Western Standard publisher Derek Fildebrandt told the audience at Rebel News Live that independent media are succeeding because they speak about important issues. .“What we are doing by hyper-regulating and hyper-subsidizing the media is we are just prolonging a dying business model, and preventing the emergence of new media that is here to take its place,” said Fildebrandt at the Saturday event..“We are subsidizing the candle industry 30 years after the lightbulb became mainstream.” .Speaking at the Southside Victory Church in Calgary, Fildebrandt said capitalism is about "creative destruction." For the best product to go forward, it must destroy the old. .Fildebrandt talked about how he relaunched the Western Standard in 2019. He said the publication has an average of 1.5 million views per month. .Fildebrandt went on to say the Canadian media landscape consists of three categories: independent media, mainstream media, and social media. Independent media includes bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters on one side, with more professional publications on the other side. .He said the barriers to start a new mainstream media outlet are high. It cost old Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant $250,000 to start it. .The new Western Standard cost Fildebrandt $500 to launch. He said creating a new independent media outlet has "never been easier.".He acknowledged there is a free press with publications such as the Western Standard, True North, and Rebel News, but there are too few of them..Fildebrandt said the Western Standard’s success can be demonstrated because of the Winnipeg Free Press shutting down its Parliament Hill bureau six months ago. Meanwhile, the only news outlet headquartered west of Mississauga, ON, with a Parliament Hill bureau is the Western Standard. .What social media restricts determines what news outlets cannot say, as there is no right to appeal, according to Fildebrandt. He said this "tortures me every day.".Fildebrandt said he has "good reporters doing good stories on good issues," but if they are published, then the Western Standard could be banned on social media. He said the publication is forced to do “this dance, where we’re going to go right up to the line and we’re going to spit over it, but we can't cross it.” .This approach leads to self-regulation, but he said the pushback has begun with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. .Fildebrandt spoke about how the Western Standard applied for the government media bailout, but only to see if it would be eligible..The media approval board agreed the Western Standard is a Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization (QCJO) in March. .READ MORE: FILDEBRANDT: Trudeau’s media approval board agree, the Western Standard are ‘qualified journalists’.The first step for news outlets trying to take funding is to apply for QCJO status. But Fildebrandt has been clear the Western Standard will never accept media subsidies..A survey of the Western Standard's members found 93% of them said refusal to take this cash is either very important or somewhat important to them..“The more the government subsidizes the mainstream media, the more people tune out,” he said. .A total of 42% of Albertans say they trust independent media more than mainstream sources, according to a September poll by Mainstreet Research commissioned for the Western Standard. .READ MORE: POLL: Albertans trust independent media over mainstream sources.One-third of Albertans preferred mainstream media, while 26% were unsure. .A total of 61.1% of Alberta United Conservative Party voters support independent sources.
Western Standard publisher Derek Fildebrandt told the audience at Rebel News Live that independent media are succeeding because they speak about important issues. .“What we are doing by hyper-regulating and hyper-subsidizing the media is we are just prolonging a dying business model, and preventing the emergence of new media that is here to take its place,” said Fildebrandt at the Saturday event..“We are subsidizing the candle industry 30 years after the lightbulb became mainstream.” .Speaking at the Southside Victory Church in Calgary, Fildebrandt said capitalism is about "creative destruction." For the best product to go forward, it must destroy the old. .Fildebrandt talked about how he relaunched the Western Standard in 2019. He said the publication has an average of 1.5 million views per month. .Fildebrandt went on to say the Canadian media landscape consists of three categories: independent media, mainstream media, and social media. Independent media includes bloggers, vloggers, and podcasters on one side, with more professional publications on the other side. .He said the barriers to start a new mainstream media outlet are high. It cost old Western Standard publisher Ezra Levant $250,000 to start it. .The new Western Standard cost Fildebrandt $500 to launch. He said creating a new independent media outlet has "never been easier.".He acknowledged there is a free press with publications such as the Western Standard, True North, and Rebel News, but there are too few of them..Fildebrandt said the Western Standard’s success can be demonstrated because of the Winnipeg Free Press shutting down its Parliament Hill bureau six months ago. Meanwhile, the only news outlet headquartered west of Mississauga, ON, with a Parliament Hill bureau is the Western Standard. .What social media restricts determines what news outlets cannot say, as there is no right to appeal, according to Fildebrandt. He said this "tortures me every day.".Fildebrandt said he has "good reporters doing good stories on good issues," but if they are published, then the Western Standard could be banned on social media. He said the publication is forced to do “this dance, where we’re going to go right up to the line and we’re going to spit over it, but we can't cross it.” .This approach leads to self-regulation, but he said the pushback has begun with Twitter CEO Elon Musk. .Fildebrandt spoke about how the Western Standard applied for the government media bailout, but only to see if it would be eligible..The media approval board agreed the Western Standard is a Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization (QCJO) in March. .READ MORE: FILDEBRANDT: Trudeau’s media approval board agree, the Western Standard are ‘qualified journalists’.The first step for news outlets trying to take funding is to apply for QCJO status. But Fildebrandt has been clear the Western Standard will never accept media subsidies..A survey of the Western Standard's members found 93% of them said refusal to take this cash is either very important or somewhat important to them..“The more the government subsidizes the mainstream media, the more people tune out,” he said. .A total of 42% of Albertans say they trust independent media more than mainstream sources, according to a September poll by Mainstreet Research commissioned for the Western Standard. .READ MORE: POLL: Albertans trust independent media over mainstream sources.One-third of Albertans preferred mainstream media, while 26% were unsure. .A total of 61.1% of Alberta United Conservative Party voters support independent sources.
