I’ve been a Reporter for 14 years, and I don’t think this industry has been at a lower point than it is now. 1300 jobs cut at Bell Media. And not just behind behind the scenes either. Paul Workman, Glenn McGregor, Danielle Hamadjan. Tried, and true journalists featured on their flagship national nightly newscast.

Over the weekend came word that they were also seeking permission from the CRTC to drop the requirement for local news. Among their reasons was an operating loss of approximately $28 million over the period of 2016-2019. It’s not the money, it’s the stories aren’t getting covered. It’s already noticeable, with fewer reporters in the field, and more copy stories where the anchor does voiceover. It’s already missed the first huge story in the attempted coup in Russia.

Meanwhile in the print/ online world PostMedia, owners of the National Post, and Toronto Sun, are seeking a merger with Nordstar, with the Toronto Star becoming its own incorporated entity, and maintaining editorial independence. Metroland would be owned by PostMedia. I haven’t been following the PostMedia financial issues that closely, but my impression is they are one creditors’ call away from complete bankruptcy. Postmedia would own 65% of the Toronto Star, but who would own the other 35%. I tweeted this question, and nobody seemed to know; so that’s an open issue. Another question on this, is what’s going on with the online casino that is supposed to fund the Star’s journalism? The most recent news I could find was a news release dated February of last year describing it as a “made-in-Ontario casino, and sportsbook gaming platform.” From either end of it, this bears a closer look at the financial implications.

Optimistically, this might cause a moderation for the editorial tone. The Toronto Star has been known to lean left, while Postmedia leans right. Overall there could be some mutual influence. What’s more complicated is the impact on the Metroland brand. In areas such as Halton, the web has become the go-to for a lot of their community papers. A lot of communities could be without a print newspaper. And how is that good for local democracy? How do you inform public about issues and events concerning the public? Sharing stories is a huge way of fostering that feeling of community, and you can’t do that without a newspaper.

We’re essentially dealing with an industry where owners are trying to force a failing advertising driven business model to work for them in an environment where it just doesn’t anymore because of the Internet. There might be a place for government involvement, but not as designed in C-18. I might look at a way to encourage innovation in ownership structures, by allowing media organizations to have some kind of not-for-profit status, and making it easier for journalists to own an outlet. Everyone needs to recognize that the majority of the work is being done by freelancers has been done that way for over a decade. Developing stable guidelines for compensation in cooperation with with Journalist advocacy groups, as well as industry consultation could be another option.

Although media has been a downer lately, I have to believe there is hope. As long as we accept the industry is changing. We just have to find a way to adapt to it.