Godfrey wants more ad spending

Postmedia’s CEO clarifies he wants government to be an ally, not an industry bailout

OTTAWA— The head of one of Canada’s biggest media empires is calling on Ottawa to spend more on Canadian newspaper ads and give greater tax breaks to companies that do.

Postmedia president and CEO Paul Godfrey made the plea Thursday to a Commons committee examining the future of the country’s media.

“Come back and advertise in our newspapers and on our websites,” Godfrey pleaded, noting that government cuts to advertising in recent years have disproportionately affected newspapers.

“We’re asking the government to be an ally, not for a bailout of the Canadian newspaper industry.”

Godfrey pointed to federal statistics showing government advertising in newspapers halved, while online advertising nearly doubled, between 2010 and 2015. The bulk went to foreign-owned behemoths like Google and Facebook, which produce no original Canadian news content.

He called on the government to encourage Canadian businesses to advertise locally. Godfrey warned that, without added revenues, many local news outlets will likely be shuttered in the next three years.

The Liberals on the committee were quick to accuse Godfrey of contradicting himself. Postmedia has been among the strongest critics of government spending on advertising, said Liberal MP Adam Vaughan“How do you square your editorial position with your corporate position?” he said.

Godfrey responded by saying Postmedia columnists are given leeway to write articles that contradict their own company’s positions on political and other issues.

Vaughan also questioned why taxpayers would want to bail out a failing company that is owned in part by a U.S. investment group.

Conservative committee member Peter Van Loan offered advice to Godfrey for preventing a further decline in his company’s advertising revenues: don’t abandon local news.

Postmedia announced sweeping changes to its operations in January, cutting 90 jobs across the country and merging newsrooms from multiple newspapers into one each in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.