For several years now, I have been following reports about the disappearance of local and regional printed news sources in numerous communities across Canada. I have written several blogs about the crisis that has hit mainstream news media, including Lost of Community Newspapers Is Sad Day For Free Press in November 2017, Issues Surrounding Daily News Now Being Absorbed Electronically In Bits and Bytes in January 2021, Media Under Terrorist Attack — Let’s Not Hit the Panic Button Just Yet in January 2015, and The Press Is Physically Under Attack By Police in the U.S. in September 2020. My primary argument is that mainstream news media has to have journalists on the ground to adequately and accurately cover major news events. With fewer and fewer regional and international news coverage by major outlets, there is indeed a serious threat to democracy in the form of a smaller number of accessible, reliable and respected news sources.
Now the hammer has come down on televised and radio news outlets in one major Canadian network. This week, BCE Inc. announced that it is cutting 1,300 positions — about three per cent of its workforce — and closing or selling nine radio stations as the company plans to significantly adapt how it delivers the news. The stations are found in several large Canadian cities such as Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and London (Ontario). CTV is a major television network in Canada, and BCE Inc. is its parent company. The announcement indicated that CTV’s foreign bureaus in London and Los Angeles are set to close, with all positions based in those locations eliminated. Its Washington bureau will apparently be scaled back to focus more fully on important news from the U.S.A. and the impacts on Canada. Bell Media, which controls CTV and the radio news outlets, says the job cuts are in response to unfavourable public policy and regulatory conditions in Canada. Unfortunately, Bell says it can’t guarantee there won’t be more job cuts.
However, from a business perspective, most analysts would argue that the days of companies making money off providing the news are gone. They note that today Google and Facebook have basically eaten into the advertising market. There’s fewer and fewer advertising dollars left for print and on air journalism. In addition, companies like Google and Facebook are exploiting mainstream news sources to provide news to their users, without having to compensate those same sources for such exploitation. However, it is taking a long time for the Canadian government to pass laws requiring such compensation be made to mainstream news sources. Additional revenue could help these sources to continue to provide journalistic services at the local and national levels.
The fact of the matter is that youth today rely heavily on on-line search sites and social media to get their news. One would hope that these news sources are credible, reliable and do not simply spread misinformation and disinformation. Unfortunately, journalism has become somewhat politicized by numerous groups, including some politicians, and is under attack from extremist groups who have continued to proclaim that mainstream news sources are spreading so-called “fake news”. Moreover, accredited news sources have every right to also express editorial opinion as long as such commentary is clearly identified as being an editorial piece.
With fewer journalists in the field and far fewer avenues for good journalism, one can only express a certain degree of anxiety about the future of mainstream news journalism. Increasingly, people graduating from some of Canada’s elite journalism programs will find it hard to obtain employment and opportunities in both print and television/radio media. Often, investigative journalists have gotten their start and initial experience in local community news outlets, aided by recognized mentors in the industry. A future career in journalism is getting tougher every day, suggesting that future generations may find it difficult to have access to sources offering credible and reliable news reporting. Consequently, we will all feel less well informed!
FROLITICKS 
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