This being National Newspaper Week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau decided to send out a tweet extolling the value of newspapers to our democracy.“In an ever-changing world with an ever-changing media landscape, our local newspapers play a vital role in protecting our democracy,” he wrote. “We salute the papers — big and small — working to keep us informed.”It is reassuring to know the role of Canadian newspapers is appreciated. For many, myself included, the feeling is deeply inbred that our democracy is only as strong as the strength and vitality of our newspapers.Yet in the past decade, at least 137 community and local newspapers have folded or ceased publication. This, in turn, has led to the creation of “news deserts” where some communities are left with no news outlet at all. Many others are struggling desperately to stay afloat.To deal with this, the Trudeau government in its February budget committed to spend $50 million to support local journalism. It also promised new charitable models to aid “professional, non-profit journalism.” And third, it promised to reexamine its advertising budget which is almost exclusively digital, virtually excluding all print newspapers.One should not forget Ottawa had commissioned two studies on the plight of the industry, both of which came out with a long list of recommendations. The vast majority of these were rejected.So what has happened since?A little talk, but absolutely no definitive action.Take the $50 million to be spent over five years. The plan was for the funds to go to “independent, non-governmental organizations” to support journalism in under-served communities.But it seems the government can’t decide who that would be. One or two exploratory talks have been held but there has yet to be even a request for proposals. Maybe next year, we are told.On the new philanthropic models, there was a committee struck to study the issue. When m ...
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