PPF applauds new support for Canadian journalism

For immediate release

The Public Policy Forum is pleased that the production of independent, original journalism for Canadians will be supported by new measures announced in the government’s fall economic statement. The measures follow the spirit and some specific recommendations in PPF’s 2017 report, The Shattered Mirror, and in our subsequent work with news media publishers and unions.

The government will spend more than $600 million over five years to support reliable Canadian journalism.

PPF’s ongoing research and recommendations regarding the disruption of the Canadian news ecosystem is driven by the belief that journalism is fundamental to our democracy and healthy communities. The right of Canadians to information they can trust underpins both our work on sustaining journalism and our related research on countering misinformation and hate in the digital sphere.

“Democracy needs reporters working their beats to produce original news, so tax measures to relieve labour costs are critical in today’s disrupted news environment,” said Edward Greenspon, President and CEO of the Public Policy Forum. “And allowing philanthropy to fund non-profit news organizations introduces an important new source of financing for quality journalism.”

The new measures announced by the government of Canada today, along with the $50-million previously allocated to help underserved communities, address some key gaps and recommendations PPF outlined in The Shattered Mirror and in follow-up reports, Mind The Gaps: Quantifying the Decline of News Coverage in Canada and What the Saskatchewan Roughriders can Teach Canadian Journalism.

PPF’s mission is to make good policy for a better Canada and we will continue to work with government, media and labour to ensure Canadians have access to news they can trust.

For more information or to arrange an interview with CEO Edward Greenspon:

Carl Neustaedter
Director of Communications
613-866-7210
cneustaedter@ppforum.ca

Diane Meagher
Executive Assistant to Mr. Greenspon
dmeagher@ppforum.ca

ABOUT PPF

Good Policy. Better Canada. The Public Policy Forum builds bridges among diverse participants in the policy-making process and gives them a platform to examine issues, offer new perspectives and feed fresh ideas into critical policy discussions. We believe good policy is critical to making a better Canada—a country that’s cohesive, prosperous and secure. We contribute by:

• Conducting research on critical issues
• Convening roundtables to foster honest dialogue
• Recognizing exceptional leaders

Our approach – called Inclusion to Conclusion – brings emerging and established voices to policy conversations, which inform conclusions that identify obstacles to success and pathways forward. PPF is an independent, non-partisan charity whose members are a diverse group of private, public and non-profit organizations.