ANALYSIS: What Happened to Local Independent News? Canada’s News Landscape
TONY WEBSTER/THE CHRONICLE HERALD
We live in a world where information is at an all-time high of importance. Never has it been more necessary for a diversity of news media sources, given the state of affairs in the last five years. Yet despite this, news monopolies are becoming ever more present. So what is going on under the surface of Canada’s news landscape, and what does it mean for the future of independent news?
Local news is a term often thrown around, so it’s important to define the different types of news media in Canada. Local news organizations are generally small, independent newspapers that report on specific communities. However, some local news organizations are not independent, as many are assets owned by larger media companies.
Local independent media has all but dried up across most of the country. Barren journalistic wastelands lie where many independent news organizations once were. Although BC has been more fortunate than other jurisdictions, it too has felt the downward trend.
Across Canada, 448 news operations have been forced to close since 2008, representing a worrying trend. It is very easy to not worry about local news, stereotyping it as unimportant. However, local news holds some of the most important roles in journalism; it helps keep local leaders responsible for their decisions and to inform people in the local area and can get smaller or unknown stories picked up by larger, national media.
Local independent news is harder hit by many of the obstacles that already plague the news industry. An overall drop in traditional news consumption has left local independent news with even less of a consumer base. In general, a growing majority of the population has stated that they wouldn’t miss their local independent news if it disappeared, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Large platforms such as Facebook and Google have also siphoned consumers away from local news.
As social media continues to grow, as will its influence. Social media offers short and quick access to news, with 21 per cent of people from the United States using it often to get their news, and over 40 per cent of people aged 18-29, according to another Pew Research Center survey. While this form of news is easy to consume because of its short and accessible format, it also carries with it a very short attention span. This often means that the full story goes unread.
Local independent news also faces large obstacles in the form of resources. While larger operations can afford and have the ability to produce high-quality work, smaller operations have a far more difficult time chasing stories. Simply put, if you have more reporters, you have a far better chance of getting that story you want, as they will have the time to do so.
However, local news is far from dead. One of the largest examples of this has been the Overstory Media Group, which plans to hire 250 more journalists and create 50 new local news publications in the local area, as stated by the group through a company announcement. Overstory’s community-based approach for a local news redesign is a good example for the rest of British Columbia’s independent news community. While the community includes strong publications such as The Tyee, the Ricochet, the Discourse, which have focused on issues important to BC, including the recent floods and Fairy Creek protests, there is still a lot that can be learned from Overstory’s redesign.
Local news’s future remains shrouded, with questions surrounding if it will ever become important enough for the general public to actively support outlets stay afloat.
The truth is, for many places local news isn’t truly local. Media empires have and continue to envelop smaller newsrooms.
Most news Canadians consume is controlled by a select few companies, which is a frightening thought, as their information and opinions often lie in the hands of a select few. Out in the east, Brunswick News Inc. owns almost all print publications in its namesake province. Black Press, located in British Columbia, owns over 170 publications, many of which are local papers. Postmedia is Canada’s largest player, owning over 120 media “brands”, including large, well-known papers like the Vancouver Sun and The National Post.
This trend towards corporate-dominated news media is one of the most harmful towards the future of independent and local media. Large organizations continue to consume smaller ones, removing independence. Many times, large media corporations have abused their expansive ownership to push political views upon their consumers.
Large media empires focus mainly on the bottom line and let public service take a back seat.
In their goal to control the media market, large media groups purchase smaller chains in hopes of adding to their profits. This has another negative side effect in removing the competition in the news industry. With no one to challenge them, large organizations have fewer worries about the quality of their work; rather profits are all that concerns them. Additionally, there are far fewer independent news organizations with the resources to challenge the goliaths, with their departure creating even more news deserts.
The largest casualty of this mass media trend has been the independence of news publications. No longer do editors make the final cut with management and owners often stepping in to enforce their own opinions. For instance, David Black, owner of Black Press, was accused of preventing pro-Nisga treaty stories, as he personally was against it. With Black Press being such a large organization, it is needless to say this would have an impact on public opinion. The same can be said about Postmedia’s control over public opinion, with the group owning The Province and The Vancouver Sun, the largest publications in British Columbia.
Similar events have happened with other organizations, where owners directly fund political candidates and instruct their papers to share the same views.
Canada’s news landscape is very different from what it looks like on the surface.
Conglomerates control most of the market and local independent news is being squeezed, but some breakthrough outlets are emerging.