Monday, May 16, 2016

Still Indispensable



Paul Godfrey appeared before the Heritage Committee last week to ask the government for a hand. It was more than a little ironic that the publisher who would prefer to get government out of our lives was coming to it cap in hand. But, Tom Walkom writes, Canadian governments have been giving publishers hand outs for a long time:

In his book Making National News, Ryerson University historian Gene Allen details the agonizing debates among publishers over the federal government’s handsome subsidy to their wire service co-operative, Canadian Press.

The subsidy was required in part because some Canadian publishers were unwilling or unable to pay the high rates charged by telegraph companies for transmitting news over the wire.

During the First World War, publishers also convinced Ottawa that a government-subsidized Canadian wire service would act as a pro-British antidote to news routed through the U.S.-based Associated Press.

At one point, Canada’s wire service was subsidized by both the British and Canadian governments.

In the early years, Ottawa rewarded friendly newspapers by contracting out government printing to them. Later, publishers lobbied for and won reduced rate postage for newspapers. At a time when many readers received their papers through the mail, this was a significant bonus.

Still later, publishers persuaded Ottawa to change the income tax system to favour domestic publications. Those businesses that advertised in Canadian newspapers and magazines could write the cost off. Those that advertised in foreign publications could not.

Known informally as the Maclean’s law, this rule proved of particular benefit to the newsmagazine of that name.

Surprisingly, Walkom believes Godfrey's proposal has merit -- perhaps not just because Postmedia is drowning in debt, but because Walkom's own publisher,  Torstar, lost $53.5 million in the first quarter of this year.

These are tough days for newspapers. But they're still indispensable.

Image: ipolitics.ca

18 comments:

Steve said...

Newspapers are as relevant as the telegraph is to email. Whats needed is journalism. The CBC, BBC model is the way to go, However both institutions are so politized they are unwatchable at the moment. I dont know what the solution is but its in that model somewhere.

Owen Gray said...

Perhaps it's in a tax or service charge, Steve -- the kind of fee that pays for the BBC.

Anonymous said...

I don't have much sympathy for Paul Godfrey and his Post Media plea. Godfrey and his organization were quite comfortable spewing Harperite nonsense and virtually no counter viewpoints for the last couple of decades. Balanced reporting is and was not part of their spiels. Their election day use of yellow cover sheets, supporting the Harper Regime on all their publications, was appalling. Maybe it was Freudian slip because it certainly emphasized their yellow journalism.

Owen Gray said...

Like you, I have no sympathy for Godfrey, Anon. If like that other Conservative organ -- SunNEWS -- Postmedia failed, I wouldn't shed a tear. But other publications, which are a little more circumspect, are also in trouble.

The Mound of Sound said...


Newspapers would still be relevant if they had remained newspapers. With a few exceptions they're not. The evolution of a corporate media cartel(s) such as PostMedia undermines the social purpose of a newspaper, to provide news essential for an adequately informed public. When one news voice achieves an unhealthy dominance in a market the public is denied access to a broad range of news and opinion from across the political spectrum. At that point the dominant voice becomes an instrument to disseminate not news but rather messaging that serves not to inform public opinion but to direct public opinion, to shape it, to manufacture consent.

Liberal democracy can be readily thwarted if you can create a suitably conditioned public incapable of genuinely informed decision making. Messaging achieves this result. To democracy it's the equivalent of fixing a sporting event.

Throwing government money to PostMedia won't fix what's broken. Dismembering the media cartel is the only solution. Forcing divestiture and implementing policies to encourage the most diverse, most broadly held ownership of our mass media is necessary. The Tories won't hear of it but neither will Trudeau or even Mulcair. The Greens do have a policy in their platform dealing with this but they also have just one seat in the Commons.

Our democracy doesn't have much chance so long as the corporate voice is able to distract, confuse and direct public opinion.

Owen Gray said...

It seems to me that, once upon a time, government was in the business of trust busting, Mound. But, unfortunately, that seems like ancient history.

The Mound of Sound said...


Back in the earlier Trudeau era we had two commissions of inquiry into this, Owen, and the findings were direct and powerful. Martin, in turn, sought to deal with it until his term was abruptly ended. This is a matter of magnitude beyond Slick's courage quotient so don't expect much from our government of the day.

Who needs to read newspapers when you know in advance the messaging slant they'll wrap around a particular event? Their predictability renders them mundane, pointless. Godfrey, being the consummate hack, has no grasp of that reality.

Owen Gray said...

That's what's so deeply ironic about all of this, Mound. It's Godfrey who's asking for government help.

Dana said...

Just another reason for a tax revolt, among so many, as far as I'm concerned.

JasonS said...

Blogger The Mound of Sound said...

Newspapers would still be relevant if they had remained newspapers. With a few exceptions they're not. The evolution of a corporate media cartel(s) such as PostMedia undermines the social purpose of a newspaper, to provide news essential for an adequately informed public. When one news voice achieves an unhealthy dominance in a market the public is denied access to a broad range of news and opinion from across the political spectrum. At that point the dominant voice becomes an instrument to disseminate not news but rather messaging that serves not to inform public opinion but to direct public opinion, to shape it, to manufacture consent.

Liberal democracy can be readily thwarted if you can create a suitably conditioned public incapable of genuinely informed decision making. Messaging achieves this result. To democracy it's the equivalent of fixing a sporting event.

Throwing government money to PostMedia won't fix what's broken. Dismembering the media cartel is the only solution. Forcing divestiture and implementing policies to encourage the most diverse, most broadly held ownership of our mass media is necessary. The Tories won't hear of it but neither will Trudeau or even Mulcair. The Greens do have a policy in their platform dealing with this but they also have just one seat in the Commons.

Our democracy doesn't have much chance so long as the corporate voice is able to distract, confuse and direct public opinion.

2:58 pm

Yes please i would like to have that. Could you please make that happen ?

Owen Gray said...

I suspect that if support came in the form of a tax -- like the BBC -- there would be a hue and cry. And, frankly, I'm not sure what governments could do, Dana. But there might be some way to encourage advertising; and that might help keep newspapers -- perhaps digital newspapers -- afloat.

Owen Gray said...

What would you do, Jason?

Danneau said...

By all means, let's have support for journalists and for the infrastructure that allows dissemination of verifiable and relevant news as well as thoughtful and respectful comment. However, it's clear that our current lot have had the opportunity to engage in whatever their concept of journalism is and have failed, not only from a business standpoint, but they have done a thorough job of violating the public trust, and so deserve no consideration for any kind of public assistance. I would like to nominate Owen, as well as Dr. Dawg, Norm Farrell, Alison at Creekside, Merv Addy, Laila Yuile and RossK for infusions of capital and other resources so that they could persist in their quest to open eyes and minds (the list is hardly exhaustive). PostMedia needs to be consigned to the scrap heap.

Owen Gray said...

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Danneau. Having retired, I can get by on the government support I have. In the end, I wouldn't be suprised if Postmedia went the way of SunNEWS.

JasonS said...

I believe Danneau summed it up perfectly. If people trusted the product they would have no problem with their business. Mark Twain said "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed.” And what more is there to say.
The same should go for television news as well i may add.

Owen Gray said...

What is boils down to, Jason, is you must examine the product carefully. The fact that shoddy merchandise is on offer doesn't necessarily mean that all merchandise is shoddy.

JasonS said...

I know this , our premier used public money and resources "illegally" to try to influence the 2013 election. Her chief lackey and Brian Bonney took the fall Christy didn't know anything ala Stevie.
Also she was caught lying to the public multiple times about a police investigation that never was , she walked.
And then her top aid and others in her office are caught deleting everything "illegally" and she gives a stearn "hey you baddies stop that " , and our "media" lets her skate yet again .
Our media are like Donald Trump supporters, Christy could stand on Burrard st and shoot someone and she wouldn't lose one media supporter. Let them burn something will grow from the ashes.

Owen Gray said...

They may well burn, Jason -- particularly if they can't find a way to make digital advertising work for them.