Boltman: Turn anger into action and save our news
Politicians need to move beyond their anger over Bell Media’s cuts and actually help Canadian media compete.
By Marla Boltman, Executive Director, Friends of Canadian Media
Originally published in The Toronto Star, February 16 2024.
Friends of Canadian Media
The roaring cascade of cuts to news journalism continued last week — this time at Bell Media — prompting Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to say he was “pissed off” and B.C. Premier David Eby to bemoan Bell’s “encrapification” of news. Prior to the new year, news of layoffs at the CBC provoked similar responses.
Sadly, even the best sound bites won’t fund journalism, nor will hauling Bell executives in front of Parliament for a public pillory.
To be fair, it’s not that elected officials have failed to respond to the crisis in news. The federal government has responded with the public purse and by mandating news funding from Google, Canadian broadcasters and cable companies, and, if the CRTC gets on board, foreign streamers.
But despite these actions, layoffs will continue…