Watchdog Friends calls for emergency media fund

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting has urged the federal government to help prominent media outlets facing “imminent failure” due to falling revenues driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, pointing to a survey that shows a majority of Canadians somewhat support treating media collapses as an emergency and funding struggling outlets. The Nanos Survey, conducted for the watchdog group, shows 26 per cent of respondents support the government sending financial aid to failing providers, while a further 41 per cent somewhat supports it. Just five per cent of respondents were unsure, while 28 per cent opposed or somewhat opposed the idea. Thirty-six per cent of respondents agreed the government should treat media bankruptcies as an emergency, with 26 per cent somewhat agreeing. A combined 29 per cent either disagreed or somewhat disagreed, with 10 per cent of respondents unsure. The organisation has proposed the government create an “emergency journalism stabilization fund” where the CBC/Radio Canada would distribute funds to private media outlets for the freelance creation of news content, which would be able to be used by all media organizations. Multiple newspapers have suspended operations due to COVID-19, and Friends executive director Daniel Bernhard said nearly 500 jobs had been lost in traditional media since the pandemic began. He said further action on top of already announced tax credits and wage subsidies was needed to save outlets. Bernhard said in a release that the fund would “provide a needed buffer to insulate journalists” from receiving payments directly from the government they were reporting on. He also called for “long overdue” structural changes to prevent Facebook Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google from “unfairly dominating the advertising market at the direct expense of Canadian journalism.” The Nanos survey found 74 per cent of respondents thought content on social media platforms was less trustworthy than that published by traditional media. “Canadians are very clear that when the stakes are this high, only professional journalists can be trusted to deliver the truth,” Bernhard said in the release. “It’s time for Ottawa to end the unfair advantages and preferential tax policies that help untrusted companies like Facebook sink Canada’s newsrooms.” The survey also showed 72 per cent of respondents either supported or somewhat supported the CBC receiving increased funding. Nanos polled 1,036 Canadians through phones and online between March 30 and April 2. The survey has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

Watchdog Friends calls for emergency media fund

Brief | April 6, 2020

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Watchdog Friends calls for emergency media fund

Brief | April 6, 2020

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