‘Levelling the Digital Playing Field’ Federal Lobby Week

Calling all community newspaper publishers!

We need your support on ourĀ Levelling the Digital Playing FieldĀ initiative.

News Media Canada member community newspapers are asked to contact their MP and to request a virtual meeting the week of November 30thĀ as part of theĀ 2020 Federal Lobby Week.

Our virtualĀ Lobby WeekĀ meetingsĀ will be an important touch point in our campaign to support the statement by the Minister of Heritage indicating that he will introduce legislation to require Facebook and Google to pay for the content they use from publishers and to negotiate and compensate publishers fairly for advertising.

How to Set up a Meeting with your MP:

  • Check our list that matches MPs andĀ News Media CanadaĀ member publishers byĀ clicking here. Please consult the list to find your MPā€™s contact information.
  • Write a personalized email to the MP in your area using ourĀ email template.
  • Join your regional pre-briefing video calls on November 23/24thĀ for a prep session on the meeting script and how to conduct your scheduled MP meetings. We will send invites to you for these briefing sessions.

We also have resources to support you once you have scheduled a meeting with your MP. You can access the following material onĀ our siteĀ or by clicking the links below.

  • Fact SheetĀ ā€“ this highlightsĀ Who We Are,Ā The Challenge We Are FacingĀ and ourĀ Call to Action.
  • Executive SummaryĀ ā€“ this 6 page summary highlights the key findings from theĀ Levelling the Digital Playing FieldĀ report.
  • Meeting ScriptĀ ā€“ we are developing a script for your MP meeting (available next week).
  • Print AdĀ ā€“ we are producing a print ad for you to run the week of November 30 to educate your readers (available next week).

And after your meeting we will provide you with the following resources:

  • Thank You LetterĀ ā€“ after your meeting send a personalized letter to your MP (available next week)
  • Meeting Tracking SheetĀ ā€“ let us know how your meeting went with this tracking sheet that can be emailed back to Kelly at News Media Canada (klevson@newsmediacanada.ca).

Our community connections are a significant advantage. Letā€™s use them to demonstrate how important it is that MPs support our publications.