EP 88: The Collapse of Canadian Media

If you listen to this podcast, you know that the Canadian media is in serious trouble. But in recent weeks, that crisis has intensified, with wave after wave of bad news for the industry. Bell Canada laid off 1300 staff. And, when this was episode was recorded, merger talks between the two biggest newspaper publishers were ongoing — negotiations have since broken down. 

Add to that, in the wake of controversial new legislation, Bill C-18, Google and Facebook announced they would remove links to Canadian journalism from the platforms. (Though, just as this episode closed, Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced that the government was drafting regulations that would set a cap on what Google and Facebook would be required to pay to our news industry). 

So today, given all that’s going on, we have a special, hour-long episode of Lean Out. And my guest is here to help me unpack these developments — and to think through the state of our press, from lost public trust and pandemic mistakes, to the rise of independent outlets and and the future of the CBC.

Jen Gerson is a Calgary journalist, a contributing columnist at The Globe and Mail, and co-founder of the Canadian outlet The Line. She’s currently writing a book about moral panics. 

Jen Gerson is my guest, today on Lean Out. Transcript to come for paid subscribers. 

You can find Tara Henley on Twitter at @TaraRHenley, and on Substack at tarahenley.substack.com