How the Google fund will impact local news coverage in northern Ontario

As the Online News Act came into force earlier this week and Google promised to inject $100 million into Canada's news industry, some local northern Ontario media outlets are thinking about how they could put the extra income to use.

Almost two-thirds of the Google money is going directly to written print and digital media. It will be distributed according to the number of full-time reporters employed in a given outlet and their capacity to deliver original content online. 

As such, Village Media is well positioned to receive a slice of the pie. 

That outlet is a 10-year old digital-only local news publisher that owns and operates 21 community news sites in Ontario, with six of them located in the province's north. 

These include Sudbury.com, Soo Today, Bay Today, Elliot Lake Today, Timmins Today and Northern Ontario Business.

Hiring more reporters, expanding into new communities

CEO Jeff Elgie says northern Ontario is one of the company's stronger regions. He says that market boasts a loyal following and was not too affected by Meta pulling Canadian news content from Facebook and Instagram.

He adds that the Google fund is "positive news" for northern Ontario, although the company is still in the early stages of planning what it would do with additional revenues.

"We're looking at the communities we operate in now, and we're asking ourselves where it would make sense to have more journalists in our newsrooms," he said. 

"We're also looking at new communities to expand into." 

Either way, Elgie says the Google money would be used to grow newsrooms and not transition to other mediums, such as video. "We do a fairly small amount of video and we've learned it's not really in our DNA," he said. 

Like other news outlets throughout Canada, Village Media is facing some challenges. These include the Meta news block, as well as the growing mistrust and disinterest in news. 

"But at the same time, there's a real core base of people that really want to be connected to their community," he said. 

Elgie adds the Meta news block may be an opportunity for Village Media "to win back some of the engagement that has historically been lost to [social media]."

Small, independent outlets stand to benefit from the Google money

The Manitoulin Expositor, an independent news outlet covering Manitoulin Island, is also facing some challenges. 

Its second generation publisher, Alicia McCutcheon, says there's been a slight decrease in paper sales this year, with more and more readers turning to the outlet's website. 

She says the Meta news block did not have too much of an impact on the online traffic as many readers access the news directly on the Manitoulin Expositor's website, as opposed to through social media. 

McCutcheon has no idea how big a share the newspaper will get of the Google money, but says any additional revenues would be used to help cover the costs of day-to-day operations. 

"If it's sizeable, perhaps we can bolster the editorial team, or we can explore new, interesting ways to continue to boost our readership here on Manitoulin Island," she said.

She believes local news plays an important role in the social fabric of communities, especially in northern Ontario. 

"We're a bit fragmented. There aren't the same social avenues that used to bring people together. And the Expositor has always tried very hard to unite people on Manitoulin Island."