Ottawa to pledge $50 million for local journalism in budget

Tuesday’s federal budget will commit $50 million over five years to support local journalism across Canada, the Star's Bruce Campion-Smith reports.
The federal government will provide the funding in the coming fiscal year to one or more “independent non-governmental organizations” that will support local journalism in underserved communities.
Those organizations will be responsible for administering the funds, a source told the Star. The investment is being made to help “ensure trusted, local perspectives as well as accountability in local communities.”
“This could include new ways for Canadian newspapers to innovate and be recognized as charitable or not-for-profit providers of journalism, reflecting the public interest that they serve,” the source said.
That was one suggestion to emerge from the Public Policy Forum’s “The Shattered Mirror” report that examined the financial crisis hitting Canada’s media outlets. Released in 2017, it gave a grim overview of the media landscape, noting that since 2010, 225 weekly and 27 daily newspapers had closed or merged operations.
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