News Media Canada today announced the presentation of a proposal, in support of Canadian journalism, to Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly. The proposal has the support of News Media Canada membership—representing news media organizations serving big cities and small communities from coast to coast—along with staff and unions representing Canada’s newsrooms.
“The industry has come together in an unprecedented way to support Canadians’ continued access to real news,” said Bob Cox, Chair of the Board, News Media Canada. “Across the industry, we are working on longer-term solutions to sustain the critical function of Canadian journalism—keeping as many feet on the streets of our local communities, on the steps of town halls, at annual meetings, in courtrooms, and on the playing fields. We are calling upon government to continue its support of one of our Charter rights—freedom of the press—whose very existence is threatened.”
Canada’s largest employers of journalists in Canada and their unions, representing the vast majority of paid journalism jobs in this country, have come together to ask the government to modernize the existing Canada Periodical Fund to address the critical issues and crisis facing the dissemination of Canadian perspectives. The proposal will help allay the costs of always-on journalism and coverage of local issues, giving the industry more time to innovate and navigate through the challenge of preserving our distinctly Canadian voices.
“Canadian journalism needs this fund to help bear the costs of reporting the news, costs that are increasingly not supported by advertising sales because of Google and Facebook,” said Jerry Dias, Unifor National President, which represents 12,000 journalists and media workers across the country.
News Media Canada would like to acknowledge the role of the Public Policy Forum in assisting with the development of this proposal. The Forum brought together the industry, unions and digital-only publications in both French and English to forge this proposal, which builds off the Forum’s report The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age.
Overview of the Canadian Journalism Fund
- An expansion of the existing Canada Periodical Fund program—currently open to paid-circulation community newspapers—to cover daily and free community newspapers
- A rebate on Canadian journalism salaries and expenses
- A rebate on innovation investment in the future of journalism and dissemination of Canadian news
- In the case of disputes over qualification, a determination will be made by an independent body.
The Canadian Journalism Fund proposal does not include:
- executive compensation
- outsourced services
- legacy print production costs
- dividends, debt payments, etc.
Visit the News Media Canada website for more information and full details on the proposal.
About News Media Canada
News Media Canada is the voice of the print and digital media industry in Canada. We represent over 800 trusted titles in every province and territory.
News Media Canada was created in late 2016, as a product of the agreement by its members to merge the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) and the Canadian Community Newspapers Association (CCNA) into a single organization. Prior to this change, our organization was known as Newspapers Canada.
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For more information:
Bob Cox, Chair of the Board, News Media Canada
Office: 204-697-7547
Mobile: 204-795-8148
bob.cox@freepress.mb.ca
John Hinds, President and CEO, News Media Canada
(416) 923-0858
jhinds@newsmediacanada.ca
newsmediacanada.ca
