Publishers want Facebook, Google to share ad revenues

Letter to the government in Canadian newspapers says situation is urgent

OTTAWA— Publishers that represent a majority of Canadian newspapers have penned an open letter to the federal government urging immediate action to make digital giants like Facebook and Google share their advertising revenues with Canadian media companies.

The letter, which appeared in an ad published in newspapers across the country Saturday, says the situation is urgent, with media companies suffering huge declines in advertising revenue because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The publishers point to action taken recently in Australia, where the country’s treasurer announced mandatory measures to force digital companies like Facebook, Google and Twitter to pay news media for use of their content.

The measures were to be completed by November, but are now being fast-tracked due to steep declines in advertising dollars caused by COVID-19 — declines that have forced many newspapers to stop printing.

Bob Cox, publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press and one of the signatories of the letter, says newspaper ad revenues in Canada have fallen by at least 50 per cent, which has made the newspaper industry unviable.

Torstar, the Globe and Mail, Brunswick News Inc., Glacier Media Group, La Presse, Postmedia, Le Devoir, Black Press Media, Le Journal de Québec and Le Journal de Montréal also signed the letter.

“Newspapers are fighting for their very survival right now,”

Cox said.

The wage subsidy that forms part of the Liberals’ multibillion-dollar pandemic emergency aid package will help, Cox said, calling the program a “lifesaver.”

The Liberal government is also rolling out a $30-million COVID-19 awareness advertising campaign, which was also billed as support for the media industry, but Cox noted these measures are short-term fixes.

“We expect that the impact of COVID-19 and the decrease in advertising will continue for some time, at least through 2020 and probably into 2021, so we’re going to be facing this decrease in advertising for a long time,” he said.

“We need to look at the bigger picture, at the longer-term problems, and this is one of those longer-term problems.”

Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault said last month the government is moving closer to implementing long-promised tax credits for newspapers to address ongoing revenue challenges.

Cox says he understands the federal government has been busy rolling out billions of dollars in aid for Canadian workers and employers hit by the pandemic while also dealing with a public-health emergency.

But implementing measures to make digital giants share the ad revenue they make from content created by Canadian journalists, which they have been featuring on their platforms, would level the playing field for the media industry in Canada, Cox said.

It would also go a long way to help the media industry weather the long-term impacts the pandemic and resulting economic downturn will continue to have on news companies.