Digital giants profit from local journalists’ work
Canadian publishers want federal help to level the online playing field
The Examiner’s journalists work hard every day to cover local news and sports. The paper’s sales team helps local advertisers connect with the people who read those stories. This is the way traditional media has worked in Peterborough for more than a century. For decades, it was a good system.
That system is broken now. The rise of American digital giants like Facebook and Google has hurt Canadian media. These U.S. companies rely on the content Canadian journalists produce to generate billions in revenues for themselves, putting traditional media in a strange situation. We have more readers than ever before, but that isn’t translating into revenues, because the platforms bringing us those readers are taking away our advertisers.
Last week News Media Canada’s members, which include major print and digital publishers including Torstar, The Examiner’s parent company, called on the federal government to allow them to work together to bargain collectively with American digital companies, impose a code of conduct on “web monopolies” and enforce that code with large financial penalties. Current Canadian anti-competition law prohibits media companies from lobbying together.
This comes after the federal government made a commitment to do something about the crisis in its most recent throne speech, and as Australia takes similar steps with a code of conduct requiring tech giants to pay media outlets for hosting news content on their platforms.
“Our government is committed to a comprehensive, more equitable digital regulatory framework in Canada,” said Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef in an emailed statement. “This is about fairness. Those who benefit from the Canadian news ecosystem must also contribute to it.”
Neil Oliver is Torstar’s executive vice-president and president of the company’s daily news brands. He’s also The Examiner’s publisher.
“We all recognize the importance of local news, not just to the community, but to society and democracy as a whole,” he said. “But real news costs money and these tech giants are not paying their fair share. The Canadian government should follow Australia’s lead and level the playing field.”
Monsef said the Liberal government understands the significance of the problem.
“Canadian news publishers play an important role in connecting and informing our communities,” she said. “Their work is valued and they deserve fair compensation. Our government is currently looking into a made-in-Canada solution to support them. We are paying close attention to the measures our partners in France and Australia are pursuing.”
Haliburton-Kawartha LakesBrock Conservative MP Jamie Schmale knows what it’s like to chase the story and to be its focus.
“As a former journalist, I recognize the importance that local media plays in the community,” he said in a telephone interview.
It’s particularly important during the pandemic, he added: “People want to know what’s going on in their communities during this crisis.”
People in smaller Canadian communities have plenty of sources for news out of Toronto and Ottawa, he said, but they also need local news, and those outlets — print, digital, radio and TV — are struggling.
Schmale said he’d looked at the News Media Canada proposal and he’s familiar with the Australian approach.
“There are barriers to competition that traditional media faces,” he said. “We have to have a healthy media system.”
Schmale’s riding is largely west of Peterborough, but includes Peterborough County’s Cavan Monaghan Township.
His counterpart in Northumberland-Peterborough South, Conservative MP Philip Lawrence, told The Examiner he’s interested in what News Media Canada is proposing.
“Conservatives believe in a level playing field between digital web giants and Canadian businesses. We will review any proposal brought forward by the government.”
His riding includes part of Peterborough County (Otonabee-South Monaghan and Asphodel-Norwood townships).