LETTER – Local newsies are becoming a rare commodity
Small town newspapers online will be one of the only ways Canadians will be able to find their stories and news about their communities. The Federal Government’s Online News Act, known as Bill C-18, approved just last week in Ottawa, is essentially forcing companies like Google, Facebook to pay Canadian Media Firms copyright fees when their content and feeds appear on the large firms’ platforms, regardless of who is sharing it.
Meta, the parent firm behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has said they will block all Canadian news stories published by Canadian outlets from their feeds. Google is going to do just that as well.
Canadian journalism and the publics access to news is under attack due to the reaction of these Tech Giants. Ottawa has informed the Tech Giants of their intentions, attempting to protect and generate funds for media in Canada.
Journalism is under assault from all corners, from the business sector which can and does lay off thousands of employees at a whim, showering their shareholders with false profitability, limited media coverage and media coverage on a shoe string. All the while the Tech Giants cheery pick from small media catalogues willy nilly. Future mergers of media giants in Canada maybe the only way to save written news. Ultimately there is no security for individuals who work for the media.
These very Media and Tech Giants cry foul as the CBC is funded by the Federal Government to the tune of a Billion Dollars+, and The Conservatives’ call for de-vestment of the CBC will surely be a further blow to independent news coverage in Canada. The Federal Government’s actions have taken the media’s future prospects to an entirely new level of uncertainty. Can independent small news outlets survive the onslaught of corporate manipulation? Can a truthful, objective media thrive in Canada?
The most important factor in survival is neither intelligence nor strength, but ADAPTABLILITY. Can local media adapt before it is to late? Where can they find the funds necessary to continue their sacred profession?
History shows us that democracy cannot exist or survive without the assistance of a objective, active media.
Town Hall City Criers don’t exist any more, and yet people see it as nostalgic. Will the future bring us multiple media coverage that looks and says the same thing, manipulated and presented by multi-national corporations with their own expectations and goals. Profit replacing “THE TRUTH”.
STEVEN KASZAB
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Canada is a nanny state. On this issue, I must side with the tech giants. Canada is attempting to strong arm thee companies into pouring millions of dollars to support an industry that is generally struggling with making revenue.
The notion behind this bill is quite ridiculous. That a search engine must pay for the privilege of listing links in a search result, to the very business that the links drive traffic to. It’s not enough that the business receives the traffic. But they want to charge someone for using the road to get to the business too.
Publishers could simply make their links not available to those platforms if they feel a way about it. But they’re not doing that, because they like the exposure.
It is the Bill that has caused this crisis, and publishers should take exception with the Bill when news is no longer linked.
They are still free to host their own sites, people can still visit a publisher’s website to read news. What is the problem? It must be the free market that resolves this.
Far too often, Canada steps in to throw money around, support people and business that are failing, and we wonder why we’re not competitive?
We are becoming a socialist enclave where you never go to jail, you never have to work, you get a free house and drugs if you’re an addict, the firefighters will drive around all day with sirens to inject you out of an overdose, and everyone else but you pays for your failures.
Does anyone truly want to live in a society where personal responsibility is an afterthought? Where you never learn how to cope, to support yourself, or compete and innovate your way to success?
This is why we can’t have nice things.
Like hospitals that work.
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Could “Town Criers” return?
Or is it already not allowed?
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