Don’t become the story…don’t become the story….don’t become the story.
This journalism-school adage for reporters feels as important as it is impossible to avoid amid yet another round of mass layoffs across the media industry. Earlier this month, Bell Media made the “garbage” decision of cutting 4,800 jobs across all levels of the company—the media conglomerate’s largest cut in 30 years. Then, Vice Media announced plans to lay off hundreds of its employees and shutter its news department, telling employees in a memo that it was “no longer cost-effective” to carry on as before. If only it ended there: Both cuts followed the death—or gutting—of publications like BuzzFeed News, Jezebel and Sports Illustrated, along with cuts at Rogers amid Shaw takeover and warnings of cuts coming to the CBC.
Trudeau was “furious” and “pissed off” at the Bell cuts, which cost CTV Atlantic all their weekday news shows at noon, as well as weekend evening news shows. (As added salt to the wound, the cuts also came in the wake of $40 million that Trudeau’s government gave to Bell as regulatory relief.)
Bell’s top legal and regulatory officer Robert Malcomson lobs the blame back to Trudeau—specifically in the feds dragging their feet on implementing Bill C-18, known as the Online News Act, meant to obligate tech giants like Facebook and Google to pay for running Canadian news on their sites; and Bill C-11, which updates the Canadian Broadcasting Act to tag and promote Canadian content on online streaming platforms like Youtube and Netflix. (The latter is a controversial piece of legislation, which critics say will affect what people see on platforms like YouTube and TikTok by promoting some Canadian content over others.)
Regardless of who ends up with the hot potato, Bell president and CEO Mirko Bibic wrote an open letter in June 2023 calling the media industry “unforgiving to those who don’t adapt.” In Bell’s case, that meant divesting in radio and locally-focused broadcast news. The internet has unquestionably transformed how news is produced, read and discussed. Fake news was Collins Dictionary’s word(s) of the year in 2017. All of us have had to change.
Heck, look at us: The Coast started in 1993 as an alt-weekly paper, only to switch to all-digital after the COVID-19 pandemic put the nail in the coffin of our old ad revenue model. We found our footing—then, we joined Overstory Media Group in 2022, looking to tap into a network of newsrooms who were facing—and solving—the same challenges we were in. The industry’s pressures haven’t been easy: We’ve lost great reporters, too, and we wish we could have kept them. But through it all, we’re still here—and still driven by our commitment to fact-based and fearless journalism that helps people find community, “disrupt systems that govern us and show up for local culture–We are responsible to our readers and membership who share our belief that a free and independent press can build a just and thriving city.”
On Friday, Feb. 16, Trudeau unironically announced a Mar. 31 end to the Local Journalism Initiative program that funds hundreds of civic journalists across the country.
In an interview with the CBC, Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada—one of six groups administering LJI funding, says there are over 400 LJI reporters across Canada at nearly 300 media outlets, serving 1,400 local communities. “Frankly, there are no other current federal funding initiatives that can replace it,” Deegan says. I’m an LJI reporter with The Coast covering education. My contract expires in September. If the LJI program ends, this job will likely end, too.
So, what’s wrong with journalism and how do we fix it? Are people not consuming the news? Has social media eroded trust in truthfulness online? Does it cost too much to subscribe to what you read?
In December 2023, Statistics Canada published the results of a survey on concerns with misinformation. Takeaways include: 59% of Canadians said they were “very” or “extremely concerned” about misinformation online, and 43% found it harder to distinguish between truth and fiction compared with three years ago. This follows the publication of survey results from 2023 showing trust in traditional media (print and television) is much higher than trust in online sources.
Is the onus on readers to fact-check the news, especially online, becoming too great a challenge?
We asked readers in our Feb. 13 newsletter how you would solve Journalism in Canada? Here are some responses on what newsrooms can do to maintain trust and reader support going into an uncertain future.
Be clear what’s ‘hard’ news vs opinion writing
“There has to be bias-free news reporting,” Coast reader Georgena T writes. “Give us just facts and no opinions, unless specified as such. [And no] cherry-picked news items that favour one political party over the other. The news-for-profit model needs to be removed.”
“There have to be very high standards about what can actually be called ‘news’ or a news program,” one Coast reader writes. “Only those with the highest standards should be permitted to call themselves a news program, and everything else should come with a disclaimer of ‘opinion,’ ‘entertainment,’ or whatever it is they are trying to pass off as news. It’s so important!”
Journalism shouldn’t polarize, show bias
“There is very little investigative journalism going on,” Coast reader Roland M. writes. “Most news outlets seem to be pro-Liberal and refuse to do even a little critical review of bills or legislation … Also, it seems Canadian media is preoccupied with the Trumpster and as a result ignores a lot of things happening here. Further I believe the conflict between Facebook and the Canadian government benefits the government of the day, which is another reason the Liberals are not in hurry to resolve the issue.”
“We also need journalists to stop sensationalizing the news!!” Coast reader Brenda L. writes.
Government funding for a free press
“The onus is on the government to provide funding for media outlets, not microtransactions or pushing the cost off on consumers,” Coast reader Sarah H. writes. “Not every citizen cares about the news, but we all need to support honest and fair journalism. All the government accomplished by increasing costs to Google, etc. is restricting the services offered by those companies in Canada (for example, Google just relented this week to allow Canadians to use Gemini, despite our government decreasing their profit margin).”
“Fund!! Journalism!!” Elizabeth-Anne M. writes.
“The big companies should pay their share,” Coast reader Barb L. writes, referencing Google and Facebook (Meta) and Bill C-18.
“A Basic Income Guarantee would be a good place to start,” writes Coast reader Sandra T.
Micropayment subscription options—pay for a day of news
“I used to be able to buy a newspaper and read the day’s news (which, I know I can still do with an e-edition—or at least, I think I can),” Coast reader Bridget R. writes. “Why can’t I pay a small fee to be able to read the equivalent of what’s in an e-paper on the web? Or pay a one-day (and one-time) access fee where I don’t have to cancel a subscription before the end of the month?”
“I like the micropayment model. You could also allow folks to purchase bulk amounts of credits to use up toward access to specific articles or features,” Coast reader Michael M. writes. “This would allow you to create a series to follow for a set number of credits. Not every article appeals to me as a reader, so this allows me to choose my content.”
“I’m intrigued by the idea of micro-transactions. Paying for a single article is one possibility, but I also like the idea of being able to buy temporary access to a news site for one day at a time,” Coast reader Georgia A. writes. “One of the things I like about physical newspapers (and there are many things I like about them) is the option of just buying today’s news instead of forking over a larger sum for a whole month or year.”
Grow media literacy, grow trust
“I think in general, the public is getting very complacent about access to information and real journalism,” one Coast reader writes. “Even now, we can’t tell the difference between something that is true and something that is false … With AI coming very quickly, it will be even harder for the public to discern what’s true and what’s not. If it seems plausible, [people are] willing to take it at face value. This is particularly true if it aligns with our own biases and opinions. Perhaps even more dangerous is the number of bad actors who are willing to take advantage of our naivety and laziness in thinking. So—journalism is really a public good, and the government and taxpayers should treat it as such. It’s not quite as important as clean air, water, and food. But it does ensure access to those things.”
“Canadians need to counter the explosion of ‘misinformation’ coming from countless sources (domestic and USA-based, as well as from hostile countries such as Russia and China), by strengthening responsible, professional journalism within our borders,” one Coast reader writes.
Invest in local news / independent news
“Honest, factually accurate news is more critical now than ever before,” one Coast reader writes. “In the era of ‘fake news,’ we need our most trusted news organizations, nationally, provincially and locally, to continue. Bell making such significant cuts is extremely concerning.”
“Without a supported, active journalism sector, we are at the mercy of advertisers and dark money that are more than willing to destroy our democracy,” writes Coast reader Holly I. “I have lived in the best of times; I’d like my grandchildren to have the same opportunity.”
“We need to recognize the importance of the free press to preserve democracy and fund it as a matter of national security, at a time when AI/foreign countries are interfering using fake news,” Coast reader N.S. writes.
“The news should not be seen as money making or something only the rich can afford … The current funding model focuses on individual value and sees this as entertainment, but our ability to access the news is in the charter of freedoms and it is a right that protects our democracy and ensures that everyone has equal access to news that are produced by journalists who follow a code of ethics. Canada is at a turning point and we need to advocate for increased public funding to protect journalism that is under attack across the world.”
“Not sharing local news within our communities, territories and even provinces means we are moving in the wrong direction,” one Coast reader writes. “We, the people, will lose. Corporate greed, as usual, will win.”
Tax-funded media shouldn’t turn profits
“I should not be giving [tax] money to [bankroll] any private newspaper, TV station or radio station,” one Coast reader writes. “The companies are there to make money; therefore, if any company that has shares or shareholders can’t make it, I should not be giving my money to keep any company afloat—and if they go broke, so be it. If there is a very good reason for them to receive money, they should only get a loan that has to be paid back to the government in full in two years. If they don’t pay the full amount, they should be charged 2% above the Bank of Canada rate.”
“We need to stop giving money to publicly traded media companies that value executive pay and stock price above the quality of their news content,” one Coast reader writes.
“Government subsidies to news organizations invites bias in favour of the government,” Coast reader Richard G. writes. “Media has evolved—and news media must adapt to the new reality. Compete or die.”
This article appears in Feb 1-29, 2024.
