Last week the Trudeau Government did a good thing. They reached an agreement with Google that will provide mainstream media with $100 million a year for news stories that are picked up by Google. That seems only fair. Hopefully, a similar deal can be made with Facebook (Meta) which is currently blocking Canadian news sources on their network. Like any other business, news outlets are entitled to be paid if their product is used by others.
But a few weeks ago, the Trudeau government did a bad thing. In their Fall Economic Statement, they provided $129 million to legacy media by allowing a 35% tax credit for news employees with salaries of up to $85,000 per year. This is in addition to the more than half a billion dollars of bail-out funds committed to legacy media by the Liberals during the last election campaign. On top of all of that, of course, is the $1.3 billion the government provides annually to fund the CBC.
And so, the question must be asked, at what point does government funding of mainstream media become an incentive for news stories and editorials to be slanted toward the source of their financing? Would you bite the hand that feeds you? I doubt it. And as much as major news outlets shout about their independence from government, the hard fact is they are not when they depend on it for financing.
Mainstream media outlets have become reliant on government handouts. It is therefore a fair question to ask how it is that they can remain neutral or fair.
With a few exceptions, such as the Toronto Sun, any reasonable assessment of overall news reporting and editorializing by mainstream media, on balance, leans toward the current federal government—the hand that feeds them. This occurs in several ways, not just in their reporting, but also in what is not reported or highlighted, and in how they portray and report on political parties that oppose the government. Some of it may be subliminal, but it is there.
I am sure that many of my friends whose political views are more to the left are not generally opposed to current legacy media coverage and government funding. But things change folks. If the shoe were on the other foot, as it has been in the past and may well be in the future, where media may be dependent on a right-of-centre government for funding, would you be okay with that?
To deal with the CBC for a moment, I am sure that there are some who read this article that will conclude that I support Pierre Poilievre’s declared intention to defund the CBC if he becomes Prime Minister. I do not, at least not in its entirety. The CBC is more than just a news source. In many ways, it highlights and defends Canadian culture and history. It has programs of importance to Canadians in both official languages that cannot be funded through the free market and therefore deserve government support.
But, when it comes to the delivery of hard news, CBC should not be funded for this purpose by the government. At best, this is a conflict of interest and at worst, it is a propaganda arm for the party in power. On this part of its operations, CBC should compete with everyone else on an even playing field without special funding.
In my view, we get into trouble when governments try to be all things to all people. They are, of course, responsible for public safety, economic stability, helping those who cannot help themselves, national defense, some aspects of health care, and the protection of our environment.
But when it comes to supporting the media, what is the government’s responsibility? Media, especially mainstream media, plays a huge role in the formation of public opinion. Public opinion, in turn, determines who will form a government through the electoral process.
To me, the overall principle of government financially supporting media is somewhat chilling. It is a relatively modest incursion now, but where is it heading? It is a natural instinct not to bite the hand that feeds you. Government funding of major media outlets could influence their desire to hold that government accountable.
In a survey conducted this past Fall by Angus Reid Polling, 59% of Canadians indicated they were opposed to government funding of newsrooms. I agree with them. Government funding of the media is a slippery slope.
Media freedom is a fundamental concept of democracy. The more that government gets involved in this, the less freedom of the press there is. At its apex, it becomes state-controlled media.
Of course, we are not there yet, but surely, we never want to be. However, history teaches us that communities can change and deteriorate one step at a time until it is too late.
That must not happen here.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
I am pleased to see that Mr Mackenzie acknowledges the bias by the main stream media. It must be said however that the media leans left even when the conservatives were in power. Remember Duffy, Duffy, Duffy!!! Every night for over a year this story was milked, fabricated and enhanced. Not one journalist ever read the rules for a senator which were available online. It took me less than one minute to know Duffy follow the rules precisely. The media coverage gave the public the impression that the entire conservative caucus was corrupt. Of course there was an election before the results of the case were released. This is how we got Trudeau for PM. The courts completely exonerated Duffy but it was too little too late.