Some time ago, I wrote an article on Bill C-18 and whether Meta and Google should pay a tax every time a Canadian reads the news on social media platforms. Meta, who owns both Facebook and Instagram, refused to adhere to Bill C-18, to pay the tax choosing instead, to shut down every media account affiliated with television news and newspapers across Canada. You can imagine, to our surprise, when we went to post the latest news on social media the following message appeared: ‘People in Canada can’t see this content in response to Canadian government legislation, news content can’t be viewed in Canada—No Posts Available’, 

The next concern was, would Google follow suit? Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information so that everyone can ‘Search’ a broad range of world-wide information. Today, information consists of images, videos and content. No matter what the search for information is, Google uses language and design to guide you along with automated systems to get the most relevant and reliable information they can find. People around the world turn to ‘Search’ to find information, learn about topics of interest and even make important decisions based on the facts found. So, Canada’s news industry was concerned, waiting to see if Google would join Meta’s decision to take a stand against Bill C-18. 

The Canadian government reached a deal with Google over the Online News Act that will see the tech giant pay an estimated $100 million annually to publishers, and will continue to allow access to Canadian news content on its platform. Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge announced the "historic development" regarding the implementation of Bill C-18. "We are glad to know that Canadians will be able to continue to access news through Google," said CAB president Kevin Desjardins, adding, "We look forward to continuing to engage with the Government to ensure an equitable funding model for Canadian newsrooms." 

"For more than a decade, news organizations have been disrupted by the arrival of large digital platforms like Google. In Canada, nearly 500 media outlets have closed their doors. All over the world, governments have set up systems to try to establish a more level playing field between tech giants and news organizations, which are essential in our democracies," St-Onge said. 

How did we get here? Ten years ago, there were 36 daily newspapers in British Columbia by 2016 there were only 13 daily newspapers left. Baby Boomers remain loyal and are willing to pay for the traditional means of reading a hard copy newspaper. They are willing to pay for television cable or satellite service to get local and international news, but Generation X. The Millennials and Generation Z broke from tradition and gravitated to social media—it’s free, it’s fast. When the news media were cut off from Facebook and Instagram the major networks asked citizens if they would go to the network’s website for news and the answer was, no, they get what they want on social media. 

Last week, I was waiting in line at a cashier and overheard her conversation with the customer in front of me. She the cashier said she had lived in Richmond all her life and was really upset that there’s no longer a community newspaper. I stepped out of the line and as luck would have it, I picked up the Richmond Sentinel (RS) off the rack and said to her “but we do have a community newspaper, Richmond Sentinel. It has community news, stories, provincial and national news that has a Richmond connection, its just not full of advertisements”. The comment by the cashier was an honest reaction to a lost piece of Richmond history. 

A BC community newspaper shut down after 141 years of service, this is an example of why communities should be concerned. Journalists took pride in their reporting, some specialized in community news, some politics, some sports, some crime and some just charmed their readers with their storytelling. For many small communities and the rural areas, the newspaper is a sacred document, a link to what was happening inside and outside their community. Something as important as a provincial or federal election requires factual information to make an educated decision when it comes to casting a vote.

I recall one year when there were 64 candidates running in our municipal election. After sitting through an ‘all candidates night’ I expressed concern to the RS owner that the large number of candidates had not had an equal opportunity to speak. Even though RS is a small independently-owned newspaper, we put together a plan to offer every candidate the opportunity to be interviewed on camera which was aired on RS website and published in print with a photo and information on each candidate. Since then, the RS has covered every municipal, provincial and federal election on video and in print. 

We know that over time, print will move to digital but not without an impact. Not just the companies that provide the news, but the printing companies and the pulp and paper industry will be affected, jobs will be affected. Some journalist will reinvent themselves (many already have) and how they report the news but then again, who knows what impact artificial intelligence will have?

Baby Boomers reading habits won’t be easy to change. My husband for example, enjoys having his newspaper delivered to the front door at 5 o’clock in the morning so he can read the news with a coffee before he starts his day. For the younger generation, navigating the news to them is going to be a new challenge for us without social media. We’ll get there, it will just take time.

How can you help? Encourage your family, friends and neighbours to pickup the Richmond Sentinel or go to richmondsentinel.ca or download the Richmond Sentinel App. – it’s all free.