Canadians enjoy the benefits of living in a rich country – ranked among the top places to live and one of the freest in the world. However, the health of independent Canadian journalism follows a continuous state of steep decline. 

Journalism plays an important role in supporting a functional democracy, and the rate of rapid decline over the past decade signifies an alarming trend. “The number of English-language newspaper articles published in the communities we examined decreased by almost half between 2008 and 2017, while the number of articles specifically reporting on civic affairs declined by more than a third.” according to a new report by Public Policy Forum (PPF).

Community newsrooms play a vital role in keeping communities informed. But as shown in the Public Policy Forum report, the declines are happening faster than initially predicted. 

When Warren Buffett, one of the newspaper industries greatest optimists, said “it’s difficult to see how the newspapers business will be economically viable over time” at the annual Berkshire Hathaway meeting earlier this year, it shows we are in a revealing moment when these legacy institutions are on the brink of extinction.

The Threat of Online Censorship 

The two tech giants Google and Facebook control seventy-five percent of all digital advertising revenues. Facebook alone has double the digital ad revenue of all Canadian newspapers combined. But neither Facebook or Google are in the business of producing journalism. This leaves newspaper newsrooms, who are still very much the engines of investigative reporting, with a fraction of the budget they once had to work with.

These big tech companies now control the revenue that once sustained local journalism. They also control what news you see online. With proprietary algorithms designed to maximize user attention, the control they have over what content you see is enormous. All while keeping track of the valuable date on what keeps you engaged on the screen longer.

Undercover or leaked reports have shown staff from Google and Twitter talking about their ability to censor information based on political ideology. There’s also been reports in recent weeks claiming Google staffers have been involved in assisting political candidates during elections.

When big tech platforms systematically shut down Texas based InfoWarsfrom YouTube, Facebook, iTunes, Twitter, and Spotify on August 7^th the threat of overt wide scale censorship in America became a reality. 

How these tech companies will manage the enormous volume of content uploaded to their platform each day creates complex challenge to which no one seems to have the answers. 

Media Consolidation and New Models

The consolidation of media ownership in Canada is among the highest in the world. The top 5 media owners control over 70% of the market, making it very difficult for new players to emerge. Add to this duopoly the government funded CBC and you’ll quickly see a playing field not in favour of local independent journalism. 

Over the last decade new business models have been tried and tested with little sustainable success to show for it. Non-profit journalism has started taking off in the U.S. but for that to happen in Canada newspapers will need the ability to receive non-profit charitable status allowing them to accept donations. Something the government has promised to review in 2018.

Canadians also have plenty of options for online news. The New York Times has more digital subscribers in Canada than any Canadian newspaper, according to a reportby Harvard’s Neiman Lab. An estimated 94,000 Canadians pay for a digital subscription to The New York Times, making it the largest paid audience of any news site in Canada.

The Future of Journalism 

What is the way forward for the future of journalism? The rapid growth of big tech and the rise of fake news appear to presents new threats to democracy.

Like in a democracy if people judge for themselves and support the independent news organizations they feel are doing the best job then perhaps there’s still a change for journalism to return serving the best interest of society. 

For journalism to functioned more like a democracy the people served by the information would have the power to cast their vote and support the institutions they felt preformed the best job for society. In some ways subscriptions play this role in the free market.  

With more publishers now relying on subscriptions driven by the value to the reader a shift to consumer supported media is taking place. The voting power in now the hands of the readers. The fallout in advertising may be exactly what the industry needs to reset the entire system in favor of the most credible and unbiased.