New tile in the Canadian media landscape. More than 70 Ontario community newspapers owned by Metroland Media Group are ending their print publication, the company announced Friday. In the process, 605 people lost their jobs.
“It’s certainly a blow to the Canadian media industry, and even more to local media,” remarked Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists, in an interview.
The announcement was made in the middle of the International Day of Democracy, he emphasizes.
This resonates even more, because it calls into question the public’s right to information. And it’s a reminder of the financial challenges our industry now faces.
Brent Jolly, president of the Canadian Association of Journalists
Subsidiary of Torstar, a media holding company which is owned by Nordstar Capital LP and which also owns the Toronto StarMetroland Media Group announced Friday that it is simultaneously withdrawing from the advertising book business and seeking protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law. Its objective is to implement a restructuring plan.
The decision results in the loss of 605 jobs, or approximately 60% of the company’s workforce. Among these unlucky people: 68 journalists, several of whom denounced the decision on the social network X.
“Community journalism is a dying art form,” said Hunter Crowther, a member of the Metroland editorial team who was among those who lost their jobs. It’s a damning day for Canadian media. »
“I found out today is my last day after almost 40 years with Torstar,” also wrote Kim Zarzour, author and journalist from York Region. My heart is broken. »
A risk for democracy
Since 2008, 474 Canadian media companies have closed their doors, according to the federal government. This recent announcement from Metroland adds to the long list of bad news.
“There will be almost no local news in a large number of Ontario communities,” observes journalism professor at the Media School of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM) Patrick White.
People received these weeklies at their homes. It’s not true that CTV or Global News will compensate for this hyper-local news. At this level, it is a disaster, a big step backwards.
Patrick White, professor of journalism at the UQAM Media School
Metroland explained that the decision was the result of unsustainable financial losses resulting from changing consumer and advertiser preferences.
“The media industry continues to face existential challenges, in large part because digital technology giants have used their dominant position to capture the vast majority of advertising revenues in Canada,” said the company in a declaration.
“The decline of the print and flyer distribution industry has been significantly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the reduction in the use of flyers by readers and advertisers as a marketing vehicle,” adds the business.
These changes also follow the breakdown of negotiations earlier this year between NordStar and Postmedia regarding a possible merger.
The two companies were in talks regarding a possible deal that would have seen Postmedia and Metroland Media Group join forces, while the Toronto Star would have been managed by a new company.
PHOTO SEAN VOKEY, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Copy of Thursday issue of Burlington Postowned by Metroland
The weeklies affected in Ontario are compared to local Quebec newspapers like the newspaper Awakening from Saint-Eustache, French Canada of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu or the Courier Lavaldetails Jean-Hugues Roy, professor at the UQAM Media School.
“Democracy is going to do badly, it will suffer from what is happening today in several small communities in Ontario,” believes Mr. Roy. “The important thing,” he recalls, however, “is that there are still journalists on the ground. »
Arm wrestling with Meta
The announcement also comes in the middle of a day when politicians, businesses and citizens were encouraged not to use Facebook and Instagram, to show their support for traditional media.
At the Canadian Association of Journalists too, the boycott was widespread, confirms Brent Jolly.
Media outlets have been under pressure for years as online giants like Google and Meta, which owns Facebook, have taken over the advertising market.
Earlier this year, Ottawa adopted the Online News Actwhich will force digital giants to pay media for the content they share or reuse on their platforms.
Meta and Google responded by announcing they would block content from Canadian news publishers from their services before the law takes effect. A threat that Facebook has already carried out since August.
Brent Jolly fears that while waiting for a political settlement and the arrival of new funds – which could take one to two years to be distributed – other local media will still lose their feathers.
With The Canadian Press
The collapse of the media in 2023
Since the start of 2023, outages and bad news have been piling up in the Canadian and Quebec media world. Back in some key dates.
January 25
Around ten positions were abolished Montreal Gazette, the last English-speaking daily newspaper in the metropolis. Elsewhere in the country, its owner, the giant Postmedia, announces that it will have to lay off 11% of its newsroom staff. The week before, the company had also declared that around ten of its Alberta community newspapers would migrate to digital formats.
February 16
The ax falls on Quebecor’s media sector, which is eliminating 240 positions, including 140 at Groupe TVA, due to the erosion of its advertising revenue.
March 29
The six regional dailies of the Information Coops (CN2i) announce that they will cease their paper printing from the end of December 2023. Around a hundred positions, or approximately a third of the organization’s workforce, must therefore even be deleted.
May 16
South of the border, Vice Media is sheltering itself from its creditors and is added to the list of companies whose business model was becoming unsustainable due to the control of digital giants on the advertising market.
June 22
There Online News Act of the Canadian government receives royal assent. According to the government website, “this new law requires digital platforms that distribute information and dominate the market to negotiate fairly and in good faith with Canadian media companies to be able to publish their news.” The law must enter into force no later than 180 days after its approval.
1er august
Meta carries out his threats. The social media giant, owner of the Facebook and Instagram platforms, says it has “begun to end access to news in Canada”. The company says it blocks information in the country to “comply” with the Online News Act from Ottawa.
August 12
The Métro Média company, which includes the Metro Journal and 16 local weeklies, announces the immediate suspension of its activities, leaving its employees in shock and the media community in pain.
September 15
Metroland Media Group announces plans to end the print editions of its community newspapers and get out of the flyer business, eliminating 605 positions in the process. He is seeking protection under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law to implement a restructuring plan.