Canada Periodical Fund

Last updated

The Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) provides financial assistance to Canadian print magazines, print community newspapers (non-daily) and digital periodicals. It is a program of the Government of Canada. [1]

Contents

History

The CPF was introduced in 2009 under heritage minister James Moore, a member of the Harper government; it went into effect a year later. [2] It was designed as a replacement for two existing programs: the Canada Magazine Fund (CMF), and the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), a subsidy on the delivery of Canadian periodicals which predated the Confederation of Canada. [3] The fund was initially budgeted at $75.5 million annually, equivalent to the combined funding of the CMF and PAP, most of which was allocated to the publishers of Canadian magazines and non-daily newspapers. [2] [4]

Notable differences between the CPF and the funding previously provided through the CMF and PAP included:

The amount of CPF funding is a function of a title's circulation, though the heritage department has declined to specify exactly how funding amounts are determined. [7]

Expansion to legacy dailies under Trudeau

The fund was not expanded by Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez to include non-magazine news sources in autumn 2018, despite a proposal by newspaper industry association News Media Canada to do so, [8] ostensibly in response to financial losses suffered by news outlets in Canada. [9]

"A letter urging Parliament to act and addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau" was issued in February 2019 "by an eclectic group of media outlets, including Postmedia, which owns the National Post, Torstar, which publishes the Toronto Star, SaltWire Network, and the CBC among others." [10]

On 22 May 2019, details of a $595-million package of tax credits to aid newspapers were instead announced by Rodriguez. [8]

Eight organisations administer the aid and "define and promote core journalism standards (and) define professional journalism": [9] News Media Canada, the Association de la presse francophone, the Quebec Community Newspaper Association, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec, the Unifor union, and the Fédération nationale des communications. [8]

In order to qualify for the fund "60 per cent of the content must be written" and "50 per cent of a news outlet’s content must be original news content". Should the CRA question the eligibility of a subsidy beneficiary, a "Second Panel of journalism experts from post-secondary institutions" would consult. [11]

In June 2018, columnist Christie Blatchford (doyenne with a 48-year career in journalism), had said of a rumoured press subsidy: "God forbid Ottawa should start to subsidize newspapers too. As a journalist, the thought gives me the shudders." [12] Former Ottawa Citizen editor Andrew Potter in May 2019 called the "Liberals' bailout package... a toxic initiative." Among other points, he identified "a newspaper industry lobby group" who had begged the government for three years, [13] as indeed Terence Corcoran had already remarked in February 2016. [14]

A proposal for a "National Press Council" had been formally written in 2009 by the head of the Ontario Human Rights Commission (and former Mayor of Toronto) Barbara Hall, and indeed elements of the Hall proposal were seen in the Rodriguez legislation.

As Corcoran had it, "The first battles against government control were fought centuries ago in England over Licencing of the Press laws and other variations on measures that limited press freedom. The fight was waged by the likes of John Milton, John Locke and John Stuart Mill. The result became known as the libertarian theory of the press. In Four Theories of the Press, a classic 1950s book once on reading lists in journalism schools, Fredrick Siebert summarized the theory. “Let all with something to say be free to express themselves. The true and sound will survive. The false and unsound will be vanquished. Government should keep out of the battle and not weigh the odds in favour of one side or the other.”" Some Canadian politicians saw it differently as far back as 1969 Davey Special Committee on Mass Media. The 1981 Kent Royal Commission on Newspapers supplemented Davey. "It proposed a Press Ownership Review Board that would issue licences and guidelines, provide direct funding for newspapers and publications, creating a CBC-like structure of subsidies and government interference “to supplement the privately owned media” which, the Davey commission concluded, were a menace to a democratic society." By contrast, Corcoran values "a free press that is not under any kind of control or influence from government." [14]

An implementation of the "social responsibility theory" of the press [14] was the gift of Rodriguez.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Media of Canada</span> Overview of the media of Canada

The media of Canada is highly autonomous, uncensored, diverse, and very regionalized. Canada has a well-developed media sector, but its cultural output—particularly in English films, television shows, and magazines—is often overshadowed by imports from the United States. As a result, the preservation of a distinctly Canadian culture is supported by federal government programs, laws, and institutions such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

<i>National Post</i> Canadian national daily newspaper

The National Post is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper and the flagship publication of Postmedia Network. It is published Mondays through Saturdays, with Monday released as a digital e-edition only. The newspaper is distributed in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia. Weekend editions of the newspaper are also distributed in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

<i>Toronto Sun</i> Canadian tabloid newspaper published in Toronto

The Toronto Sun is an English-language tabloid newspaper published daily in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The newspaper is one of several Sun tabloids published by Postmedia Network. The newspaper's offices are located at Postmedia Place in downtown Toronto.

Sun Media Corporation was the owner of several tabloid and broadsheet newspapers in Canada and the 49 percent owner of the now defunct Sun News Network. It was a subsidiary of Quebecor Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christie Blatchford</span> Canadian journalist

Christie Marie Blatchford was a Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster. She published four non-fiction books.

Douglas Keith Davey, was a Canadian politician and campaign organizer.

<i>Calgary Herald</i> Daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The Calgary Herald is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser. It is owned by the Postmedia Network.

The Western Standard is a Canadian conservative social commentary media website operated by Western Standard New Media Corp. and its president Derek Fildebrandt. The Standard is based in Calgary, Alberta, where its main offices are located. The Standard also has bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg and Ottawa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arthur Kent</span> Canadian television journalist

Arthur Kent is a Canadian television journalist and author. He rose to international prominence during the 1991 Persian Gulf War during which he acquired the nickname "The Scud Stud". He is the brother of Canada's former Minister of the Environment Peter Kent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pablo Rodriguez (Canadian politician)</span> Canadian politician (born 1967)

Juan Pablo Rodríguez is a Canadian politician of Argentine heritage who has served as Canada's Minister of Transport and Quebec Lieutenant since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, he represents Honoré-Mercier in the House of Commons. Rodriguez previously served as Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Government Chief Whip, and Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.

<i>Telegraph-Journal</i>

The Telegraph-Journal is a daily newspaper published in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, owned by Postmedia Network. It serves as both a provincial daily and as a local newspaper for Saint John. The Telegraph-Journal is the only New Brunswick-based English-language newspaper to be distributed province-wide, and has the highest readership in the province at a weekly circulation of 233,549 and a daily readership of about 100,000.

Brunswick News Inc. (BNI) was a Canadian newspaper publishing company based on Bloor Street in Toronto. Once privately owned by James K. Irving and based in Saint John, New Brunswick, it was sold to Postmedia Network in 2022.

Postmedia Network Canada Corp. is a foreign-owned Canadian-based media conglomerate consisting of the publishing properties of the former Canwest, with primary operations in English-language newspaper publishing, news gathering and Internet operations. It is best known for being the owner of the National Post and the Financial Post. The company is headquartered at Postmedia Place on Bloor Street in Toronto.

News Media Canada (NMC), formerly Newspapers Canada, is a trade association for newspaper publishers in Canada. It was established in 2016 through the merger of the Canadian Newspaper Association and the Canadian Community Newspapers Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freedom of expression in Canada</span>

Freedom of expression in Canada is protected as a "fundamental freedom" by section 2 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; however, in practice the Charter permits the government to enforce "reasonable" limits censoring speech. Hate speech, obscenity, and defamation are common categories of restricted speech in Canada. During the 1970 October Crisis, the War Measures Act was used to limit speech from the militant political opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kady O'Malley</span> Canadian political journalist

Kady O'Malley is a Canadian political journalist, currently a writer for the digital political newspaper iPolitics.

The Canadian federal budget for fiscal year 2013–2014 was presented to the House of Commons of Canada by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty on 21 March 2013. The budget bill was tabled in the legislature on 29 April 2013 as the Economic Action Plan 2013 Act, No. 1. A second budget bill will be tabled in the autumn, which will include elements excluded from the first bill, such as the Canada Job Grant. The deficit was projected to be $18.7 billion for the fiscal year 2013-2014, however this was adjusted to $8.1 billion by end of the fiscal year and once the Auditor General's recommendations on the Government's unfunded pension obligations were taken into account.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rebel News</span> Canadian far-right political and social commentary media website

Rebel News is a Canadian far-right political and social commentary media website operated by Rebel News Network Ltd. It has been described as a "global platform" for the anti-Muslim ideology known as counter-jihad. It was founded in February 2015 by former Sun News Network personalities Ezra Levant and Brian Lilley.

Canada's National Observer (CNO) is a news website that features daily news, analysis and opinion on energy, climate, politics, and social issues. By 2015, CNO had a Vancouver office and later opened offices in Ottawa and Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Federal aid during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada</span> National economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic

The Government of Canada introduced multiple temporary social security and financial aid programs in response to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. The initial CA$82-billion aid package was announced on March 18, 2020 by Justin Trudeau.

References

  1. ↑ Rusnell, Charles (27 April 2020). "Financially struggling newspapers to get federal money within weeks, heritage minister says". CBC.
  2. 1 2 McCracken, Deirdra (17 February 2009). "The Government of Canada Creates Canada Periodical Fund to Better Support Magazines and Community Newspapers".
  3. ↑ Gulli, Cathy (20 January 2009). "Cashing in on mail". Maclean's.
  4. 1 2 Lapointe, Katherine (8 May 2013). "Is the Canada Periodical Fund helping TC Media squeeze freelancers?". The Story Board.
  5. 1 2 3 "Canada Periodical Fund: Winners and losers". Masthead. 21 January 2010.
  6. ↑ Woods, Stuart (20 January 2010). "Canada Periodical Fund guidelines unveiled, with no exception for litmags". Quill and Quire.
  7. ↑ Gordon, Graeme (26 January 2018). "The Curious Case Of Maclean's Government Grants". Canadaland.
  8. 1 2 3 Zimonjic, Peter (22 May 2019). "Federal government names organizations that will help spend $600M journalism fund". CBC.
  9. 1 2 Thomson, Stuart (22 November 2018). "$600M in federal funding for media 'a turning point in the plight of newspapers in Canada'". National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
  10. ↑ Thompson, Stuart (19 February 2019). "'The news industry is in trouble': Canadian media outlets team up to demand tax and regulatory changes". National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
  11. ↑ Bogart, Nicole (10 September 2019). "Canada's $600 million 'media bailout': A guide to federal tax breaks for the news industry". CTVNews.ca.
  12. ↑ Blatchford, Christie (29 June 2018). "Mainstream media is starving — but certainly not the CBC". National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
  13. ↑ Potter, Andrew (24 May 2019). "The government just made its toxic media bailout plan even worse". CBC.
  14. 1 2 3 Corcoran, Terence (6 February 2016). "Government to the newspaper industry's rescue? No thanks". National Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.