Brief Regarding the Future of Regional News
Submitted to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
By
The Fédération nationale des communications – CSN
April 18, 2016
Contents
Contents ...... 3 Foreword ...... 5 Introduction ...... 5 The role of the media in our society ...... 7 The informative role of the media ...... 7 The cultural role of the media ...... 7 The news: a public asset ...... 8 Recent changes to Quebec’s media landscape ...... 9 Print newspapers ...... 9 Magazines...... 11 Television in Quebec ...... 11 Radio ...... 14 Digital media ...... 15 In search of a new model ...... 17 The media in Canada and Quebec: a highly concentrated industry...... 20 Media concentration and the quality of information ...... 20 Concentration and convergence ...... 21 The impact of concentration and convergence on employment ...... 22 Conclusion ...... 24
Brief regarding the future of regional news
Foreword
The Fédération nationale des communications CSN represents 6,000 workers in the media and the cultural industries, including most of the unionized journalists working for the major print and broadcast media− in Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick. Introduction
We would like to thank the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for allowing us to participate in consultations on the future of regional news. The Fédération nationale des communications (FNC) is very concerned about the profound changes affecting the media, given that many of our members in various branches of the media regularly work in news production in Quebec as well as in Ontario and New Brunswick. News also plays a vital role in our democratic life and helps citizens to participate fully in society. The struggle for access to diversified, quality news, whether it be local, regional, national or international, is everybody’s concern.
As many witnesses have told the Committee: the media industry is in crisis. Given its role, the FNC is in an excellent position to understand the full extent of the problem. We see this crisis played out in our workplaces every day. During collective bargaining, we constantly hear employers call for cutbacks. Over the past few years, we have seen a steady decline in working conditions in our industry, whether in Montreal or elsewhere in Quebec. Wage reductions and job losses are nothing new. We need only look at the dispute at the Journal de Montréal and the subsequent layoffs. Replacing the print version of La Presse with the digital version La Presse+ was not painless; hundreds of jobs have been lost since the start of this initiative. The financial situation at Le Devoir is also tense. Things are scarcely better in the regions. The regional print media are fighting for their lives. Shortly after acquiring several regional papers from Gesca, the new owner, Martin Cauchon, had to launch a major restructuring initiative involving many job cuts. Basically, this crisis is hitting all forms of traditional media.
From an organizational standpoint, the traditional media’s revenues and audiences have dropped dramatically in recent years in favour of international digital media giants such as Facebook and Google. The digital media and social media are attracting not only users — especially young users — but also advertisers, given the low cost of advertising. This trend increases the financial vulnerability of our traditional media, challenges their business model and hinders their primary objective, which is to inform.
Considered from this perspective, the media crisis does not just involve media companies. It is first and foremost a news crisis. Although the digital media offer news from a range of sources, they obviously do not produce all the content they disseminate. Most of them are gobbling up a growing percentage of advertising revenues while simply giving users access to news produced by the traditional
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Brief regarding the future of regional news media at great expense. If lowers revenues mean that the traditional media can no longer produce quality news, then society as a whole will be affected. The media’s inability to do their job will undoubtedly lead to a democratic deficit and limit citizens’ participation in public life.
While this is not a new trend, we have also seen a growing concentration of the Quebec media in recent years, supported by economic globalization and financialization. Companies seeking short-term profits and economies of scope and scale have transformed themselves into conglomerates. While this convergence- related strategy makes sense economically, it compromises the quality and diversity of the news, undermines the work of journalists, and damages their independence and integrity. These problems exist in major centres but, given the size of markets, they are proving to be more significant in the regions.
This consultation on regional news is timely. It invites policy makers at all levels of government to consider the tools needed to ensure Canadians and Quebeckers have access to diversified, quality news in the digital age.
In this brief, the FNC will discuss the media’s role in a democratic society, the crisis that is shaking the industry, and the concentration of the media and its impact on news quality and working conditions. In our conclusion, we will present several recommendations.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
The role of the media in our society
Generally speaking, the media, particularly the commercial media, is made up of profit-based organizations. They contribute to the economy by creating jobs and stimulating consumption through advertising. The media’s economic role is justified and largely recognized in societies that believe in free enterprise. As important as this economic role may appear, however, it is not the media’s primary purpose. As the sociologist Alain Pilon points out,1 as producers of news and entertainment, the media are called on to play other equally important roles in our society. The informative role of the media
While the media have many roles, their primary purpose is to inform. They encourage debate by producing and disseminating news of public interest and social benefit, freely and impartially, taking into account the diversity of opinion and a pluralist society. The media’s informative role is vital in a democratic society, where citizens must have access to the widest possible range of opinions, analysis and information so that they can make informed decisions and participate fully in society and in democratic life.
As news providers, the media also have the ability to form public opinion. Whether through the free circulation of ideas, news reports or surveys on an issue of public importance, the media influence public opinion, which in turn influences decision makers and public authorities. To understand the media’s influence on public opinion, we need only think of the investigative journalism that led to the creation of the Charbonneau Commission. The Panama papers scandal regarding tax havens is another example of the media’s role. If the media are to play a vital role in our democratic society, then they must be able to do their job with rigour and in compliance with rules and ethical values that establish or maintain public confidence. The media must be able to operate free from any commercial or political pressure or any pressure exerted by the company owners. It is clear that media companies, even privately owned ones, cannot be treated like other organizations that have the sole objective of making a profit. The cultural role of the media
The media can also be viewed as an instrument of cultural and social development, and an excellent means of promoting cultural and artistic works, both locally and internationally. Radio-Canada’s contribution to promoting and developing francophone culture in North America is a good example of the media’s cultural role. Its support for quality French-language broadcasting is equally outstanding. Through its theatre, film and music programming and content, the public broadcaster was the first to introduce Quebecers to new art forms still relatively
1 PILON, Alain. (2008). Sociologie des médias du Québec: De la presse écrite à Internet. Les éditions Saint-Martin Inc
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
unknown to them. In doing so, Radio-Canada served as a model for other media, and contributed to national cultural expression and the expansion of our exports. The public broadcaster also helped actors from here — people with whom we can identify — make a name for themselves.
As the world is becoming more globalized, people’s lifestyles are becoming more individualized, and citizens need the media more than ever to share their language and culture and make connections. Through their accessibility, the media bring together communities that are separated by great distances, enabling them to communicate and especially to establish common values and ways of doing things. The media act as agents of social integration and help establish our presence in this country. They allow us to create and share a collective identity and conscience in a tangible way. To put it simply, the media foster social cohesion. In a country like Canada, with a large land mass and fairly small population, this role is essential. The news: a public asset
If media companies are different from other organizations, then it follows that the news they produce is different from other products. It is primarily a public asset. This news must be original, topical and the result of a journalistic process. The news provided to citizens to support public debate — and, indirectly, democracy — cannot be left entirely in the hands of the market. Some governments use this principle to justify media intervention. According to Julia Cagé,2 the news is a public asset like education, research or culture. It is part of our knowledge sector and cultural industries, and it deserves the same support.
In many countries, such as France and northern nations such as Sweden and Norway, the media receive ongoing government support. While this support can take many forms, it is intended to provide the public with quality news that respects the diversity of opinion. The ultimate goal of providing access to news is to inform citizens about the issues that concern them and help them participate in society in a positive way. In all democracies, the government has the duty, if not the obligation, to to ensure everyone has access to diversified, quality news. It must perform this duty properly, either by providing funding or establishing regulations. Section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and section 3 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms guarantee not only freedom of expression and assembly, but also freedom of the press and the right to information. The question is, how can the Canadian and Quebec governments guarantee this right under the current circumstances and in the digital age?
2 CAGÉ, Julia. (2015). Sauver les médias, capitalisme, financement participatif et démocratie. Les éditions du Seuil et La république des idées.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
Recent changes to Quebec’s media landscape
The media in Quebec are clearly experiencing the same organizational crisis affecting the media around the world. From print to television and even radio, the traditional media are facing a range of challenges that threaten their future. Magazines and daily newspapers are experiencing a decline in readership accompanied by falling advertising revenues. Although specialty television is still doing well, conventional television is faltering and was particularly hard hit by negative revenues in 2014. Radio is faring well but is doing so at the expense of the news; few stations still have a newsroom. In the midst of all this, the digital media — whose major players simply distribute content rather than produce it — continue to gain ground and attract a significant and growing portion of advertising revenues. The following section provides a more complete picture by reviewing the changes to Quebec’s media sectors. Print newspapers
According to recent data, there are 14 print dailies in Quebec — 2 free and 12 paid. Montreal’s paid daily newspapers are Le Journal de Montréal, owned by Québecor; the Saturday edition of La Presse, owned by Gesca (a subsidiary of Power Corporation); and Le Devoir, an independent. There is also The Gazette, an English- language daily owned by Postmedia Network. The two free dailies are Métro, owned by Transcontinental, and 24 h, owned by Québecor. They provide highlights of the top news stories of the day and are distributed mainly to public transit users. The Journal de Montréal has the highest circulation of the Montreal dailies. The Monday to Friday and Sunday editions of La Presse have been replaced by a digital version, La Presse+.
The Québec City area is served by two dailies: Le Journal de Québec, owned by Québecor, and Le Soleil. Until recently, Le Soleil belonged to Gesca, but the group sold its six regional dailies to former federal minister Martin Cauchon and his company, Groupe Capitales Médias (GCM). In addition to Le Soleil, GCM now owns Le Nouvelliste (Trois-Rivières), La Tribune (Sherbrooke), Le Quotidien (Saguenay), La Voix de l’Est (Granby) and le Droit (Ottawa-Gatineau). Sherbrooke also has the English-language daily The Record, which seems to be owned by Glacier Canadian Newspapers/Alta Newspaper Group LP. After selling off its regional dailies, Gesca’s holdings now consist of La Presse, La Presse+, lapresse.ca and La Presse mobile. Aside from the Québec City and Montreal areas, regional dailies are becoming monopolies or quasi-monopolies in a market that has little room for independents. Weeklies, which are an important source of local news, are also fighting for their lives.
Recent data from Statistics Canada3 show the difficulties facing print newspapers across the country. They have been the hardest hit by major changes shaking the industry. In 2003, 69% of the people who followed news and current affairs at least
3 Statistics Canada. The use of media to follow news and current affairs, February 2016.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
several times a month got their information from newspapers. A decade later, this percentage stood at 51%. Things are no better in Quebec or even in Montreal, where several dailies are based. Despite the increase in the population and the popularity of free dailies in Montreal, the number of people who read daily papers has not increased significantly. According to data from the Centre d’études sur les médias,4 dailies gained about 185,000 adult readers for weekday editions (in all formats), yet the segment of the population aged 18 and over increased by 550,000. This means that the percentage of Quebeckers who regularly read a daily paper from Monday to Friday has decreased.
There has been a dramatic drop in the readership rate for free and paid dailies among all adult Canadians and especially among younger people. They are less inclined to get their news from traditional media. The following graph by the CEM shows changes in the readership of daily papers in Canada. The downward trend applies across the board but is more prevalent among young people.
Figure 1
[Translation: Regular readers of weekday daily papers across Canada, by age group, for 2001, 2005, 2009 and 2013* Left axis: % *Data for 2013 include consulting the website of a daily paper or related applications. Source: Compiled by CEM using NADbank data.]
Like other dailies throughout the Western world, Canada’s daily newspapers face two major challenges. First, declining readership means a decline in subscription revenues. Second, it also means a drop in advertising revenues. According to data
4 CHARLTON, Sébastien, GIROUX, Daniel and LEMIEUX, Michel. (2013). Comment les Québécois s’informent-ils? Centre d’études sur les médias, Consortium canadien de recherche sur les média
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
from the Canadian Newspaper Association, published in a study by Colette Brin et al,5 there was a 25% decrease in the advertising revenues of print editions of paid daily newspapers between 2006 and 2011. The financial situation of daily newspapers is deteriorating annually, which is having a significant impact on employment conditions in the industry and on the quality and diversity of the news being produced. Magazines
Magazines, which are usually produced monthly, have not experienced any growth in recent years, much like print newspapers. In fact, they have had enormous difficulty retaining their readership. According to data released by the CEM, magazines saw a 27% decrease in readership between 2003 and 2012. This figure is consistent with a 2009 study by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications on the cultural practices of Quebeckers. According to the study, cited in a publication by Daniel Giroux,6 magazine readership peaked in 1994: 63% of Quebeckers read at least one magazine per month. This figure dropped to 56% in 2009. According to the most recent CEM data, readership of all magazines that have been publishing since at least 2002 declined by nearly 16% between 2012 and 2014. In recent years, we have also witnessed a wave of magazine acquisitions in Quebec, leading to even greater concentration in this sector.
Television in Quebec
Quebec has more than 100 French-language channels in operation, including 26 conventional channels belonging to or affiliated with the three major French- language networks: Radio-Canada, Québecor’s TVA and Remstar’s V. There is also Télé-Québec, a educational and cultural public broadcaster that operates the Canal Savoir. There are 25 specialty or pay channels, more than half of which belong to Bell Média and Québécor Média, two integrated groups. Other players in the market include RNC Média, Remstar and Cogeco. The number of French-language specialty and pay channels has increased considerably in recent years, rising from 12 in 1999 to 35 in 2014. In addition, Quebec’s English-language market has four Canadian conventional channels. They belong to the four major English-language networks operating in Quebec: CBC, Rogers Communications, Shaw Media and Bell Media. This market also features more than 110 Canadian specialty or pay channels, and 9 video-on-demand or pay-per-view channels.7
While change is sweeping through the traditional media sector, television is still a mainstay in Quebec homes. Quebeckers watched an average of 34 hours a week in 2014, compared with 33.3 hours in 2012. TVA and Radio-Canada, the only networks
5 BRIN, Colette et ST-PIERRE, Marilou. (2013). Crise des médias et effectifs rédactionnels au Québec. Centre d’études sur les médias. 6GIROUX, Daniel. (2013). Les médias en quelques statistiques. Institut du Nouveau Monde 7 Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications. Mémoire dans le cadre de la Consultation du Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennes, 25 June 2014.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news with a newsroom in the French-language conventional television market, enjoy an audience share of 24.9% and 15.9%, respectively, but specialty channels have gained ground. In general, as consumers migrate to digital media, they rely less and less on television for news and information.
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Figure 2
[TRANSLATION: Television viewing share in Quebec; Other 4.3%; Canadian specialty networks 44.3%; TVA 24.9%; Radio-Canada 15.9%; V 7.9%; Télé-Québec 2.7%. Source: Numeris (BBM surveys), PPM, January 13 -2a, 2 yrs +]
Changes in audience share−April 13,have 2014, an Mon.−Sun. impact on 2a financial performance. Conventional channels have not been able to increase their revenues at all. According to Colette Brin et al,8 the advertising revenues of French-language conventional channels declined by $45 million between 2006 and 2011. Using Statistics Canada data, we calculated that conventional television stations saw a 55% decrease in their profits between 2004 and 2013. In 2014, they even experienced a loss of revenue, as shown in the following figure. The situation was the opposite for specialty channels.
8 BRIN, Colette and ST-PIERRE, Marilou. (2013). Crise des médias et effectifs rédactionnels au Québec. Centre d’études sur les médias.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
Figure 3
[TRANSLATION: Television Broadcasting Industries, Private Conventional Television (Quebec) Blue line = Operating revenue, total (x 1,000) Orange line = Salaries and staff benefits (x 1,000) Grey line = Profit before interest and taxes (x 1,000) Source: Statistics Canada. Table 357-0001 – Television broadcasting industry, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), annual (dollars unless otherwise noted), CANSIM (database). (Consulted December 2, 2015)]
Radio
The radio sector features more than 100 private commercial stations. Although a few have had to shut down (CJMS and CINW in Montreal, for example), the industry is still relatively stable overall. The public broadcaster operates two networks in each official language. There are more than 60 Aboriginal and community radio stations, 6 campus stations, and 2 religious stations with non-commercial licences.9 There is still some concentration in the radio industry, despite the number of stations. Bell Media holds 60% of the anglophone market share in Montreal; RNC
9 CHARLTON, Sébastien, GIROUX, Daniel and LEMIEUX, Michel. (2013). Comment les Québécois s’informent-ils?
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Brief regarding the future of regional news media and Cogeco are also major players in terms of station ownership.
Despite its strong performance, radio has not been able to escape the significant changes that are rocking traditional media. The number of people who listen to the radio has actually declined. Since 2008, the most significant decreases in the province have been among people aged 65 and over, who listened to the radio an average of 3.4 hours less per week in 2013 compared with 2008, and among people aged 25 to 34, who listened to 2.5 hours less per week in the same period. In 2012, Quebeckers aged 18 and over spent an average of 18.8 hours a week listening to conventional radio, a decrease from 2002. Nevertheless, despite the decline in listenership, commercial stations appear able to adapt and are doing well financially. The figure below shows the drop in listenership among all age groups. Seniors continue to spend more time listening to the radio than young people.
Figure 4
[TRANSLATION: Weekly radio listenership in Quebec, by age group, 2008 and 2013 Left axis: Number of hours per week Right axis: 12-17 years, 18-24 years, 25-34 years, 35-49 years, 50-64 years, 65 years + Source: BBM data from autumn 2008 and autumn 2013, taken from the 2010 and 2015 editions of the Guide annuel des médias, published by Infopresse]
Digital media
There is no question that use of the Internet has skyrocketed over the past decade, causing repercussions for traditional media. As the following table shows, use of the Internet as a news source is on the rise and is surpassing traditional television
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
among francophone Quebeckers. In 2002, 51% of Quebeckers had a home Internet connection in 2002. That figure had risen to 78% by 2012.10 Young people are even more likely to use digital media as a source of news or entertainment. More than 90% of individuals aged 18 to 44 use the Internet at least once a week. Sites such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Réseau Canoë and Bell Média are the most popular among Quebec users.
Table 1: Average amount of time spent daily consulting the media for news (minutes)
2007 2009 2011 2013 2015
Digital media 6.7 13.4 13.1 19.3 37.1 Television 34.3 41.9 37.9 33.2 30.7 Radio 14.0 16.8 15.2 14.3 16.1 Print dailies 15.4 17.6 15.6 16.1 10.2 Print magazines 6.6 6.0 3.8 6.8 3.9 Print weeklies 6.9 5.8 4.1 6.3 3.1
Total 83.9 101.5 89.7 96.0 101.1
Source: Centre d’études sur les médias (CEM)
Advertisers have obviously picked up on the increased use of the Internet and are using digital media to reach their target audience. The Internet has gobbled up a fair amount of advertising spending and continues in this direction. The percentage of Internet advertising climbed from 0.9% in 2003 to 20.4% in 2012, an increase of 19.5 percentage points in less than a decade. During the same period, there was a drop in the advertising share of the following media forms: television (5.6%), daily newspapers (10.9%), radio (1.1%) and magazines (2.8%). This digital revolution, as some have called it, has been a game changer for the advertising market. Since the digital media’s cost structure lets them offer lower prices to advertisers, the traditional media are also being forced to lower their prices. The digital media are competing against the traditional media, some might say unfairly, since they are increasing their revenue by distributing content that they did not necessarily produce. The data in the following table show the significant drop in advertising revenues for traditional media since the advent of the Internet.
10 Minister of Culture and Communications. Culture, communications et technologies numériques au Québec, May 2014.
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Mémoire sur l’avenir de l’information régionale
Table 2: Changes in advertising revenues by medium in Quebec (%)
Medium 2003 2009 2010 2011 2012 2003-2012
Television 33.6 29.1 28.7 29.3 28 -5.6 Daily papers 29 20 19.5 18.1 18 -10.9 Radio 13.1 12.6 12.4 12.3 12 -1.1 Weeklies 9.7 10.9 9.9 9.9 10.3 0.6 Magazines 8.3 6.9 6.5 5.8 5.5 -2.8 Billboards 5.5 5.9 6.2 6.2 5.7 0.2 Internet 0.9 14.5 16.8 18.5 20.4 19.5 Total 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Centre d’études sur les médias (CEM)
In search of a new model
Despite the integration strategies adopted by the media, their financial viability in an industry that is in full transition is by no means a sure thing. Data show that many of these media are in a precarious financial situation and are facing a dual imbalance.
First, consumers, especially younger ones, are increasingly less willing to pay for news they can find for free or think they can find for free on other platforms. They are also looking for immediacy and interaction, something that traditional media, especially newspapers, cannot offer. Consequently, they use the Internet to meet their needs. The audience for traditional media is slowly and steadily shrinking, and subscription revenues are declining. Second, advertising revenues are declining and being swallowed up by digital media. This financial problem, which is not unique to print media, is calling into question the viability of the traditional media’s business model, and threatening the quality and diversity of the news. Although there are many players in the digital media, the market is dominated by a few major international names like Google, Microsoft and Facebook. Moreover, the majority of them do not produce news, they merely disseminate it. They are broadcasting platforms rather than producers of information. They do not incur the same costs as traditional media, and can therefore more easily attract advertisers by offering better prices.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
The traditional media aren’t quite sure how to deal with these changes. In order to survive, some have had to change their mandate and now operate as though their primary goal were to sell advertising. This is the case of many radio stations in Quebec. In order to continue to be profitable, most have gotten rid of their newsroom because it was too costly to operate. Others have opted to hire a minimum number of journalists to relay news produced by a media outlet or to comment on this information during talk shows. Radio stations rarely produce news.
Conventional television is no exception. When Remstar bought Télévision Quatre-Saisons in 2008 and rebranded it as “V,” one of the major decisions made by the new owners was to close the newsroom, which resulted in the layoff of hundreds of employees. In terms of French-language conventional television in Quebec, only Radio-Canada, our public broadcaster, and Québecor’s TVA produce news. No direct government assistance is allocated to print media or conventional television — with the exception of our public broadcaster — to produce news. The Canada Media Fund supports the creation of Canadian television content in four genres (drama, children and youth, documentary and variety), but no funding is provided for news production.
To deal with this situation, paid newspapers are turning to the Web. Daily newspapers like Le Devoir, Le Journal de Montréal, and The Gazette have introduced partial paid subscriptions on the Web. This model seems to be working relatively well. La Presse, on the other hand, has opted to offer free news. In April 2013, the newspaper adopted a strategy that seeks to somewhat reinvent news products, and launched its La Presse+ mobile app for tablets. The app has been very successful and has allowed the daily to renew its readership. While this model initially appears to be promising, only time will tell whether it will be viable in the long term. Adopting this strategy means that the daily newspaper now has only one source of income — advertising — at a time when the Western world is witnessing a steady decline in advertising revenues. From another perspective, is there not a danger that this total dependence on advertising income could compromise news quality and variety? Some analysts already find that news content is heavily influenced by advertising. In the absence of true regulation, advertising sometimes goes so far as to take the form of news, with the sponsor controlling the content, to the point that we no longer hesitate to talk about misleading or disguised advertising. News is mixed in with product advertising. For newspapers that rely totally on advertising income, there is a significant risk that these problems will become more pronounced.
At the same time, we are fully aware that the advertising market has very little interest in public-interest news. This type of news, which generates debate and discussion, is expensive to produce and is not necessarily profitable.11 The digital media are taking a growing chunk of advertising income without necessarily trying to produce quality news, and the traditional media are trying to inform the public as best they can while coping with fewer resources and significant financial difficulties. Is there a future for public-interest news? In our opinion, government must intervene to re-establish a balance within the industry, thereby guaranteeing the public's right to information, which is recognized in various charters. The time has come for the governments of Canada and Quebec to financially support news production and consider how to provide that financial support.
11 BRUNELLE, Anne-Marie, Labonté, Véronique and PAYETTE, Dominique. L’information au Québec – Un intérêt public. Groupe de travail sur le journalisme et l’avenir de l’information au Québec, January 2011. (https://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/documents/publications/media/rapport-Payette-2010.pdf)
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Some countries, including France, Norway and Sweden, openly support their media with direct or indirect aid. These countries have also implemented measures to consolidate funding for public broadcasters to enable them to deliver diversified, quality content to the public. For example, in 2009, Norway’s public broadcaster, NRK, received public funding equal to $164 per inhabitant. That figure was $106 per capita in Sweden and $78 per capita in France. Nothing like this has been done in Canada or even in Quebec. The current government has announced funding for CBC/Radio-Canada. This is a step in the right direction. However, given the profound changes taking place, we must go further and consolidate the role the public broadcaster is expected to play in producing quality news, whether local, national or international.
CBC/Radio-Canada, a Crown corporation, is increasingly relying on advertising revenues to support its programming; however, data have revealed that total advertising investments are steadily declining in Québec.12 The presence of a player like CBC /Radio Canada on the advertising market reduces the income margins for private broadcasters, leaving them less to invest in the production of local news content. Public funding of CBC/Radio Canada must be increased on an ongoing basis so that it can promote its distinct character and reduce its dependence on advertising revenues. This will benefit not only private broadcasters, but also local production as a whole. In 2009, our public broadcaster was getting $34 per capita in funding — one-fifth the amount Norway was allocating to its public broadcaster.13 The status of public television in Quebec is no better. Funding for Télé-Québec has also been cut. One of the recommendations in the Payette report was to provide Télé-Québec with substantial funding and a news mandate to allow the province’s educational and cultural public broadcaster to contribute to the quality and variety of regional and interregional news. This recommendation was shelved. In short, the media crisis continues in both Canada and Quebec. The FNC believes it is time for government authorities to intervene to regulate the situation.
Although our governments are negotiating rules related to telecommunications, electronic commerce, etc., in free trade agreements, the federal and Quebec regulatory bodies have not updated their regulations, despite all of the changes that have taken place in the media sector. Yet we know that changes are threatening our culture and our jobs. Many are speaking out — not only in Canada but around the world and especially in Europe — to demand better regulation of the Internet as well as a tax policy for Internet giants. By evading taxes, dodging national and local rules, and creating unfair competition for our media and our producers, these large multinationals are threatening our identity and our democracy. We must regulate them. In this digital age, it is unrealistic for Canada and Quebec to believe that market forces alone can protect our culture and democracy when our neighbour and main economic partner is the United States.
12 DESÎLET, Christian. L’asymétrie des revenus publicitaires des medias d’information traditionnels et modernes. Survey conducted for the Groupe de travail sur le journalisme et l’avenir de l’information au Québec. Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, 2 September 2015, 15 pp. (https://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/fileadmin/documents/publications/media/Christian_Desilets_- _Asymetrie_des_revenus_publicitaires_des_medias_traditionnels_et_modernes.pdf ) 13 NORDICITY, Analysis of Government Support for Public Broadcasting and Other Culture In Canada. April 2011 (http://www.nordicity.com/media/20121112jzxkpxjc.pdf)
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The media in Canada and Quebec: a highly concentrated industry
A number of committees and study groups, both federal and provincial, have examined this issue. There was the Davey Committee in the 1970s, and the Kent Commission in the 1980s. Like the Davey Committee, the Kent Commission clearly denounced the concentration of newspaper ownership and its impact on the editorial independence of daily newspapers in Canada. The report presented by Tom Kent also contained a series of recommendations to curtail and regulate the phenomenon. For example, the Commission proposed that chains be prohibited from owning more than five newspapers, or from owning more than two within a 500-kilometre radius. The Commission also recommended the break-up of regional monopolies. No owner could control more than 5% of Canada's total newspaper circulation. It also recommended the creation of a press ownership review board to monitor the application of the new rules and to authorize inter-company mergers and acquisitions. Given the current state of affairs, it goes without saying that the Davey and Kent recommendations were not acted on.
In Quebec, in 2003, the Parti Québécois government established the Advisory Committee on Information Quality and Diversity in Quebec, chaired by Armande Saint-Jean, a former journalist and professor. That committee also reported on the worrisome concentration of media ownership in Quebec in the wake of the major trend toward convergence. Although the Advisory Committee did not go as far as the Kent Commission in identifying how to regulate media concentration, it did relaunch the idea of a review board for the sector.14 Furthermore, there was no follow-up to the 2011 report prepared by the Groupe de travail sur le journalisme et l’avenir de l’information au Québec under the direction of journalist and professor Dominique Payette. That document highlighted the problems associated with media convergence, and the future of public-interest news and regional news, among other things. A few years later, we find ourselves back at square one. The Quebec government, like the federal government, has done nothing to address the multiple issues raised in these reports.
The superficial decisions made by the CRTC ignore the profound changes that have marked the industry over the past 15 years and are evidence of the trend toward greater liberalization. Quite obviously, regulatory bodies have opted for a laissez-faire approach that has allowed media concentration to continue. The Internet giants, for their part, are self-regulating and calling the shots in an environment where no one cares about the public’s access to diversified, quality news.
Media concentration and the quality of information
Media companies are called on to play a vital role in our democratic life by making the public’s right to information a priority. Serving the public is part of their job. These companies must therefore produce news that is in the public interest, serious, in-depth and diversified so that citizens can participate fully in society. However, media concentration increases the trend toward commercialization of the news. Too
14 TREMBLAY, Gaétan. Concentration de la propriété et pluralisme de l’information : un débat suranné? Conference proceedings of the Interuniversity Research Centre on Communication, Information and Society (CRICIS), September 2013. (http://www.cricis.uqam.ca/IMG/pdf/CRICIS_Actes_Colloque_concentration_et_pluralisme_VF.pdf)
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often, news is produced because it is seen as profitable. Its main purpose is to entertain. Because of its ability to attract an audience, and therefore advertisers and advertising revenues, the news is designed more to entice than to inform.
It is easy to understand why the Quebec media are less interested in public interest reporting, investigative journalism or international news. The same is true for regional news, which targets an even more limited audience. These types of news are considered expensive and they do not attract many advertisers, since companies do not want their products or services to be associated with subjects that are controversial or, worse, that put them in a bad light. International news, when it is produced, focuses less on political issues and more on soft issues, trivia and sensationalism.
The situation is not any better when it comes to regional and inter-regional news. Regional news gets relegated to the background. Since it is not profitable, there are not many companies left that produce it. The media that still maintain a regional presence have drastically cut back their resources and have few or no reporters in the field to cover the news. This is true for the private sector and the public broadcaster as well. Cutbacks over the past few years have forced Radio-Canada to severely reduce its regional staff, to the detriment of regional news. There are fewer and fewer regional media outlets and those that are present operate as monopolies or quasi-monopolies, a situation that does not foster diversity of opinion. Quebec is undergoing a centralization, if not a "Montrealization," of the news. Media concentration encourages commercialization of the news and creates a genuine imbalance in the fundamental objectives of a media company. In so doing, it also impedes the democratic functioning of our society.
Concentration also eliminates any media competition by limiting news production to a very few companies. Healthy competition can contribute to the production of quality news, enable the public to get news from a variety of sources, and encourage pluralistic content. However, concentration of ownership leads to a uniformity of the news. The news ends up being controlled by a small group, leading to a narrower range of ideas and subjects over the long term — a situation that weakens our democracy. The potential degradation of the news threatens diversity, publicly and professionally. Concentration is bad for the work of journalists. Journalists face more restrictions when they have a limited number of employers to choose from. In the current environment, where there is not a significant legal framework governing the media’s responsibility to inform, journalists must often sacrifice their independence and integrity to keep their job in a large media organization. Concentration leads to the real risk that commercial interests will take precedence over fair and impartial news coverage. Concentration and convergence
Concentration of the media has also fostered a policy of convergence, which is just as harmful as concentration and is strongly supported by conglomerates.
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Convergence occurs when a company merges its news activities and produces standardized content that it circulates to its different media properties. The company also uses multiple platforms to promote the group’s commercial interests, which could lead to a conflict of interest. Convergence is a fairly common strategy in the media industry. In Quebec, the prime example is Québecor, a multinational that has become a leader in media convergence. Québecor owns several media companies: TVA, Le Journal de Montréal, Le Journal de Québec, Vidéotron, Réseau Canoë and others. Through QMI, an agency established in 2009, Québécor freely circulates its content among its media properties without having to ensure the editorial independence of each, and can force freelance journalists to give up their copyright. The agency acts as an internal portal for posting all of the information produced by the organization online. Convergence accentuates the imbalance that already exists between the media’s economic and social objectives, and contributes further to making the news uniform. Convergence is simply designed to increase company profits by keeping labour costs down and it goes so far as to encourage a company to choose content based on its economic and even political interests.
There is no question that convergence has a negative effect on the quality and pluralism of the news. Journalists understandably hate this strategy and reject it overwhelmingly, according to studies by Professor Bernier.15 Convergence makes the necessary barrier between the employer and the newsroom tenuous. There is no guarantee of editorial independence, and producing diversified, quality news becomes a secondary consideration. The impact of concentration and convergence on employment
Concentration and convergence have significantly affected the number and quality of jobs available in the media. The employment outlook for young journalism graduates is grim. They often have to take a non-standard job (occasional, temporary, freelance, contributor) to enter the job market, and they risk spending a good part of their career there. Non-standard employment is not a temporary situation but a reality that shapes the lives of many people in the industry. Concentration and convergence have led to a decline in permanent employment and an increase in insecure employment.
We have been unable to find accurate data on changes in the number of journalists working for magazines or the daily press in Quebec, but employment has decreased by all indications. The following table offers a picture of employment changes in the print sector. The number of employees decreased from 2004 to 2014. There was a loss of close to 2,000 jobs. This information seems to reflect the problems that the print media and magazines are experiencing. Radio and television also lost more than 1,200 jobs. Pay and specialty TV have seen an increase in employment in recent
15 BERNIER, Marc-François. Les journalistes face à la convergence des médias au Québec : un aperçu des raisons d’un rejet massif. Canadian Journal of Communication, Vol. 35., 2010
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years, but the data for 2014, which show the number of jobs nearly at their 2004 level, is causing significant concern.
Table 3: Changes in the number of employees in the print, radio and television broadcasting sectors in Quebec
[Translation: Number of employees* (monthly average) Newspaper, periodical, book and directory publishers Radio and television broadcasting Pay and specialty television Source: Statistics Canada. Table 281-0023 – Employment (SEPH), unadjusted for seasonal variation, by type of employee for selected industries classified using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), monthly (persons), CANSIM (database). (Consulted December 2, 2015)]
In general, concentration and convergence contribute to lower job quality for journalists. The people crafting the news have to work in different media and under difficult conditions. They have to be more productive and prepare content for several platforms. Creating online videos is a good example. Journalists produce not only the content, and sometimes the sound, but also the video. They are now in a multi-platform, multi-tasking world, and their workload is increasing considerably as a result. They are constantly under pressure to do more with less, even if their work is not recognized or properly compensated in most cases. The Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada recently conducted a survey of its membership and found that this overload, combined with the complexity and intensity of their work, is causing significant psychological distress among workers.16
16 LAPRISE, Natacha. (2015). Enquête sur la santé psychologique des membres du Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada (FNC-CSN). Confédération des syndicats nationaux
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The situation is even worse for freelance journalists, who have no access to collective bargaining. The Association des journalistes indépendants du Québec (AJIQ) has repeatedly called for a collective bargaining process to set terms and conditions of employment for its members, and for a standard contract with media companies establishing basic working conditions. The AJIQ has received no response. Similarly, the Payette report recommended collective bargaining for freelance journalists, but no action has been taken so far.
As a result, freelance journalists are still unable to earn a living solely on the basis of their profession. They have to do other things to make ends meet. According to a brief submitted by the AJIQ in 2011, the rate per page earned by freelance journalists has not changed in 30 or even 40 years. In the 1970s, freelancers starting out in their career could earn $50 per page. In 2011, the rate per page for rookie freelancers could start at $50.17 While this situation may seem alarming or even outrageous, it should not surprise anyone. In a market where employers are disappearing, freelance journalists have no way to improve their working conditions. The unfair contracts that are in place with employers such as TVA Publications and others are further proof. In addition, journalists have to give up the moral rights to their work and, consequently, their royalties. How can we ensure the public has access to diversified, quality news when the people producing the news have no security? The answer is obvious.
Conclusion
In this brief, we have presented the many issues confronting the news sector. From an organizational perspective, the traditional media are plagued by financial problems that make it difficult for them to pursue their primary objective of informing the public. The Internet and other technological innovations have increased access to news and the ability to reach more audiences. Use of digital media and social media, which are free for the most past, is increasing. However, they are mainly platforms for distributing news rather than producing it, and they are depriving traditional media of a significant share of their revenues and pushing them to the brink of bankruptcy. This state of affairs is challenging the business model of traditional media and seems to be leading to a news crisis, which could eventually become a democratic crisis.
In addition to these profound changes, the strategies of concentration and convergence, which dominate the media industry, are increasing the commercialization of news and thus threatening its quality and diversity. Soft news, trivia and sensationalism now grab the headlines. The primary purpose of the news is to entertain. Expanding audiences is the main objective and the only way to increase revenues. That is why public-interest news that sparks debate in a democratic society, regional and inter-regional news that fosters a local identity, or
17 Association des journalistes indépendants du Québec. Pour une information au service de l’intérêt public. Septembre 2011.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news international news that opens a window on the world are relegated to the background. These types of news are considered expensive and offer no guarantee of profitability for the conglomerates. It is no surprise that this kind of environment undermines the work of journalists. Their workload is increasing as they are being asked to multi-task and work in numerous platforms. Freelance journalists find that there is no way to negotiate employment conditions in such a heavily concentrated industry. Their independence and integrity are being severely tested.
Many federal and provincial committees have already raised most of the issues presented in this brief and made numerous recommendations. Instead of taking action, our governments and regulatory agencies have further deregulated the media industry without any regard for the possible consequences for our future as a society, our culture and our democracy. As part of this consultation process, the Fédération nationale des communications is calling on our leaders to redefine their vision for the media. Our various levels of government have a duty to take action, as their counterparts in other Western countries are doing, to preserve and improve the accessibility, quality and diversity of the news.
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Brief regarding the future of regional news
Recommendation 1
The FNC-CSN believes that there is a need in Canada and Quebec to introduce measures to finance the production of diversified, quality news. All funding options must be considered. We favour payroll tax credits, as they would enable media companies that are in financial difficulty to maintain their staff or, even better, to hire journalists in order to improve the pluralism and diversity of the news. Similarly, this type of measure would enable companies to hire more advertising representatives or persons specializing in new technology.
Recommendation 2
The federal government must introduce a permanent fund to support local and regional programming and production so that the media can increase their regional presence. Funds must be dedicated to regional news production.
Recommendation 3
CBC/Radio-Canada must be involved in the production of quality local and regional news, and must increase its regional presence. To this end, the Crown corporation requires more sustained funding, and management must be more committed and focused on regional realities.
Recommendation 4
High-speed Internet must be recognized as an essential service in order to provide citizens with access to diversified, quality news, particularly in remote regions.
Recommendation 5
The government must introduce grant programs to support digital innovation. Similar programs already exist for cultural businesses. Many small media companies do not have the financial resources to develop better online applications. As the public increases its use of the Internet, the media must be able to offer more interesting, innovative and effective platforms.
Recommendation 6
Given the upheaval experienced by our media companies, political leaders need to establish a task force on the regulation of Internet multinationals. We need the proper tools to safeguard the production of local content in a digital age. Our leaders also have the duty to demand that these major corporations, which capitalize on lucrative local and national advertising markets, help finance the production and dissemination of diversified, quality news that reflects these markets. They must also comply with the tax regulations of the countries in which they operate.
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Recommendation 7
The federal and provincial governments must address the issue of media concentration and convergence immediately. Clear restrictions must be imposed on media companies to limit the scope of certain strategies that threaten the quality and diversity of the news. It is also critical to strengthen the regulation of the media and their responsibility to inform. In other words, our leaders must take action to protect the diversity of viewpoints locally, regionally and nationally.
Recommendation 8
The FNC-CSN believes there is a need to thoroughly review the role and governance of the CRTC as well as the rules for appointing commissioners. There is no room for political partisanship in these appointments. When industry representatives asked the CRTC to regulate the Internet giants, the Harper government intervened directly and acted reprehensibly. The purpose of the CRTC must be to ensure that licence holders comply with the conditions imposed on them, particularly with regard to the news. The CRTC must also be involved in consultations on legislating and regulating the Internet, and protecting the local and national media.
Recommendation 9
We believe the various levels of government must attempt to spend their advertising budgets primarily in the Canadian and Quebec media. While we aware that a huge audience can be reached through social media, it is ridiculous for our tax dollars to go to multinationals that refuse to comply with tax regulations and do not contribute in any way to producing Canadian and Quebec news and cultural content.
Recommendation 10
As the use of social media expands, we believe the federal government must work with its provincial partners to introduce media literacy programs. Citizens must be able to distinguish between news from reliable sources and "fake news." They must also be able to identify advertising or promotional content, which is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish from editorial content. In summary, given the explosion of the Internet, the role of professional journalists must be explained and emphasized.
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