Friday, May 13, 2016

Postmedia's Godfrey wants tax breaks, bigger government ad spending

Postmedia president and CEO Paul Godfrey has called on Ottawa to spend more on Canadian newspaper ads, and to give greater tax breaks to companies that do the same.
He made the plea Thursday to a Commons committee examining the future of the country's struggling local media.
"Come back and advertise in our newspapers and on our websites," Godfrey pleaded, noting that government cuts to advertising in recent years have disproportionately affected newspapers.
The Liberals on the committee were quick to accuse Godfrey of contradicting himself. Postmedia has been among the strongest critics of government spending on advertising, said Liberal MP Adam Vaughan.
"There have been no fiercer critics of subsidies to the media than the Toronto Sun and the National Post," Vaughan said of two of Postmedia's flagship papers. "How do you square your editorial position with your corporate position?"
Godfrey responded by saying Postmedia columnists are given leeway to write articles that contradict their own company's positions on political and other issues.
CBC story

 

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