Journalism matters more than ever. We need help to save it

On Sept. 1, an agency of the Canadian government directed nearly $100-million to support local television news. Suddenly, more local television reporters are working stories on more broadcasts across Canada.
But why just television? Why not newspapers or digital-only publications? It’s the reporting of news that’s important, not the platform on which it resides.
The answer is purely bureaucratic. Television is regulated by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which collects a levy on the revenues of cable and satellite distributors and then redirects the funds into producing content deemed to serve the public good, such as television news. Other parts of the Government of Canada, supported by the same taxpayers, have so far resisted measures to bolster an industry that plays an essential role in our democracy, one that’s even explicitly written into the Charter of Rights.
The situation is bad and getting worse. More and more newspaper jobs are disappearing – at least one in three since 2010 by our count – and newspaper closings in more than 200 federal ridings have loosened the social glue news provides to communities. These reporter-intensive organizations are the tributaries for much of the news about democratic institutions generated in Canada, both in print and online. Digital news startups in Canada, with a few exceptions, so far have been unable to fill the growing deficit in reporting capacity.
Please adjust the dial. There’s something wrong with this picture. This isn’t a good time to allow the weakening of news organizations. We are seeing in the United States the critical role newspaper companies, particularly The New York Times and The Washington Post, are playing in keeping the public informed of deep stresses in their democracy. The classic relationship between whistle-blowers and reporters can’t work if the latter become an endangered species.
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