According to a recent Angus Reid survey, the majority of Canadians are against government funding of media organizations and newsrooms. They also want to discourage the consolidation of news outlets in order to maintain healthy competition within the industry. The survey, conducted online from July 4-6, included 1,610 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum.
The survey found that 59 percent of respondents oppose government funding of private newsrooms because they believe it compromises journalistic independence. Similarly, 57 percent of those polled believe that media consolidation should be discouraged in order to promote more competition in news coverage in Canada.
Although government funding of private newsrooms is unpopular among Canadians, 47 percent of respondents disagreed with completely defunding the CBC. Only 36 percent of respondents wanted to see CBC’s funding cut off entirely, with this number being significantly higher (72 percent) among past Conservative Party voters.
Additionally, the survey revealed that the majority of older Canadians rely on television for their news, with 74 percent of those over the age of 54 watching news on TV daily. In contrast, only 26 percent of respondents aged 18 to 34 did the same, with this age group being more likely (93 percent) to rely on the internet for news.
The survey also showed that the majority of Canadians want media outlets to remain competitive by avoiding consolidation. Large organizations such as Rogers, Bell, Corus, and Quebecor Inc. own a network of websites, radio stations, and papers in Canada, which benefits advertisers but poses challenges for high-quality local journalism.
In terms of mergers, less than one-fifth (17 percent) of Canadians expressed support for the failed merger between Torstar and Postmedia, while 43 percent were opposed and 40 percent were uncertain.
Lastly, the survey found that only 15 percent of Canadians currently pay for an online news subscription. The federal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, announced a support package for media outlets in 2018, which included financial assistance for various forms of media and tax credits for newsroom employees. The government also passed Bill C-18 to push “Big Tech” companies to compensate Canadian news companies for their content, but these platforms responded by announcing that they will block Canadian news content when the law is enacted.