GATINEAU – Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has tapped eight Canadian news organizations to make recommendations for a panel that will help determine the eligibility criteria for tax measures designed to support legacy print media companies.
News Media Canada, the Association de la presse francophone, the Quebec Community Newspaper Association, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, the Canadian Association of Journalists, the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec, Unifor and the Fédération nationale des communications will now select candidates for an independent panel that will decide which media organizations are eligible for the Feds’ $595 million journalism support package.
The mandate of the panel will come into effect with its appointment, which is expected in mid-June. The panel will make its recommendations to the minister later in July.
"Our government is committed to ensuring that Canadians everywhere continue to have access to accurate, diverse and relevant news”, said Minister Rodriguez, in a statement. “In order for that to happen, we have to continue to have an active, professional, reliable and independent press. Today, we are reaching another milestone toward the implementation of these measures that aim to support Canadian journalism and journalism in underserved communities."
Wednesday’s announcement says that the organizations were selected because “they represent the majority of Canadian news media publishers and journalists,” and can consider the views of third parties and industry stakeholders.
(Ed note: We are very concerned that politicians will, in the end, decide which media organizations are good enough to get government money, and that broadcast media groups are ineligible.)
