues</a>. As a result, more of the news media is implicated in spreading PR content that is often one-sided, incomplete information that favours corporate PR clients.</p>
<p>For example, when important information like COVID-19 vaccine efficacy is presented to the public directly from news releases, important scientific facts can be minimized or left out of the portrayal of the issue. That can contribute to eroding public trust in both the news story and the organization covered by it. <a href="https://reputationtoday.in/building-trust-is-at-the-core-of-public-relations/">While PR plays a role in ensuring the trust between organizations and the publics</a>, some PR practices can lead to the decline in trust in news. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A group of journalists holding microphones during a media scrum." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/395833/original/file-20210419-23-11503e8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cash-strapped newsrooms are increasingly turning to PR to make up for falling revenues.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other grey area PR tactics, like astroturfing, direct media attention to stories that journalists might not otherwise consider very newsworthy. <a href="https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2017-12-07/twitterbots">Astroturfing entails using social media to create fake online grassroots support for an organization or issue</a>. News outlets often cover a story that seems to be getting a lot of attention on social media. Unethical PR firms will often exploit this fact by buying likes, shares and engagements, creating fake hype for a specific product, person or organization that would otherwise not be covered at all.</p>
<h2>Rethinking the relationship</h2>
<p>Journalism isn’t perfect, but striking the balance between PR and journalism is beneficial for both parties. As this balance shifts in favour of public relations, it becomes harder for the public to trust news. That leads to more aggressive PR tactics, further eroding the public trust. Everyone loses.</p>
<p>Steps can be taken to rebalance the relationship between journalism and PR. Journalism must be strengthened, including local news, so that journalists have the resources to refuse sponsored content and push back against PR pitches. This means we all have a role to play in paying for the journalism we value, and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-ottawa-should-spend-its-50-million-to-support-local-news-93902">new funding models</a> should be developed to help provide resources to smaller and independent journalism in Canada and elsewhere.</p>
<p>To that end, <a href="https://indiegraf.com/news/introducing-indiegraf/">entrepreneurship networks like indiegraf</a> and other opportunities for independent journalism need to be supported by offering business training to journalism students, providing government resources to support journalism entrepreneurs and through our own habits. </p>
<p>Journalists who are brave enough to also become entrepreneurs by starting their own publications need us to pay for their content through Substack, Patreon or other subscription services. This will have a cascading impact as these journalist entrepreneurs create small businesses that can provide new job opportunities for other journalists and journalism students. </p>
<p>Finally, professional associations for PR practitioners like the Canadian Public Relations Society or the Public Relations Society of America need to do more to punish disreputable firms that use tactics like astroturfing to create fake influence. By strengthening journalism and putting limits on PR, we can reset the balance and create a healthier media ecosystem for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159022/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaigris Hodson receives funding from The Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Canada Research Chairs Program.</span></em></p>Public relations and journalism have always existed in an uneasy balance. Social media and low revenues are shifting that balance in favour of PR, creating a lack of trust in the news.Jaigris Hodson, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies, Royal Roads UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1225882019-11-19T22:03:53Z2019-11-19T22:03:53ZCanadian journalism in decline: Fewer permanent jobs, less security<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302550/original/file-20191119-111630-18yqnfp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C296%2C3000%2C1697&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, is the latest news company to announce job cuts.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Eduardo Lima</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Recent years have not been kind to journalism. In Canada, there are <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thecurrent/the-current-for-january-28-2016-1.3423319/after-massive-layoffs-how-can-canadian-journalism-survive-1.3423347">numerous examples</a> of reduced work schedules and publication closures, along with other signs of decline.</p>
<p>The latest round of job cuts comes from Torstar, publisher of the Toronto Star and dozens of other daily and community newspapers. The company has announced <a href="https://winnipeg.citynews.ca/2019/11/19/torstar-shutting-down-starmetro-papers-across-canada/">it’s closing its free daily StarMetro newspapers</a> in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary and Toronto. More than 70 jobs in total will be lost, including positions in the newsroom. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1196887068766560256"}"></div></p>
<p>Successive rounds of newsroom layoffs over the past decade have put many journalists out of work or prompted them to look for jobs outside the sector, and <a href="https://j-source.ca/article/canadian-media-guild-data-shows-10000-job-losses-in-past-five-years/">the Canadian Media Guild</a> suggests that the number of journalists working in this country has rapidly fallen. </p>
<p>Yet data from Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey show that the number of journalists in Canada has risen slightly, in absolute terms, over the past 30 years. <a href="https://www.cjc-online.ca/index.php/journal/article/view/3347">As outlined in my study</a> co-authored with Dwayne Winseck, Professor at Carleton University, the Labour Force Survey reports that the number of journalists rose to 11,700 in 2017 from 9,959 in 1987. </p>
<p>The steepest, while unsteady, increase occurred during the past 20 years. This is precisely the period during which the internet emerged as a prominent feature of the media landscape in Canada and globally. </p>
<p>Of course, these are absolute numbers. Let’s look at the numbers relative to the working population. In 1987, journalists represented about <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-005-m/75-005-m2016001-eng.htm">0.08 per cent</a> of the total working population. In 2017, they were <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1410002701">0.06 per cent</a>. </p>
<p>At the same time, there are limitations to the Labour Force Survey, including a risk of variability when industries as small as journalism are examined.</p>
<p>A range of <a href="https://www.ourcommons.ca/Committees/en/CHPC/StudyActivity?studyActivityId=8800976">public inquiries</a> and <a href="https://ppforum.ca/publications/mind-the-gaps/">reports</a> have focused on Canadian journalism, some <a href="https://shatteredmirror.ca/wp-content/uploads/theShatteredMirror.pdf">citing concerns</a> about “exactly how many jobs have been lost in journalism — and how much frustrated talent has fled.” </p>
<p>A more nuanced understanding of the state of the situation lends itself to better, more measured, policy proposals for media and journalism and a clearer understanding of how Canadian journalism is faring in a digital world. </p>
<h2>Breaking down the numbers</h2>
<p>The data show that the nature of journalistic employment in Canada has changed substantially. The Labour Force Survey dataset provides information about the number of journalists who are permanently employed and employed by news organizations. </p>
<p>Journalists employed by news organizations are <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-543-g/2012001/part-partie3-eng.htm">those who consider their primary job to be working for an organization</a>, in contrast to self-employment (freelance work). Permanently employed journalists are workers at outlets whose job is “one that is expected to last as long as the employee wants it, business conditions permitting.”</p>
<iframe title="Number of journalists employed in Canada&nbsp;" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-1mzpq" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/1mzpq/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="400" width="100%"></iframe>
<p>In the first decade (1987-96) of the dataset, about five per cent of journalists were freelancers, in contrast to roughly 17 per cent in the most recent 10 years. </p>
<p>The percentage of journalists permanently employed by organizations has also fallen in recent years to 60 to 70 per cent of the total number of journalists of the dataset, from approximately 70 to 80 per cent in the early years. (Statistics Canada only provided data concerning the number of permanently employed journalists in Canada from 1997 onwards.)</p>
<p>In other words, fewer journalists are working for organizations and in permanent positions. </p>
<p>There has also been a substantial increase in advertising, marketing and public relations workers employed in Canada. Further data from the Labour Force Survey show that the number of these workers has climbed to near 132,000 in 2017, from 41,382 in 1987. That’s an increase to <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410002701">0.67 per cent</a> of the working population from <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-005-m/75-005-m2016001-eng.htm">0.34 per cent</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=98%2C76%2C2770%2C2151&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=446&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/298188/original/file-20191022-55685-1t1y58s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Québecor president Pierre-Karl Péladeau, right, speaks at a legislature committee on the future of media in August 2019. France Lauzière, president of TVA, left.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Undoubtedly, there’s been a sharp growth in the number of people employed with the aim to persuade, rather than inform. In different terms, while journalists in Canada are working in increasingly precarious and impermanent positions, they are also being outnumbered by a huge growth in the advertising, marketing and public relations sector. </p>
<iframe title="Number of journalists and advertising, marketing and PR workers in Canada" aria-label="Interactive line chart" id="datawrapper-chart-Z6ecF" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/Z6ecF/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;" height="400" width="100%"></iframe>
<h2>Rethinking the state of Canadian journalism</h2>
<p>These data and trends shed some light on the current state of journalism in Canada and also raise some important questions. </p>
<p>The data show that some of the common narratives about journalistic work in this country are inaccurate. The focus on journalism jobs tends to emphasize the number of jobs lost in Canadian journalism over those gained. </p>
<p>Although <a href="http://mediaincanada.com/2019/06/24/vice-quebec-cuts-20-jobs/">there have been layoffs</a> at digital-first news outlets, the statistics suggest that there may have been an increase in journalistic jobs in emerging news organizations, alongside the slew of <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-postmedia-to-close-more-local-newspapers-cut-staff-by-10-per-cent/">reported cuts</a> that have taken place at traditional news firms. </p>
<p>There’s the possibility that there are individuals who self-identify as journalists while holding jobs that would not traditionally be considered journalism, such as social media managers working at news outlets. </p>
<p>But work as a journalist in Canada has also become less secure.</p>
<p>What should be done in response to these observations? At the very least, Statistics Canada should collect and distinguish information about the types of outlets (print, broadcast, digital) that employ Canadian journalists. </p>
<p>Academic researchers should aim to better track the new and different ways that people work as journalists in the digital age, such as podcasters or bloggers. </p>
<p>Finally, reporters, politicians, academics and the public should use the available data to develop a more nuanced understanding of the situation to help influence what policy responses are best taken.</p>
<p>[ <em><a href="https://theconversation.com/ca/newsletters?utm_source=TCCA&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=thanksforreading">Thanks for reading! We can send you The Conversation’s stories every day in an informative email. Sign up today.</a></em> ]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122588/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sabrina Wilkinson was funded by an Ontario Graduate Scholarship when she conducted this research. She is currently funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p>The nature of journalistic work in Canada has changed substantially. Data and trends shed some light on the current state of journalism in Canada.Sabrina Wilkinson, PhD candidate, Communication, Goldsmiths, University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1139782019-03-21T20:55:21Z2019-03-21T20:55:21ZGovernment funding for journalism: To what end?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265117/original/file-20190321-93063-1ttksq2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Finance Minister Bill Morneau being interviewed after delivering a budget that promised financial aid for journalism.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal budget has finally answered some of the questions about the Liberal government’s plans to subsidize the news business, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/news-industry-economic-update-1.4915113">which were first floated late last year</a>. But <a href="https://ipolitics.ca/2019/03/19/budget-2019-budget-reveals-details-of-governments-news-media-fund/">the details revealed by Finance Minister Bill Morneau</a> raises many more questions about Ottawa’s reasons for supporting journalism.</p>
<p>There will be a 25-per-cent refundable tax credit (up to $13,750 per employee) for those producing “original written news content.” Broadcasters, or any <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/periodical-fund.html">organization getting aid to publishers under the Canadian Periodical Fund</a>, will not be eligible for the tax credit.</p>
<p>Eligible recipients must be public corporations with shares traded on a Canadian stock exchange and controlled by Canadians. If not publicly traded, the company must be 75 per cent owned by Canadian citizens, incorporated and reside in Canada with 75 per cent of its directors Canadian citizens, and Canadians owning 75 per cent of any trust or partnership.</p>
<h2>Not for specialized publications</h2>
<p>Recipients must be general interest news publications not focused on a specific topic such as sports, business, entertainment or industry news. Yet it is precisely those specialized publications that are persuading audiences to pay for distinctive and high quality information online that has depth and can’t be found elsewhere.</p>
<p>As well, the publications must not be primarily promotional and must not have connections to any government or Crown corporation.</p>
<p>But there’s lots we don’t know, starting with some basic question that should be asked about any government subsidy: What is the objective? What are the results it is supposed to achieve?</p>
<p>It is obviously designed to assist traditional, general interest newspapers, but to do what? Keep them on life support and then what? Allow them to convert their print operations to digital? It’s notable that the budget did not designate eligible jobs as those directly related to digital transformation.</p>
<h2>No future for print</h2>
<p>Printed newspapers do not have a long-term future and <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/after-133-years-la-presse-publishes-final-print-edition-1.3740026">some historic titles in Canada have already made the switch to digital only</a>. Will a subsidy help print newspapers return to the good old days of large profits? Is print circulation growing at any newspaper in Canada?</p>
<p>These are all good questions to ask — and even better ones to answer before doing anything.</p>
<p>There’s lots more we don’t know.</p>
<p><a href="https://shatteredmirror.ca/">The problems of mainstream media have been coming for a long time</a>. The immediate crisis is the collapse of print and digital advertising to the benefit of Facebook and Google, which can offer targeted ads that costs a fraction of print advertising and also gives advertisers specific audience data. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/265119/original/file-20190321-93063-1i83r21.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Newspaper executives like Paul Godfrey of Postmedia have been asking for government assistance for years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Dennette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Circulation declining</h2>
<p>As advertising has disappeared, the audience must become the main source of funding for any news organization’s long-term survival. But <a href="http://j-source.ca/article/democracy-and-the-decline-of-newspapers/">circulation has also been declining everywhere for years</a> and <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/445586/regional-share-daily-newspaper-readership-age-canada/">few people under 30 read newspapers and aren’t about to start</a>.</p>
<p>Where do those audiences get the information they used to get from newspapers? Are they satisfied? What do they miss? We don’t know. If nothing, subsidies won’t fix that problem.</p>
<p>Similarly, the second government proposal — non-refundable tax credits up to $75 for subscribers to digital publications that meet the same Canadian rules as for labour subsidies — doesn’t solve anyone’s problem.</p>
<p>Boutique tax credits are bad tax policy. They don’t persuade people to do things they weren’t doing before. They overwhelmingly reward those who are already doing whatever the tax credit is designed to encourage. That’s why <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/childrens-fitness-tax-credit-cut-explained-1.4011081">the Trudeau government killed the children’s sports tax credit</a> and <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/did-trudeaus-budget-just-sock-it-to-transit-riders/article34394759/">the transit pass tax credit introduced by the Harper Conservative government</a>.</p>
<h2>Few pay for news</h2>
<p>More importantly, subscription tax credits don’t address the problem. Public opinion research in recent years has consistently shown that only <a href="http://j-source.ca/article/trust-in-the-news-is-substantially-up-in-canada/">about nine per cent of Canadians are prepared to pay for news online</a>. That’s because they see news available for free everywhere online and they have limited or no ability to differentiate between quality and commodity.</p>
<p>Lowering the monthly price of a subscription from $15 to $10 through a tax credit won’t change many minds about subscribing as long as the alternative for the audience is news for nothing.</p>
<p>The budget also lays out principles under which news organizations can become charitable institutions that would be able to grant tax receipts to donors. Time will tell if this is an effective idea.</p>
<p>Historically in the United States, First Amendment rights and related media issues have received broad philanthropic support — often from families that made their fortunes in the newspaper business. There is no comparable history in Canada, where philanthropy has been primarily directed to social, cultural and educational causes.</p>
<h2>What about the CBC?</h2>
<p>Finally, there is a large question that the Liberal government has consistently ignored.</p>
<p>What about the public broadcaster? What role does the federal government see for CBC/RadioCanada in all this? CBC/Radio Canada has already moved aggressively into the digital world, competing with newspapers online for news, opinion and — most important to the private sector — online advertising dollars.</p>
<p>Does the prospect of competing against the relatively deep pockets of the CBC prevent entrepreneurs from launching news start-ups in communities across the country? Should government place fences around the activities of the broadcaster it owns?</p>
<p>Until we know the answers to all these questions surrounding subsidies for the media, why do it?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/113978/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Waddell is a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University and publisher of J-Source, a venture led by the journalism programs at Ryerson University and Carleton University and supported by the post-secondary journalism programs at member institutions of J- Schools Canada/EcolesJ (j-schoolscanada.ca) as well as by a group of donors.</span></em></p>The newspaper industry has been asking the federal government for financial assistance for years. Now that Ottawa has revealed its plan, what purpose will it serve to sustain news organizations?Christopher Waddell, Professor, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1074352018-11-25T17:23:16Z2018-11-25T17:23:16ZFunding journalism means defining who’s a journalist – not a bad thing<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247073/original/file-20181123-149338-u0lkv5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Canadian government wants to offer financial assistance to the news industry. How will it define what's journalism?</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The federal government’s recent announcement of <a href="https://www.budget.gc.ca/fes-eea/2018/docs/statement-enonce/chap02-en.html#s2">financial support for news organizations</a> has been met with understandably wide-ranging reactions — from relief to skepticism, and worse. </p>
<p>Among other measures, the package will incentivize consumers to sign up for digital news subscriptions and subsidize publishers through a tax credit on salaries paid to journalists.</p>
<p>It’s good news for imperilled news businesses, but even some who share the government’s expressed concern over the sustainability of independent information about public affairs have expressed <a href="http://j-source.ca/article/heres-what-the-journalism-industry-has-to-say-about-morneaus-600-million-bailout/">misgivings</a>. The doubters include many journalists — the very people who stand most to gain from the promised support. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1065367611674783744"}"></div></p>
<p>So what gives? It’s all about definition — and independence. </p>
<p>The argument for taxpayer subsidies rests on an immutable truth: It’s become tough, and sometimes impossible, to turn a profit by providing communities with verified information about public affairs.</p>
<h2>People want free info</h2>
<p>People want information to come free, like so much on the internet, and the economics of online advertising favours <a href="https://nmc-mic.ca/news/research/google-and-facebook-continue-to-dominate-the-canadian-digital-advertising-market/">Facebook and Google</a> over news providers. </p>
<p>This is a problem, according to Ottawa’s fall economic update, because:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“A strong and independent news media is crucial to a well-functioning democracy. It empowers citizens by providing them with the information they need to make informed decisions on important issues, and also serves to hold powerful institutions — including governments — to account by bringing to light information that might not otherwise be made available to the public.” </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Principled counter-arguments to the government’s plan, however, likewise hinge on a perceived threat to the independence of a free press. To explain, here’s a deceptively simple political-philosophy pop quiz.</p>
<p>Which of the following statements is true?</p>
<p>● Democracy functions best when the relationship of journalists and governments is one of tension, rather than interdependence.</p>
<p>● In a healthy democracy, governments today need to spend taxpayer money to sustain a free and independent press.</p>
<p>● Freedom of the press means that no one needs the government’s permission to produce and publish journalism.</p>
<p>The answer may be “all of the above,” because contrary to first appearances, the three statements aren’t contradictory. </p>
<h2>Public support isn’t new</h2>
<p>The United Kingdom, for example, is arguably home to the world’s rowdiest, most indomitable reporters and editors. Thousands of that country’s journalists benefit from a legislated universal tax (the so-called <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/aboutthebbc/entries/9637e45d-c96c-36c6-9e3f-af141e81cab4">radio licence</a>) that’s kept BBC’s news division vigorous enough to boast a <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2018/bbc-global-audience">global digital audience</a> nearly 10 times bigger than Canada’s entire population.</p>
<p>Closer to home, the federal government has long provided <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/funding/periodical-fund.html">grants</a> to magazines both newsy and not, but not to daily papers, private broadcasters or news websites. And hundreds of journalism
jobs at <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/liberals-pledge-675-million-in-cbc-funding/article29354285/">CBC-Radio Canada</a> depend for their continuance on the largesse (or <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbc-budget-cut-by-115m-over-3-years-1.1147096">otherwise</a>) of annual federal
budgets, because there’s no Canadian equivalent to the BBC’s longer-term legislated assurance.</p>
<h2>Who’s a journalist?</h2>
<p>Now, the government plans to extend public-purse subsidies directly to the salaries of privately employed journalists. </p>
<p>But who and what is a journalist? This question has stumped some tough minds over the years, including that of former Chief Justice Beverly McLaughlin.</p>
<p>In 2009, she wrote <a href="https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc-csc/scc-csc/en/item/7837/index.do">a landmark libel judgment</a> that lit a cherished green light for investigative reporters by holding them accountable for the fairness of their methods, rather than demanding literal truth of every word. The new protocol was based on a British precedent that lawyers call <a href="https://rrj.ca/the-law-of-responsible-journalism/defence">“responsible journalism.”</a></p>
<p>This straightforward moniker succinctly captured “the essence of the defence,” McLaughlin allowed, but instead of citing the term “responsible journalism,” she chose a markedly clunkier name for Canada’s version: “Responsible communication in the public interest.” </p>
<p>Why? Because “the traditional media are rapidly being complemented by new ways of communicating on matters of public interest, many of them online, which do not involve journalists.” </p>
<h2>Dearth of local news</h2>
<p>So, Chief Justice, one might ask — what is a journalist? On this, McLaughlin declined to pass judgment.</p>
<p>In 2011, the problem of defining journalists scuppered the country’s first substantial proposal of government support for news media. Laval University Prof. Dominique Payette delivered a <a href="http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/index.php?id=3355&tx_lesecrits_pi1%5Becrit%5D=592&cHash=10a75996d801a5fb86c6a10b2fe460ac">carefully researched and well-argued report</a> to the government of Québec describing a crisis in the availability of local news that escaped attention in the rest of Canada until some years later.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247085/original/file-20181124-149308-i7tdut.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=507&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A proposal for government to legally recognize the profession of journalism was first proposed in Québec in 2011, but the idea was met with derision from many journalists.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Payette recommended legal recognition of professional status for journalists and taxpayer-funded benefits to organizations that employ members of this order. </p>
<h2>Shot down in Québec</h2>
<p>The idea was initially welcomed by Québec’s government and by many journalists, but eventually got dropped due to <a href="http://j-source.ca/article/titre-professionnel-on-ne-peut-pas-renoncer-pour-de-si-mauvaises-raisons-dominique-payette/">a fractious debate </a> among journalists about how it could be implemented. Opinion among anglophone journalists, meanwhile, was solidly <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/news/new-rules-for-quebec-journalists-are-a-bad-idea/wcm/c9b098a6-503d-45a0-8d0c-a393198379ac">dismissive</a> — many persisted in misunderstanding the proposal as implying a required “licence” for practising journalism.</p>
<p>Coincidentally, around that time, my research was focused on a search for signs of consensus about what defines journalism. But the only consensus to be found was that a definition was neither needed nor wanted. </p>
<p>For most Canadian journalists, a free press means anyone should legally be allowed to describe their work as journalism. End of story. </p>
<h2>Drawing distinctions</h2>
<p>When I published my theory-building paper on the topic in 2014, I was careful to defer to the prevailing inclusive point of view. I made the case for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2014.882483">defining journalism</a> with reference to, among other things, the <em>work</em> of “independent” discovery. As for defining journalists (the workers rather than the work), my argument discreetly evaded its own obvious conclusion — if journalism can be defined, then a journalist is simply a person who practises journalism. </p>
<p>The inclusive position will no longer be tenable once the government offers tax breaks to companies that employ journalists. The government proposes to establish “an independent panel” to “define and promote core journalism standards, define professional journalism, and determine eligibility.” And who will be on this vital panel of definers? Journalists, of course. </p>
<p>Circularity aside, this might be viable as a short-term pragmatic solution. Most appointees to the independent panel will likely be current or former minions of legacy news brands, disinclined to recognize traces of their traditions in nimbler, edgier upstarts aimed at unconventional audiences.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=444&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/247086/original/file-20181124-149341-1jc57oh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=557&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Paul Godfrey, CEO of Postmedia Network, Canada’s largest newspaper company, has joined other publishers in lobbying Ottawa for financial assistance. Godfrey has in turn been criticized for giving himself large bonuses while laying off journalists across the country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But attention to diversity and terms of appointment will foster open minds and a sense of fairness. So too will a clear mandate, crafted through non-partisan consultation that favours neutral criteria, perhaps including membership of either the francophone <a href="https://conseildepresse.qc.ca">Québec</a> media council or its anglophone <a href="http://mediacouncil.ca">national</a> counterpart. </p>
<p>But long-term, there is a more intuitive and less compromising way by which professions “define” themselves, set “standards” and determine “eligibility” for government recognition.</p>
<h2>A time for self-regulation</h2>
<p>This more conventional system for managing professional recognition works well enough for <a href="http://www.peo.on.ca/">engineers</a>, <a href="http://glcanada.org/resources/practicing-in-canada/governing-bodies/">lawyers</a>, <a href="https://www.scc.ca/en/accreditation/product-process-and-service-certification/regulatory-advisory-councils">plumbers</a> and many others.</p>
<p>Governance for these professions and trades does not involve government-appointed panels, whose own biases must eventually collude or collide with those of their effective employers to foster actual distrust or subtle corruption.</p>
<p>Rather, these other socially important professionals are governed by their peers in legally recognized official bodies usually known as colleges or institutes. Their central goal: To protect the integrity and independence of their profession. </p>
<p>The system is called self-regulation and it already applies to journalists in <a href="http://www.ccijp.net">France</a>, <a href="http://www.odg.it">Italy</a> and many other industrialized <a href="https://ethicaljournalismnetwork.org/resources/publications/trust-factor/introduction">democracies</a> that boast markedly undeferential news cultures. </p>
<p>If self-regulation came to Canada, journalists choosing to enrol would not morph into humble servants, ready to trade away their constitutionally guaranteed freedoms. And those same freedoms would continue to protect, likewise, the right of conscientious non-registrants
to publish news (whether verified or fake).</p>
<p>In short, a system of self-regulation could do no harm and much good. Mostly, it would simply recognize the plain reality that journalists’ work is vital enough to foster, distinct enough to define, and, today more than ever, vulnerable enough to defend.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/107435/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This article is in part the fruit of research funded by a SSHRC Insight Grant and of previous research on media accountability funded by Newspapers Canada and Mitacs, which recommended and led to to establishment of the National Newsmedia Council. As a journalism professor, Ivor Shapiro also acknowledges working for an institution that could benefit from enhanced public recognition of journalism as a profession. </span></em></p>The Canadian government has announced a new policy of providing financial assistance to the country’s news industry. With any financial support will come a need to define who exactly is a journalist.Ivor Shapiro, Professor, School of Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.