Adding something new is usually a good thing, except when there are purse strings attached. The Trudeau Government stepped up to help out Canadian journalism that funded 400 local reporting jobs across the country. The good news is that Ottawa will spend another $58.8 million to continue the Local Journalism Initiative until 2027. The program started in 2019.
The funding is administered by not-for-profit organizations to protect the independence of the press.
If you are Canadian and voting in the next federal election in 2025, supporting local journalism might not be in the top 10 reasons to vote for a specific MP. The Conservatives might not be likely to continue this funding past 2027 and might try to cut this off sooner.
The beauty of the funding is that underserved communities, including Indigenous, official language minority and LGBTQ+ communities, get help they really need.
This recent Canadaland podcast episode delves into who might be hurt if the funding had not been renewed.
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Local Journalism Initiative (Canadian Heritage)
One interesting tidbit from the Canadaland episode is that the Local Journalism Initiative stories produced can be republished elsewhere in Canada at no charge.
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Some of the fears — mostly from conservatives — did not come close to materializing. The Google money will likely go in the opposite direction to big media producers. Some of that Google money could have gone to save W5 from the Bell Media massive cuts. Somehow, that is not seen as "controversial" as the Local Journalism Initiative.
Still a good idea to be diligent about this potentially worrisome relationship. Just not paranoid.
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If you know of a community that benefited from the Local Journalism Initiative, let us know in the comments.
photo credit: Canadian Heritage
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