Buyer’s remorse or crocodile tears?Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is lashing out at Bell Media to alternatively blame and use his government’s own policies to slash 4,800 jobs across the country and slash local news, effectively gutting the Liberal’s ambitions to reform the media landscape in this country.Speaking at a press conference in Ontario on Friday, Trudeau didn’t hold back, telling reporters on national television — including CTV, which is owned by Bell — that “I'm pretty pissed off about what just happened.".“This is a garbage decision by a corporation that should know better.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.In a rambling response — some would say rant — he railed at everything from corporate greed to public indifference. Everything, that is, except his own government’s policies that allowed Bell to undergo the most radical restructuring in 30 years on Thursday.In addition to the sell-off or closure of 45 radio stations in BC and the Maritimes, local newscasts will also be cancelled in every market except Toronto. And local weekend newscasts are also scrapped except for Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Programming BNN Bloomberg will be streamlined while W5, CTVs long running investigative series, will no longer be its own but as a show that will serve as an investigative unit within CTV News..“In the past decade when acquisitions were allowed for those big companies to acquire a television station or radio station. It came with the promise that they would deliver news content and today they are backing from that promise.”Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge.“I'm furious," Trudeau continued. “This is a garbage decision by a corporation that should know better. We've seen over the past years, journalistic outlets, radio stations, small community newspapers, bought up by corporate entities who then lay off journalists,” he said. “You change the offering, the quality of offering to people. And then when people don't watch as much or engage as much the corporate entity says see they're not profitable anymore. We're going to sell them off.”“This is the erosion, not just of journalism of quality local journalism, at a time where people need it more than ever given misinformation and disinformation. But it's eroding our very democracy, our abilities to tell stories to each other of how people's lives are stories that reflect our own communities and not you know, central offices and our biggest cities is part of what binds this country together from coast to coast to coast.”.The irony is that observers — including The Western Standard — warned him or his officials personally or in public hearings, of the impacts of C-18, the Online News Act, and C-11, the Online Streaming Act would have on the media landscape. Meta, parent company of Facebook, blocked news anyway — like it said it would — and still Trudeau refused to budge.Then companies such as Bell warned C-11, the biggest broadcasting restructuring in the country’s history, would make them insolvent by forcing them to share their ‘airwaves’ or spectrum without compensation. Still, he refused to give up on lavish subsidies to the CBC and non-profitable mainstream media outlets — the very ones Bell says “are no longer profitable.”.And seemingly oblivious, Trudeau pressed on.“There are many culprits to go around,” he said. But apparently not his government’s policies.In her own missive, Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge almost came to tears in describing Bell’s decision. And she admitted, it was her government’s policies that allowed it to happen, by allowing massive consolidation and then subsidizing it to the tune of $500 million and more.“In the past decade when acquisition were allowed for those big companies to acquire a television station or radio station. It came with the promise that they would deliver news content and today they are backing from that promise.”And the Liberals only have themselves to blame.
Buyer’s remorse or crocodile tears?Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is lashing out at Bell Media to alternatively blame and use his government’s own policies to slash 4,800 jobs across the country and slash local news, effectively gutting the Liberal’s ambitions to reform the media landscape in this country.Speaking at a press conference in Ontario on Friday, Trudeau didn’t hold back, telling reporters on national television — including CTV, which is owned by Bell — that “I'm pretty pissed off about what just happened.".“This is a garbage decision by a corporation that should know better.Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.In a rambling response — some would say rant — he railed at everything from corporate greed to public indifference. Everything, that is, except his own government’s policies that allowed Bell to undergo the most radical restructuring in 30 years on Thursday.In addition to the sell-off or closure of 45 radio stations in BC and the Maritimes, local newscasts will also be cancelled in every market except Toronto. And local weekend newscasts are also scrapped except for Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa. Programming BNN Bloomberg will be streamlined while W5, CTVs long running investigative series, will no longer be its own but as a show that will serve as an investigative unit within CTV News..“In the past decade when acquisitions were allowed for those big companies to acquire a television station or radio station. It came with the promise that they would deliver news content and today they are backing from that promise.”Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge.“I'm furious," Trudeau continued. “This is a garbage decision by a corporation that should know better. We've seen over the past years, journalistic outlets, radio stations, small community newspapers, bought up by corporate entities who then lay off journalists,” he said. “You change the offering, the quality of offering to people. And then when people don't watch as much or engage as much the corporate entity says see they're not profitable anymore. We're going to sell them off.”“This is the erosion, not just of journalism of quality local journalism, at a time where people need it more than ever given misinformation and disinformation. But it's eroding our very democracy, our abilities to tell stories to each other of how people's lives are stories that reflect our own communities and not you know, central offices and our biggest cities is part of what binds this country together from coast to coast to coast.”.The irony is that observers — including The Western Standard — warned him or his officials personally or in public hearings, of the impacts of C-18, the Online News Act, and C-11, the Online Streaming Act would have on the media landscape. Meta, parent company of Facebook, blocked news anyway — like it said it would — and still Trudeau refused to budge.Then companies such as Bell warned C-11, the biggest broadcasting restructuring in the country’s history, would make them insolvent by forcing them to share their ‘airwaves’ or spectrum without compensation. Still, he refused to give up on lavish subsidies to the CBC and non-profitable mainstream media outlets — the very ones Bell says “are no longer profitable.”.And seemingly oblivious, Trudeau pressed on.“There are many culprits to go around,” he said. But apparently not his government’s policies.In her own missive, Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge almost came to tears in describing Bell’s decision. And she admitted, it was her government’s policies that allowed it to happen, by allowing massive consolidation and then subsidizing it to the tune of $500 million and more.“In the past decade when acquisition were allowed for those big companies to acquire a television station or radio station. It came with the promise that they would deliver news content and today they are backing from that promise.”And the Liberals only have themselves to blame.
