Subsidized media is controlled media
Episode Stats
Words per minute
194.6524
Summary
In Canada, the government is trying to take control of the media. Bill C-18 is a bill that would force social media platforms to pay certain media outlets when they provide links to them, and could spell trouble for independent media outlets.
Transcript
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Lots of folks are probably familiar with that old saying, he who pays the piper calls the tune.
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Well, in Canada, the government's paying the piper with your tax dollars, the media piper, anyways,
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I mean, the CBC, they've pretty much nearly completed their transformation into a true state media outlet.
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I mean, newscasts, pundits, and stories on CBC, they sound more like communications for the governing Liberal Party
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But legacy media outlets, they aren't that far behind now.
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They're getting increasingly dependent on federal subsidies to keep the lights on.
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Now, face it, subsidies, they stunt innovation, and this is a time when we need it.
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The older media outlets should have been changing their business models to adapt to a digital world.
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Instead, they've been honing their lobbying skills and becoming, you know, getting better at accepting handouts
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Now they're beholden to the government, and it shows.
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And the controls the government has on them can be subtle, but they're there.
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I mean, since 2019, the government's been paying out payroll subsidies to those they consider qualified news organizations.
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So this money comes with strings attached, of course.
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In order to be qualified, applicants must prove, and this is from their document here,
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a consistent practice of providing rebuttal opportunity for those being criticized,
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So what that's led to, though, is an obligation now.
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When government agencies, they make demands on the media outlets to counter anything they may report.
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The Federal Department of Health issued hundreds of what they call corrections to media outlets
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Other media, I mean, other departments of the government surely have been doing the same sort of thing.
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Critical discourse on health issues has been gagged since the beginning of the pandemic.
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Government agencies have their own agenda, particularly the health department,
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and now they've got the power to muscle in on legacy media outlets.
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If they don't like the media messaging, they'll put the pressure on.
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This has trained a lot of those outlets to avoid reporting on any commentary
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that might run afoul of the health department or the government itself.
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I mean, if an outlet garners too many of those corrections,
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they might find themselves not qualified anymore and bumped from the subsidy train.
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That's even more bold and sneaky as a means of controlling the media.
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With that bill, the government wants to force social media platforms
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to pay certain media outlets when they provide links to them.
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The outlets that will qualify for those payments, of course,
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they'll be determined by a government committee,
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and that committee will be appointed by the liberals.
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This way, the government keeps its thumb on the media
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and forces somebody else to pay the bill for them on top of it.
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Independent media outlets are still springing up and expanding,
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These outlets have shunned government subsidies
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and tapped into the private market to pay their bills,
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or both like we do here at the Western Standard.
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This allows the outlets to maintain full independence from the government.
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on social media platforms to aid with their distribution.
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Independent outlets don't have mandatory carriage on cable channels,
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and they don't have the means for broader advertising
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to draw readers and viewers like some of those legacy media outlets do.
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and now they've seen a way to shut down independent media outlets with C-18.
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Because, I mean, not only will the media outlets
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I should say the social media outlets be forced to pay that out to media outlets,
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they'll be leaving the independent outlets out to dry.
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Now, right now, Meta and Google are threatening
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as a response to the Trudeau government's heavy-handed approach.
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I mean, come on, they're putting the screws to them.
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This response, though, is going to harm everybody.
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It's tougher than ever to access a broad spectrum of news coverage and analysis.
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Elon Musk, I mean, he's proven to be a disruptor
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indifferent to the establishment, and I love that.
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the financial beating that comes with going into such a battle.
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Now, whether, for example, one likes Tucker Carlson or not,
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The unfolding, though, story from his firing from Fox News
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and his streaming his show on Twitter now is remarkable.
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the average CNN show draws about 500,000 viewers.
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A whole new broadcast medium is exploding on the scene,
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and it's already leaving the conventional media behind.
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If a show, of course, whether it's Tucker or anything else,
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can gather millions or tens of millions of viewers,
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If the platform's owned by somebody as intransigent as Elon Musk,
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you know, it won't capitulate to government control,
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The battle for free media versus government control media
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but the legacy media outlets will collapse eventually
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for lack of viewership, despite the government subsidies.
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The only question now, though, is how long will it take