The federal government needs to move quickly to support the Canadian news industry amid the economic downturn brought about by the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, an industry spokesman said this week.
The Canadian Press reports Bob Cox, who is publisher of the Winnipeg Free Press as well as chairman of the News Media Canada industry association, says the situation is dire because advertising revenue has plunged and continues to fall rapidly.
“We need help now. We don’t need help at the end of May, in June, July or August,” Cox said Monday in a phone interview.
“We have to have cash in the bank to meet our obligations, and that includes paying employees and other bills.”
Cox said that, from what he has heard, it could be May or June before the COVID wage subsidy arrives at the companies that need it.
“That’s not good enough. Because businesses will die, including news media businesses.”
In addition to the general COVID-19 wage subsidy program, Cox wants money from an industry specific program that was announced in the 2019-20 budget.
The politically charged initiative promises $595 million over five years, including refundable tax credits that pay for 25 per cent of the salaries of journalists working for qualified news outlets.
Cox says “not a penny” of that money has flowed to the eligible news organizations.
“If we had that money in the bank, we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re currently in. We’d be in a better position,” Cox said.
The goal is to have advertising-funded newspapers and online news sites survive until revenues start to return, Cox said.
“But we have to get there first and we can’t get there without any help now. That’s the real problem.”
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