When his daughter told him that she was going to study journalism, Pierre Jobin felt a certain worry, he admits. Anyone who will retire after the holidays is well placed to know that the media is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. Head of the TVA station in Quebec for almost 30 years, he saw newscast audiences decline over the years. A reality which now also affects commercial radio to a certain extent, he has observed since taking up his position as director of information at Cogeco, almost three years ago.
However, Pierre Jobin did not try to dissuade his daughter Anne-Sophie, today a journalist for TVA in Montreal, from following in his footsteps. He does not budge: there is still a future for information. “It’s obvious that, for young people who want to do this job at the moment, it’s worrying. But we’re not in Russia or China, anyway. There will always be a need for information. People are looking to be informed, even if it’s no longer necessarily with the 6 p.m. or 10 p.m. newscast. It’s a tough time to go through, but I’m quite optimistic. Governments have now realized that media outlets need help to compensate for the loss of advertising revenue to web giants. »
This government aid must still be accessible to all media. Currently, commercial radio is largely forgotten in the various programs set up by Quebec and Ottawa, deplores Pierre Jobin. “There is support for the press, for TV, but nothing for the radio,” summarizes the current director of information, sports and Radio Circulation at Cogeco Média.
Radio in crisis
The company brings together around twenty stations, including 98.5, the most listened to talk radio in Montreal, but also CKOI, the Rythme network, and FM93, in Quebec. During the hearings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), Cogeco Media did not hide the fact that certain frequencies were in deficit, suggesting that closures could occur.
Nationwide, revenues for private radio stations fell 24% during the pandemic. Between 2013 and 2022, the average time spent listening to the radio by Canadians fell from 18.5 hours to 10.6 hours per week. “Talk radio is doing well. It’s music radio that has more difficulties because of the listening platforms,” explains Pierre Jobin, who believes that the time has perhaps come to think about the mandate of music radio.
That being said, talk stations, such as 98.5 and FM93, are also suffering from the exodus of advertisers to the Web giants Facebook and Google. As in TV, radio advertising revenues have fallen much more significantly than audience ratings. “Large advertisers in Toronto, like Ford and General Motors, stopped buying advertising during the pandemic. Unfortunately, not all of them have returned yet. So, although we are number one in Montreal, the income is less there than before,” summarizes the man who started working in radio when he was barely 15 years old, in Saguenay.
The former news reader also calls on advertisers, who have their role to play, according to him, in the survival of the media ecosystem: “Advertisers should realize that it is in the interest of democracy to support the media. I’m not naive, I understand that they must be present on Facebook today. But rather than putting all their eggs in one basket, couldn’t they instead invest something like 70% of their budget in Facebook and 30% in Cogeco or TVA? »
Eyes fixed on 98.5
At 61, Pierre Jobin intends to slow down the pace in the coming years. But he says he is still ready to accept a few consulting mandates, if asked. The media still fascinates him. He will, of course, monitor the arrival this fall of Patrick Lagacé in the morning time slot at 98.5, replacing Paul Arcand, who is retiring. Will the departure of the undisputed king of the airwaves cause 98.5 to lose the first position it has held for years in Montreal?
“Yes, Paul Arcand is a monument. Yes, those are big shoes to fill. But I believe that Patrick
Lagacé has everything it takes to succeed. He is very aware of the challenge that awaits him. We work very hard to build our team,” replies Pierre Jobin, who believes that 98.5 will continue to dominate in terms of audiences.
In the talk radio news niche, only Radio-Canada, which does not broadcast advertising, is in direct competition with 98.5 in the metropolis at present. The Quebec market, although much smaller, strangely has many more stations.
Bell, Cogeco’s main competitor, could in theory take advantage of the departure of Paul Arcand to convert one of its antennas in Montreal into talk radio, but this would require lengthy procedures with the CRTC which are not close to being successful, underlines Pierre Jobin. Quebecor also toyed with the idea of launching into traditional radio for a while, but CRTC rules prevent the same company from having both a daily newspaper, a television station and a radio frequency in the same market. And despite all the cuts made this year, Quebecor will never get rid of VAT, Pierre Jobin is convinced.
Regulations from another era
In November, the company led by Pierre Karl Péladeau announced the elimination of 547 positions within TVA Group, or nearly a third of the workforce. Several former colleagues of Pierre Jobin will lose their jobs. Local news is particularly affected by this wave of cuts: news bulletins from regional stations will be produced from Quebec.
“We can’t cut 500 jobs without it having an impact on quality, obviously. It is certain that for people in the regions, it will be a shock, at first, to see their news broadcast hosted by someone from Quebec. But we will eventually adapt. »
Television, like radio, will not die, believes Pierre Jobin. But the CRTC rules that govern it date from another era, and it is urgent that they be modified. “Currently, a Netflix subscription costs around ten dollars per month, while a cable subscription costs around a hundred dollars because people are forced to take a package of channels. But people just listen to one or two there-
inside. If we allowed them to just subscribe to LCN for $2-3 per month, or to TVA Sports for $2-3, that would already be a big step forward,” suggests the future retiree.