Media outlets urge Manitoba government to buy more ads on their platforms, consider tax credit for salaries
'It's not new money. It's money that already exists,' newspaper editor says in asking Manitoba to up ad spend
Several journalism managers say the Manitoba government can help their media outlets survive without spending any additional money.
A public hearing on local journalism was told Wednesday that the government can support outlets by reallocating some of the advertising money it spends on other platforms, such as international social media sites, toward their operations.
"It's not new money. It's money that already exists, and to redirect them from American tech giants and put this money back into local journalism," Sophie Gaulin, editor-in-chief of the French-language La Liberté newspaper, said after presenting to the all-party committee.
An all-party committee is looking into ways to support legacy media outlets after many newspapers, television and radio outlets have either disappeared or reduced services over the years.
Gaulin said her weekly publication is "alive and well," but over time, they've printed fewer pages, because advertising has declined and their previous page count is no longer affordable. Her publication now prints 20 pages a week, rather than the 32-page average when she took over the newspaper in 2009.
The government's advertising spend in her publication has also dropped over time, she said, as the province prioritizes spending on online technology giants such as Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, where an increasing number of people are spending their time.
Gaulin recommends the Manitoba government dedicate 25 per cent of its advertising to local journalism outlets, which would mirror the spending directive for Ontario's four largest government agencies.
"This is one of the simplest, most effective actions you can take," she told the hearing at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg.
Pilipino Express, a volunteer-run news magazine serving the Filipino community, also requested an increase in government advertising spending but didn't specify an exact amount.
Crown corporations and individual MLAs buy ads from Pilipino Express, but not the government itself, the hearing was told. The publication is funded entirely through advertisements.
"We're not greedy," editor-in-chief Emmie Joaquin said. "I know the government has an advertising budget, so a little bit of that would really help the local media — not only us but other ethnic TV, radio, especially those that don't have that much funding."
The federal government provides financial support to journalism through various grants and tax credits. Government funding accounts for approximately 70 per cent of CBC/Radio-Canada's budget.
Ask seems reasonable: Tories
Progressive Conservative MLA Greg Nesbitt, who owned a few newspapers in western Manitoba before selling them to his son, sits on the all-party committee.
He said the ask from these media outlets seems reasonable.
"After all, that's the audience [the Manitoba government is] looking for, so they should be advertising in Manitoba publications."
A lack of government advertising may have sunk the committee's efforts to hold its first hearing in Gimli last week. The government didn't advertise the event in local media but relied instead on promoting the event through its own channels, including a news release and the EngageMB.ca website, as first reported in the Winnipeg Free Press.
The hearing was cancelled because no one signed up to speak.
"Many people have said to me, 'We didn't see anything about this committee. How do we find out about it?' There was one news release, that was it," Nesbitt said.
After cancelling the Gimli hearing, the province bought ads in the Winnipeg Free Press, the Brandon Sun and some rural media outlets, a government spokesperson said Wednesday.
In addition to the request for higher ad spending, French-language radio station Envol 91, along with La Liberté, asked at Wednesday's hearing that the government adopt a refundable tax credit on journalist salaries. The idea was adopted in Quebec in 2019 to support print media outlets.
"That tax credit would really be something that would help us not just survive, but thrive, and will help us grow and be able to, in our case, reach out to as many francophones and people that are interested in French as possible," said Denis-Michel Thibeault, executive director of Envol 91 FM.
More hearings planned
Meanwhile, U Multicultural — a multilingual TV channel and radio station — is proposing the government develop a media fund that supports operational costs and training for community outlets.
The outlet was granted a broadcast licence for free over-the-air carriage for its TV channel in the Winnipeg area, on Channel 14, along with a radio station license at 88.7 FM. A launch date hasn't been announced.
NDP MLA Robert Loiselle, who is chairing the committee, said additional public hearings are planned next week in Brandon and Winkler, and there will be a virtual meeting.
The committee's report on its work will be presented in fall.
Loiselle wouldn't promise any specific supports, but the ensuing debate in the legislature will provide a "path forward on how we can better support local media here in Manitoba," he said.
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