OPINION: Small independents won’t benefit from Online News Act

by Heather Wright, publisher of The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton and The Herald At every family gathering there is that kid who just wants to be seen. They’re usually 10 or 11, young enough to crave attention instead of rolling their eyes at any adult attempting conversation, but too old to get the laughs they used to for all their cute antics. As a weekly community newspaper owner, I feel a bit like that kid as “Canada’s battle with Big Tech heats up” as headline Editor and Publisher said. While important people such as MPs, ministers, and corporate executives from Canadian news, debate the merits and divide the spoils of the Online News Act, the smallest of the small – weekly community newspapers usually independently operated – stand on the edges of the living room hoping to attract a little adult attention. When Bill C-18 was introduced in April 2022, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said it would address the market imbalance between Meta Platform Inc.'s- Facebook and Instagram – and Alphabet Inc.'s Google and the news organizations who use the sites to promote their product. The Big Tech companies make billions using news content without paying for it. The Online News Act would force them to negotiate payment deals with Canadian news outlets. The Parliamentary Budget officer believes news media outlets could see north of $300 million in revenue. Meta and Google don’t like the idea, arguing news organizations reap benefit from their free services, which is true. Of course, there is more to it than that; Big Tech is also scooping up the lion’s share of advertising in Canada, including a good chunk of the $140 million the federal government spends. In the communities I serve, it’s common for local businesses to respond to advertising pitches with “No thanks, I use Facebook. It’s free.” You can explain algorithms and question whether all those eyes on their single post every week are from their community or Outer Mongolia but it’s pretty hard to beat free. It’s also pretty hard to staff a newsroom free. And so, big companies cut staff, usually in the newsroom, as revenues fall. I know a couple of Postmedia newspapers who don’t have any local reporters at all. So much for news generation. While you hear about Bell Media chopping 1,300 jobs or Postmedia and Nordstar Capital talking about merging, you likely never hear about the financial struggles of The Minden Times, The Valley Gazette in Barrys Bay, Nunavut News/North, Wilmot-Tavistock Gazette or my papers The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton and The Herald in Thamesville, Dresden and Bothwell. But they are struggling. According to statistics compiled by the Ontario Community Newspaper Association, in 2006 – the same time Facebook went public – there were 302 community newspapers who were part of the association. It’s down to 209 now – a handful because they’ve moved online only, but the majority simply have closed. While the newspaper industry has made mistakes in adapting to our digital society, it’s also true to say governments and businesses flocked to the new, cheaper medium without considering the societal consequences including the shrinking news industry and the effect that has on democracy and accountability. Car dealers and the federal government have virtually abandoned newspapers although local car dealers will advertise locally online if the views are there. Since small local newsrooms don’t generate the clicks of Facebook, that’s rare. Ontario’s provincial government still buys some print advertising, but not nearly what it has in the past. All have been convinced using Big Tech is ‘the way’ to reach people even though research shows 83 per cent of Canadians read content generated by community newspapers each week. With the financial viability of journalism in turmoil, you would think I would be excited to tap into some of that cash from Meta and Google. Instead, I feel like that 10-year-old on the fringes. I have always been skeptical small independents are not going to benefit from this. And after seeing the proposed regulations for C-18 released last Monday, I was right not to bank on it. The Next Steps document talks about setting a minimum financial contribution based on revenues including deals it has inked with some of the bigger news organizations and could include things like free ads and training. The document also talks about how many independent local news businesses Big Tech would need to engage. News Media Canada, which represents newspapers across the country, is planning to negotiate as a collective. I’ve signed up for that, but I’m guessing any payment would be based on web traffic and small community newspapers just don’t generate as much traffic as national newspaper chains. Less clicks, less cash. Meantime, Meta and Google are flexing their muscles, threatening to remove any news links from their platforms; that’s a big hit for the little papers serving small communities. As much as I hate to admit it, social media drives traffic to my website and without those links, it just won’t happen. Less traffic to my website will mean less revenue from the deals spawned by Online News Act and it will be a lose-lose situation. Independent community newspaper owners have a strong commitment to the people they serve. Many publishers I know work well past retirement age because they know the importance of local independent journalism. Without a viable source of income, who will take over these mom and pop shops? Who will tell the stories of those communities? Who will hold local government accountable? Who will help build communities in the way a good community newspaper can? Maybe I should say this is a lose-lose-lose situation. The people who run weekly community newspapers are a scrappy, resourceful bunch. They are working to reinvent the wheel as we speak. The Heritage Minister and his could grease that wheel a little by actually advertising in community newspapers, after all there should be a few million floating since it’s not going to Mark Zuckerberg right now. Heather Wright - a journalist for the past 37 years - is the publisher of The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton and The Herald serving Thamesville, Dresden and Bothwell. She's also a member of the Ontario Community Newspaper Association board of directors. THE WIRE REPORT ACCEPTS SUBMISSIONS BY OUTSIDE CONTRIBUTORS WHO ARE KNOWLEDGEABLE ON THE SUBJECT MATTER DISCUSSED. SUBMISSIONS CAN BE SENT TO JCOCULLO@THEWIREREPORT.CA.

OPINION: Small independents won’t benefit from Online News Act

News | July 21, 2023

by Heather Wright, publisher of The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton and The Herald

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OPINION: Small independents won’t benefit from Online News Act

News | July 21, 2023

by Heather Wright, publisher of The Independent of Petrolia and Central Lambton and The Herald

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

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