Now is the time to close the truth gap
It is quite rare for the major political parties in Canada to agree on anything, especially in the heat of a federal election campaign.
Yet everyone agrees that we must look to an Australian model to ensure the long-term commercial viability of the Canadian news media industry. Why is a strong newspaper industry important to Canadians? Simply put, because journalism is essential to our democracy.
In their book Truth Decay , published in 2018, Jennifer Kavanagh and Michael D. Rich, of the RAND Corporation, state that there is “a growing lack of agreement on facts and analytical interpretations of facts and data, a blurred line between opinion and fact, an increasing relative volume - and the resulting influence - of opinion and personal experience over fact, and a decline in reliance on sources of evidence. 'formerly respected factual information'.
Developing on this theme, the two authors note that, in the past, newspapers and news channels were the mediators of information. As pillars of these "guardian" institutions, publishers and broadcasters were and remain liable, as they can be sued for libel and are subject to certain standards and regulations. This is not the case with social media and web platforms, which are not controlled and are not held to account. The authors claim that “the filters and algorithms built into social media platforms and search engines, such as Google,
We fully agree with their conclusion that the degradation of the truth has harmful consequences, especially with regard to "the erosion of civil discourse, political paralysis, alienation and disengagement of individuals from towards political and civic institutions, and political uncertainty ”.
Which brings us to the next question: What can we, as Canadians, do about this?
One solution is to invest in investigative journalism, which acts as a formidable counterweight to major powers, including governments and corporations. Investigative journalism serves the public interest and often leads to administrative, legislative and regulatory reforms and better behavior. Investigative journalism requires an investment of time, talent and money.
Today, as advertising dollars are siphoned off by big tech companies, funds are scarce and newsrooms are both under heavy demand and under stress. However, investigative journalism can only flourish in a healthy media ecosystem.
Australians understood this dynamic. In 2019, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission proposed a binding code and arbitration regime to level the playing field between the country's news media publishers and Google and Facebook, to which the two companies agreed. opposites. This fierce opposition continued after the government introduced its bill. In February 2021, in a last-minute effort to prevent passage of the legislation, Google announced its “News Showcase” plan in Australia. For its part, Facebook threatened to pack up and leave Australia completely. However, neither of these two tactics succeeded. The government went ahead and enacted the bill, which received Royal Assent in March 2021.
This outcome was a resounding success for the local news media in Australia. To avoid binding arbitration, the two platforms have negotiated contracts with the news media that provide for significant remuneration. While the actual terms are confidential and some contracts are still being negotiated, we understand that the two companies together pay around 30% of the cost for each full-time reporter. It is clear that the threat of final offer arbitration, like in baseball, allows Australian newspaper publishers large and small to invest in real journalists, who produce real content.
This is much better than the “divide and conquer” approach employed by Big Techs which, in addition to lacking transparency, allows platforms to play against each other with inadequate compensation offers compared to what is needed. 'Binding arbitration would provide and leave small headlines behind.
On behalf of Canada's news media publishers from coast to coast, representing more than 1,000 communities and employing over two-thirds of Canadian journalists, News Media Canada is encouraged to see that all major political parties of Canada support this approach and recognize the urgency of the situation. We have produced a bill on digital platforms, which can be introduced on the first day of the next legislative session. This responds to the need for an exemption from section 45 of the Competition Act , which currently prevents collective bargaining.
The Google and Facebook platforms have combined annual revenues in Canada of over $ 9 billion. It is only through the threat of arbitrage that meaningful compensation will be provided by these platforms to all Canadian news media. News Media Canada is ready to support collective bargaining for headlines big and small.
All major Canadian political parties agree that the Australian model is a simple, fair and proven solution that works in Australia. This model does not require taxpayer dollars, new taxes, or user fees. Its use of collective bargaining backed by baseball-style arbitration is the best way to redress the current power imbalance between the web giants and the country's local news media. The Australian model will allow us to continue to invest in excellence in Canadian journalism today and for the long term and will help close the truth gap that plagues our democracy.
In their book Truth Decay , published in 2018, Jennifer Kavanagh and Michael D. Rich, of the RAND Corporation, state that there is “a growing lack of agreement on facts and analytical interpretations of facts and data, a blurred line between opinion and fact, an increasing relative volume - and the resulting influence - of opinion and personal experience over fact, and a decline in reliance on sources of evidence. 'formerly respected factual information'.
Developing on this theme, the two authors note that, in the past, newspapers and news channels were the mediators of information. As pillars of these "guardian" institutions, publishers and broadcasters were and remain liable, as they can be sued for libel and are subject to certain standards and regulations. This is not the case with social media and web platforms, which are not controlled and are not held to account. The authors claim that “the filters and algorithms built into social media platforms and search engines, such as Google,
We fully agree with their conclusion that the degradation of the truth has harmful consequences, especially with regard to "the erosion of civil discourse, political paralysis, alienation and disengagement of individuals from towards political and civic institutions, and political uncertainty ”.
Which brings us to the next question: What can we, as Canadians, do about this?
One solution is to invest in investigative journalism, which acts as a formidable counterweight to major powers, including governments and corporations. Investigative journalism serves the public interest and often leads to administrative, legislative and regulatory reforms and better behavior. Investigative journalism requires an investment of time, talent and money.
Today, as advertising dollars are siphoned off by big tech companies, funds are scarce and newsrooms are both under heavy demand and under stress. However, investigative journalism can only flourish in a healthy media ecosystem.
Australians understood this dynamic. In 2019, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission proposed a binding code and arbitration regime to level the playing field between the country's news media publishers and Google and Facebook, to which the two companies agreed. opposites. This fierce opposition continued after the government introduced its bill. In February 2021, in a last-minute effort to prevent passage of the legislation, Google announced its “News Showcase” plan in Australia. For its part, Facebook threatened to pack up and leave Australia completely. However, neither of these two tactics succeeded. The government went ahead and enacted the bill, which received Royal Assent in March 2021.
This outcome was a resounding success for the local news media in Australia. To avoid binding arbitration, the two platforms have negotiated contracts with the news media that provide for significant remuneration. While the actual terms are confidential and some contracts are still being negotiated, we understand that the two companies together pay around 30% of the cost for each full-time reporter. It is clear that the threat of final offer arbitration, like in baseball, allows Australian newspaper publishers large and small to invest in real journalists, who produce real content.
This is much better than the “divide and conquer” approach employed by Big Techs which, in addition to lacking transparency, allows platforms to play against each other with inadequate compensation offers compared to what is needed. 'Binding arbitration would provide and leave small headlines behind.
On behalf of Canada's news media publishers from coast to coast, representing more than 1,000 communities and employing over two-thirds of Canadian journalists, News Media Canada is encouraged to see that all major political parties of Canada support this approach and recognize the urgency of the situation. We have produced a bill on digital platforms, which can be introduced on the first day of the next legislative session. This responds to the need for an exemption from section 45 of the Competition Act , which currently prevents collective bargaining.
The Google and Facebook platforms have combined annual revenues in Canada of over $ 9 billion. It is only through the threat of arbitrage that meaningful compensation will be provided by these platforms to all Canadian news media. News Media Canada is ready to support collective bargaining for headlines big and small.
All major Canadian political parties agree that the Australian model is a simple, fair and proven solution that works in Australia. This model does not require taxpayer dollars, new taxes, or user fees. Its use of collective bargaining backed by baseball-style arbitration is the best way to redress the current power imbalance between the web giants and the country's local news media. The Australian model will allow us to continue to invest in excellence in Canadian journalism today and for the long term and will help close the truth gap that plagues our democracy.
PRESS
JAMIE IRVING ET PAUL DEEGAN
https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2021-09-04/elections-federales-2021/l-heure-est-venue-de-combler-le-deficit-de-verite.php
JAMIE IRVING ET PAUL DEEGAN
https://www.lapresse.ca/debats/opinions/2021-09-04/elections-federales-2021/l-heure-est-venue-de-combler-le-deficit-de-verite.php