Can government save the news?

The debate makes some journalists justifiably uneasy

A predictable blanket of unease settled over many journalists this week in the wake of an announcement from the federal government to help Canadian news agencies.

And with it, the debate over journalistic independence bubbles up again.

Conservative MP Michelle Rempel was among the louder voices critical of the plan, which will cost taxpayers $600 million over five years.

“Honestly, with this, free speech in Canada dies,” warned Rempel on Twitter of the plan that will give a tax break to digital news subscribers, a refundable tax credit to news agencies, and let non-profit media organizations give charitable receipts to donors.

In keeping with the proud tradition of over-the-top political rhetoric, she added that the government “has just nationalized new journalism.”

It’s all a bit of a stretch, in my opinion, but the mere idea that government officials could help the journalists who cover them makes many justifiably queasy.

Can we do our jobs honestly in such a situation?

It’s a legitimate question, and I do not know the answer, but I know this: Journalists care about optics, and the optics here aren’t the best.

That said, subsidies already exist for some Canadian news organizations through the Canadian Periodical Fund and have for decades without apparent incident.

Meanwhile, news agencies continue to close across the country, and those that remain open have fewer journalists covering their communities. Never mind the highbrow discussions about the threat to democracy — which are real and terrifying. The simple fact is that communities are only as strong as their local media. Something must be done, and this isn’t enough.

The government already has before it a long list of possible solutions, but most have so far been ignored by the Liberal government. Ironically, many do not cost taxpayers a dime.

They include: • Providing copyright protection for newspapers. As it stands, our content is too often looted and shared over the internet for free.

• Levelling the advertising playing field. The bulk of Canadian advertising dollars that once went to Canadian news agencies are now going across the border to Facebook and Google, which do not pay taxes in this country or face the same barriers as Canadian companies do.

• The CBC and cbc.ca are not competing fairly. The CBC does a terrific job, but it gets lots of taxpayer help and competes with organizations such as this one for both advertising and readers. Other countries have similar circumstances, but have tried to compensate for it. Canada has not (yet).

Meanwhile, the Canadian government already subsidizes many other industries, so those who argue against subsidizing news organizations should be at least consistent, and many Canadians are reluctant to open that can of worms.

Are newspapers more important than milk or oil or steel or cars?

I know what I think, but then again, I am biased.