Liberals seek outside advice as they mull policy help for struggling news media

CP's Bruce Cheadle reports that the government has enlisted the independent Public Policy Forum to assess the state of Canada's struggling news industry as it mulls over potential policy options.
A rash of newspaper closures and newsroom layoffs this past winter, combined with a looming debt bomb for Postmedia Network Canada Corp., Canada's largest newspaper chain, has added a sense of urgency to a decade-long disruption of the journalism that Heritage Minister Melanie Joly's office says "plays a central role in a healthy democracy."
The Commons heritage committee has already begun hearings on how Canadians, and particularly local communities, are being served "through news, broadcasting, digital and print media," according to a February committee motion.
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