A report from the department of Canadian heritage suggests that the cabinet should consider directly paying individual reporters up to $45,000 a year to support diversity.According to Blacklock’s Reporter, in addition to the rebates of $29,750 per employee at newsrooms approved by the cabinet, direct cash payments would also be involved in this proposal.“Organizations mentioned the need for government funds dedicated to creators and journalists from indigenous, racialized and religious minority communities in the media,” said the report Changing Narratives Fund Report on Consultations. “Funding should be stable and targeted.”The proposal in the report Changing Narratives was developed based on questionnaires filled out by selected advocacy groups. It suggests that subsidies should be provided, equivalent to "a salary of $45,000 per annum," specifically for reporters who are indigenous, Muslim, Black, or part of the sexual minority community.“Hiring journalists and creators from diverse communities, especially new talent, alone cannot guarantee diverse perspectives will be presented in media coverage,” said the report. “If these new talents are not trained or allocated budgets or resources to share their stories, they may well remain invisible. For these stories to be seen, a paradigm shift is needed in the way traditional news media share the stories of indigenous, racialized and religious minority communities.”“A number of organizations argued media coverage of the reality of their communities has not only been historically deficient but has often been detrimental,” said Changing Narratives. “Consequently, the lack of regular and daily contact between majority and minority communities leads to misunderstanding of the other and worsens stereotypes and negative attitudes.”The report was prepared and submitted by three academic advisors. Professors Christopher Dornan and Adrian Harewood from Carleton University, and Patrick White from the University of Quebec. However, the report did not mention the names of the "stakeholders" involved.“Stakeholders identified discriminatory hiring practices as the main barrier to community representation both in the culture and media sectors,” said the report. “Several respondents reported direct discrimination experienced by several members of their communities, reporting situations where an employee or applicant was treated less favourably than another.”In 2019, Parliament set up a $595 million bailout fund for media outlets that the cabinet considered "qualified" for subsidies. News Media Canada, a group representing publishers that advocated for these subsidies, had initially promised that the federal aid would end after five years on March 31, 2024.“There will be news outlets, newspapers, that fail the transition,” Bob Cox, then-CEO of News Media Canada, testified at 2019 hearings of the Commons Finance committee. “You can’t give them forever. We will have to save ourselves.”News Media Canada approached the Finance committee with a request to increase subsidies at higher rates. In response, in its Fall Economic Statement on November 21, the cabinet agreed to double the payroll rebates. These rebates will go from a maximum of $13,750 per year for each newsroom employee to $29,750 per year and this increase will be in effect until the next election.
