Just two days following the federal election, the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC), which oversees the distribution of government-mandated media funding from Google, released a list of outlets that received millions of dollars.
The decision to wait until after the election has raised concerns about transparency, given that the funds were distributed to media outlets during a campaign where recipient media organizations had a major financial stake in the election due to a reliance on subsidies distributed or mandated by the Liberal government.
In an April 30 news release, the collective said it was publishing the list as a way to reaffirm its “commitment to transparency.”
“Today we show our world-leading model in action, ensuring Big Tech compensates news media for their journalism equitably and fairly across Canada’s news ecosystem,” said Sarah Spring, executive director of the Canadian Journalism Collective. “It’s a historic investment that is empowering a broad range of voices, and setting new democratic precedents in media funding and transparency.”
The list includes 108 media outlets that received a total of $22,193,608.09 in funding as of April 23.
Media outlets will receive a total of $100 million annually from the collective, to be paid in instalments.
The news release says the collective was set up to support “equity,” and promote “sustainability” in media and has a mandate to support “a vibrant, innovative and independent news ecosystem for all Canadians.”
The decision to publish the list after the election has not come without criticism.
Peter Menzies, former vice-chair of the CRTC and former publisher of the Calgary Herald, told The Hub the timing of the release is unfortunate.
“The timing of the release was unfortunate because it raises suspicions in the minds of the industry’s growing number of critics that it was delayed pending the outcome of the election,” he said, “If that was the case, I don’t understand what the concern was. The numbers certainly aren’t something that on the face of it would influence votes, and if there’s nothing wrong with taking money made possible by the governing Liberals, all involved should be happy to shout this news from the rooftops,” added Menzies, who writes a media column for The Hub and appears on The Hub’s media criticism podcast, Full Press.
The Hub reached out to outlets that received the funds for comment, but did not receive a response by deadline.
The CJC is a non-profit organization selected by Google to parcel out $100 million in annual payments the tech giant is required to make to media outlets in order to comply with the previous Liberal government’s Online News Act (Bill C-18)—the same legislation that prompted Meta to block news sharing on Facebook and Instagram in Canada.
At the time of its introduction, the government said the act “aims to ensure that dominant platforms compensate news businesses when their content is made available on their services.”
The Hub was among the outlets that received funding.
In March The Hub donated an amount equivalent to the initial $22,248.58 payment it received from the Collective to charity, from its general revenues, apart from those revenues received from the CJC.
Below is the list of the 10 outlets that received the most money from the journalism collective in the first round of payment to eligible groups.
- Postmedia Network Inc $4,268,319.33
- The Globe and Mail Inc. $2,062,409.41
- Metroland Media Group Ltd. $1,953,750.36
- La Presse inc $1,615,942.78
- Coopérative nationale de l’information indépendante $1,475,782.47
- Black Press Group Ltd. $1,371,649.8
- Canadian Press Enterprises Inc $1,355,445.93
- FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership (FPLP) $785,873.32
- Icimedias inc $411,743.49
- Glacier Media Digital Limited Partnership $397,002.77
