A large majority of Québec newspapers have formed a coalition to demand that the government establish a funding program for the industry in order to assist publishers in transitioning from print to digital platforms.
The newly formed Coalition pour la pérennité de la presse d’information au Québec (coalition to ensure the long-term survival of print news media in Québec) represents 146 newspapers in the province, including Le Devoir, Groupe Capitales Médias, Hebdos Québec and TC Transcontinental.
According to a press release, “the Coalition’s mandate is twofold: to raise public awareness of the importance of maintaining healthy local print news media, and to secure temporary government assistance to help those media continue the shift to digital.”
“The members of the Coalition call upon the Government of Québec to grant ‘cultural exception’ to the province’s print news industry,” explained Brian Myles, spokesperson for the Coalition and Director of Le Devoir. “Our dailies and weeklies are vital to preserving a diversity of media voices, enriching debate, and accompanying communities of readers in their daily lives.
