Online News Act creates ‘moment of reckoning’ for publishers

TORONTO-

Meta and Google’s move away from linking to Canadian news sites is a “moment of reckoning” for publishers and broadcasters who have relied heavily on social media to build audiences, marketing experts say and journalism.

They believe the Online News Act, which will force digital giants to pay media outlets for content they share or reuse on their platforms when it takes effect later this year, could spark new discussion about how publishers market themselves and engage with audiences.

“This is a moment of reckoning for brands that want to support the public’s interest and want to be seen, but don’t want to be seen on platforms that are viewed negatively by the public,” said Courtney Radsch, director of the Center for Journalism at Liberty, a think tank based in Washington, DC.

In response to the act known as Bill C-18, Meta and Google said they would remove Canadian journalism outlets from their sites before the law takes effect.

Some users, including CBC News editor in chief Brodie Fenlon, said they’ve seen posts from Canadian news brands disappear from Meta’s Instagram and Facebook platforms, potentially narrowing the reach of the company.

CBC News, for example, has 663,000 Instagram followers and 3.1 million Facebook followers.

In response to such measures, Bell Media brands including CTV and BNN Bloomberg released statements on Instagram recommending that people looking for their news go directly to their websites or visit their apps. CBC News encouraged readers to take a similar step earlier this week.

Early Friday evening, Bell Media joined a growing number of media companies including National Post owner Postmedia, Toronto Star owner Torstar Corp., TVA and Videotron owner Quebecor Inc. and broadcaster Cogeco Inc. in suspending all its advertising on Meta platforms.

“Like many Canadians, we are concerned about the consequences of Meta’s decision to block links from Canadian news organizations to Canadians, and everyone who lives or works here, who must all rely on the independent and trusted news from Canadian sources,” Bell Media president Wade Oosterman said in a written statement.

The federal government, as well as the province of Quebec and the City of Montreal, also said this week that they plan to end advertising on Meta’s platforms.

The series of moves raises several questions, says Joanne McNeish, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who specializes in marketing.

“Is this an opportunity for press rooms to rebuild their direct connections with readers?” he says.

“Does this represent an opportunity for newsrooms to build their own — possibly industry-shared — news platforms? What would the revenue model look like to support an online news platform?”

News companies have long relied on subscribers, viewers and advertisers to deliver revenues, but recent years have seen each of those sources decline.

The Canadian Media Concentration Research Project found that Google and Facebook together account for 79 percent of the estimated $12.3 billion in online advertising revenue in 2021 and more than half of total advertising spending across all media.

If you add Amazon to the picture, the project says the three US digital conglomerates account for nearly 90 percent of the online advertising market.

News Media Canada added that advertising revenue for the country’s community newspapers fell to $411 million in 2020 from $1.21 billion in 2011. During that time, nearly 300 papers have gone out of business or merged with other publications.

Paul Deegan, the trade association’s president and chief executive officer, said, “both Google and Meta are important channels for reaching audiences.”

However, he said in an email that “blocking access to fact-based, fact-checked news from powerful publishers harms the user experience and devalues ​​and degrades platforms.”

He is confident that the regulatory process playing out over the next few months as action is imminent will address many of the current burgeoning concerns.

“Canada is an attractive and profitable market for these companies. It’s time to stop the sabre-rattling,” he said.

“It’s time to do this in a way that balances the needs of all stakeholders.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 7, 2023.

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Meta funds a limited number of fellowships that support emerging journalists at The Canadian Press.

Torstar has an investment in The Canadian Press as part of a joint agreement with subsidiaries of The Globe and Mail and Montreal’s La Presse.

CTV News is a division of Bell Media, part of BCE Inc.