Canadian Heritage Committee on May 17th, 2016

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Good morning everyone. I think we should begin the meeting now.

This morning we have our first set of witnesses, from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

Welcome. Mr. Koenigsfest and Andy LeBlanc. You have 10 minutes to present, and then we will have a question and answer session.

You're aware of what we're studying and of the questions we're asking. We're looking for input on whether there is access across Canada to local news, to Canadian content, and to regional stories regardless of where you live and regardless of what broadcast medium you're using. We're also asking whether media consolidation has in fact had an impact on this access, and we're looking at whether digital media has an impact on this access, good or bad. Then we're looking at the future of how we can develop legislation, policies, or programs to ensure that Canadians have access to local news, regional stories, local stories, and Canadian content.

Begin, please, sir.

[Ian Koenigsfest, President, Radio Television Digital News Association]

Good morning, Madame Chair, and members of the committee.

Thank you for the opportunity to present our brief and to take questions on the issues that are so important to all Canadians.

My name is Ian Koenigsfest. I'm president of RTDNA Canada. Representing the association with me is Andy LeBlanc, past president and member of our executive committee.

In the next few minutes we'll tell you what the RTDNA is doing to strengthen journalism in this country with an updated code of ethics. We'll tell you about our national conference and awards program, and offer some recommendations that we think may make local news more sustainable in this country.

[Andy LeBlanc, Past President, Radio Television Digital News Association]

Let's begin with a little bit of history about our association.

RTDNA Canada began as RTNDA in 1962. A few broadcast journalist news directors had been members of the U.S. Radio-Television News Directors Association in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

In 1962 they founded the Canadian RTNDA, and then 49 years later in 2011, we changed our name to Radio Television Digital News Association to keep up with today's technological realities and to open membership in the organization to digital as well as broadcast journalists. This change also broadened the membership criteria to include all working journalists, not only news managers.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

We are updating our code of journalism ethics. The preamble to the existing codes states that an informed public is vital to democratic society and that Canadian journalism's purpose is to serve the public interest. The updates reflect the changing landscape of our industry. Anyone using these guidelines, broadcast or online, will meet the standards of professional journalism in Canada.

As an association we are committed to delivering local news and making sure that local communities are informed of events that impact them with the necessary context and a diversity of opinions. Our members recognize the responsibility of broadcast journalists to promote and to protect the freedom to report independently about matters of public interest and to present a wide range of expressions, opinions, and ideas.

[Andy LeBlanc]

The RTDNA has a strong relationship with many journalism schools across Canada, and through its partnership with its foundation it works actively to promote journalism as a career opportunity for young Canadians.

Many of our regional awards events are held at local journalism schools and often involve students in the event planning and production. We share a common goal with the Broadcast Educators Association of Canada and welcome a representative from the BEAC to our board discussions. RTDNA is also forging stronger partnerships with other journalism groups such as the Canadian Association of Journalists and Journalists for Human Rights.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

Our awards program for broadcast and now digital journalism was first launched 50 years ago and to this day an RTDNA award is regarded as great recognition for journalism excellence.

Despite concerns about the broadcasting industry and local journalism, our awards program is running stronger than ever. We had more than 700 submissions this year. Dozens of award categories are presented for video, audio, and digital storytelling, first in each of the four regions—so at a local level—and then at a national conference.

In addition to the regional and national awards, the RTDNA also acknowledges outstanding contributions to the industry through the lifetime achievement award and the president's award. Recipients of these awards include Lloyd Robertson, Linden MacIntyre, Vicki Gabereau, Robert Hurst, Henry Champ, Lowell Green, Rex Murphy, Craig Oliver, Dick Smyth, Knowlton Nash, and Jack Webster.

Next month we'll be honouring Peter Mansbridge, Tom Clark, and Lisa LaFlamme at our national convention.

Last year the president's award was given symbolically to the Canadian journalist. The citation stated:

As an association, we are extremely proud of our Code of Ethics which has been put to the test repeatedly.... The code has been described as the standard for Canadian excellence in [broadcast] and digital journalism.... Our industry has been under extraordinary pressure on the very foundations that support journalistic freedom in our country and our members have not wavered.

To this end, in 2015 RTDNA Canada presented the president's award to Canadian journalists as they have stood firm in protecting not only the code of ethics, but the very essence of journalistic integrity.

[Andy LeBlanc]

Our founders followed the U.S. RTNDA standards and practices, until the Canadian association adopted its own code of ethics in 1970. This code has been modified slightly over the years, but over the past year a considerable rewrite of the code has been created. If the membership accepts the revisions at the national meeting, the new code of journalistic ethics will replace the current code now administered by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council to adjudicate viewer and listener complaints. The CBSC has endorsed the revised code, pending the association's approval.

The proposed revised code reaches out to all practising journalists to use the RTDNA code of journalistic ethics as a guiding principle, along with the standards and practices defined by individual news organizations and independent journalists. The revised code is platform-agnostic. The code has been the standard for broadcasters in this country, and we hope it will also be the differentiator between online sources that do journalism and the pretenders who present information with a bias or deliberately misinform the public.

While we applaud the freedom of expression that exists in this country, we need to ensure that society continues to be informed and enlightened by factual, fair, and balanced storytelling, so the public and lawmakers can make informed decisions.

The existing code covers 14 articles, and the proposed code is divided into five general areas: accuracy, fairness, independence, integrity, and respect. In this code, as with others, the purpose is to always act in the public interest. Accurate, reliable, unbiased, and independently reported facts are what this code is about, and what journalism is about.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

Our association could not exist without the tremendous support of the major networks. Their involvement as special partners and participants in our annual national conference and their ongoing commitment to our board and to our awards program are critical to journalism in Canada.

At our national conference this year, we are focusing on “Surviving and Thriving in the Changing Media Landscape”—finding the best way to transition from the successful business, technical, and editorial practices of the past to new strategies of engaging our increasingly fragmented audiences. Our panels will focus on new audience metrics, which we need to pay attention to, explore new tools that assignment desks are using to verify and break news, and outline new revenue models by publishing video and articles directly to social platforms.

Canadian journalists are resolute and adapting to the rapid pace of change, but they still require a steadfast commitment to protecting the integrity and efficacy of the profession by all news managers and by ownership. This partnership, we believe, will allow local journalism to continue to play its vital role in society.

[Andy LeBlanc]

Our membership depends on the continuing support of owners of news operations. With fewer owners now covering Canadian news, there are also fewer news directors, and every year brings new batches of layoffs of newsroom staff. That results in less original reporting, less investigative reporting, and less connection with the community. In some parts of the country, investigative journalism has disappeared almost entirely.

We understand the economic realities that have led to covering local news this way. Some witnesses to this committee have already talked about the shift from dollars to dimes in advertising revenue, when comparing TV news to online news viability. We have also heard that in most cases the number of minutes and hours of local news hasn't changed much. However, the quantitative measure isn't always reflective of the qualitative impact of changes in newsrooms. While the sustainability of local TV and radio news is an important question for regulators to discuss from the advertising revenue perspective, that is not our expertise. We wish to leave it to the employers and regulators to resolve.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

Is ownership concentration the key issue, or is the potential for a shrinking diversity of voices, especially at the local news level—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have two minutes.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

—the heart of the issue being assessed by this committee?

It is imperative that there be more local news coverage in small communities across the country that are not already served by journalists who live there. Local news isn't only about the local bingo, baseball game, or community fundraiser. It is about connecting the community and its leaders to accountability. As journalists, we would like to think there is a way for truly local news to survive without tapping into the revenue streams of the major players.

[Andy LeBlanc]

The very nature of local journalism today is changing due to the rapid transformation of our media environment. This revolution is placing into question the future of local journalism as we have known it, because no business models have yet been developed to make it sustainable. The digital media environment undoubtedly represents considerable potential for inspiring new forms of local journalism, but we need to go beyond the notion that so-called citizen journalists will be able to replace trained professionals who adhere to codes of professional ethical conduct.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

Some of the possibilities that might be considered by the committee include the following.

One, the RTDNA recommends that the CBSC scope expand to include online journalists who commit to abide by our code of journalist ethics. The CBSC could adjudicate formal complaints as they now do for traditional broadcasters. Two, the RTDNA recommends that seed money be made available for truly local news online sites that agree to abide by journalistic standards. Three, the RTDNA in consultation with industry could help to administer a fund that would help maintain the existence of viable local news in communities across the country. Four, the RTDNA supports the call for funding research into how the quality of journalism is being impacted by the concentration of ownership at the local and national levels, and how rapidly changing factors affecting broadcast, print, and online journalism are being played out in communities across Canada.

In conclusion, we ask that the committee also consider a factor that is of crucial importance, that local journalism is an essential component of our Canadian democracy.

Madam Chair and members of the committee, thank you again for this opportunity to present our case to you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much. That was pretty close if not bang on time. You must have practised.

We're going to open it up to questions and answers now. Here's how that works. In this first round we allow seven minutes for each questioner, and that seven minutes includes questions and answers. Please be very succinct so that we can get in as many questions and answers as possible. Thank you very much.

We go to Ms. Dabrusin for the Liberals.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

You talked a bit about the concentration in media impacting local stories, but I was wondering if you have any studies on whether the concentration in the media has impacted the diversity or gender composition of journalists and people working in newsrooms? Is it having a gendered impact? That's my first question.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

That's a good question. I don't know the answer. Our fourth recommendation is to research these issues properly. A lot of research is happening in the United States and Europe, looking specifically at the impact of the concentration of media on the diversity of voices. To my knowledge, I'm not aware of such a study being done in recent times in Canada. That's something that we strongly support because we need the context and the understanding of how things have changed in the last five or 10 years and how rapidly they're changing now, to be able to come up with solutions for a Canadian way and how we can move forward.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Is your membership made up of entirely journalists, or does your association include other people working in the newsroom?

[Andy LeBlanc]

We have a number of membership categories, and the active membership category is essentially everyone who is a practising journalist. Our organization began as a group of news directors and news managers, and it has expanded over time to include people who've practised.... It used to be just radio and television, and with the changing times, digital has been added, and so we're expanding the organization to include pretty much anyone who is a practising journalist who wishes to abide by the code of ethics.

Other membership categories are non-voting, such as associate memberships. If someone is in the communications field, but is not as a practising journalist, that person can be a member and participate in the association.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

What percentage of your membership is now in digital media?

[Ian Koenigsfest]

In a lot of newsrooms you may be a radio journalist, you may be a digital journalist, you may be a television journalist, so the lines that are drawn are not that clear anymore. I don't know if we can give you an accurate answer.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

Do you have any percentage that's purely digital media? I'm throwing out names, but for example The Tyee, or Rabble, or Rebel, just for the sake of adding names.

[Andy LeBlanc]

We would welcome any of those organizations that would like to join. Part of our accepting a member is that they agree to abide by the code of ethics. So if The Tyee wants to do that, they could be a member. I couldn't list offhand list the members are, but many of the journalists are practising solely in, or at least most of their work is in, digital. We also have people who are working in radio and television and, of course, we're all working in digital now.

[Ian Koenigsfest]

Simply for clarification, we don't have group membership, just individual memberships. That's why it's difficult to give you a precise answer.

[Julie Dabrusin, Liberal, Toronto—Danforth, ON]

You mentioned that you're going to be discussing new audience metrics. Could you quickly expand a bit on that? What are the new audience metrics that you're looking at?