Canadian Journalism Collective announces estimated amounts it expects to pay out

The Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) says it expects to send eligible news businesses their first annual payment under the Online News Act “as early in 2025 as possible.” The CJC is the body responsible for administering the $100 million to be compensated to news organizations yearly for five years, provided by Alphabet Inc.’s Google as part of its exemption from the act. The ultimate goal of the act, which passed into law in June 2023, is to facilitate fair commercial agreements between Canadian news organizations and major online platforms, including search engines and social media sites. Having been granted a five-year exemption, Google will not be forced to negotiate deals with news businesses and can avoid penalties associated with violating that provision of the act. After being granted the exemption, Google was given 60 days from Oct. to pay its contribution to the CJC. Now, the CJC says that based on the hours claimed by news businesses applying for funding, it expects to pay publishers an estimated $6.90 per claimed hour and broadcasters an estimated $3.40 per hour. The collective says that means the payment per full-time-equivalent journalist, based on a 2,000-hour year, will be approximately $13,798 for news publishers and about $6,806 for the same position for broadcasters. The CJC cautions that those amounts are estimates based on the number of claimed hours before it goes through eligibility verification. It said that if any claims are found to be ineligible to get funding, then those numbers could get higher for eligible positions as the pool thins out. An accounting firm has been contracted to develop the verification process, the CJC said, which will have an effect on when the funding is officially doled out. It did not specify a timeline in its release. “We hope to be able to make our first payment by the end of January and pay news businesses that require eligibility verification during the first quarter. But this is an estimate. We know having cashflow certainty is critical for news businesses, and so we are attempting to be as transparent about the process as possible,” said CJC board chair Erin Millar in a Dec. 13 letter. The CJC said a draft agreement for fund recipients will be published next month, with a window for feedback on the terms between Jan. 20 and Jan. 24, 2025 before the final agreement is circulated. The CJC also expects to publish its call for nominations to its board by Dec. 20, with nominations closing by Jan. 12. It expects to hold its inaugural annual general meeting Feb. 25. It said interest in its executive director position has been “great” and that it is working with a human resources firm to “ensure a fair process and anticipate advancing a short list of six candidates to first interviews in the coming weeks,” Millar said. “We look forward to introducing our community to the CJC Executive Director at our inaugural AGM.” hdaley@thewirereport.ca

Canadian Journalism Collective announces estimated amounts it expects to pay out

Regulatory |
By Hannah Daley
| December 16, 2024

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Canadian Journalism Collective announces estimated amounts it expects to pay out

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By Hannah Daley
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