Ladies and gentlemen members of the committee and Mr. Chair, thank you for having us.
We are here before you this afternoon as members of the consortium for official language community media serving anglophone and francophone minority populations. The three members of this consortium are l'Association de la presse francophone, or APF; l'Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada, or ARC du Canada; and the Quebec Community Newspapers Association, the QCNA. Since the summer of 2016 we have pooled our expertise, our experience, and the strength of our respective networks. All three organizations in this consortium speak with one voice.
The simple definition of the term “the media” is that it is a singular collective noun referring to an “intervening agency, means, or instrument”. Years ago this instrument was the simple printing press, a newspaper, a radio station, and later a TV outlet in each city, in each community, with local issues discussed between neighbours over the backyard fence—short-distance communications. The role players were owners: press owners, radio and television owners, distinct and identifiable. Today Facebook, Google News, Twitter, YouTube, and other media termed “social” play a role almost without distinction, but it has become long-distance communications, where neighbours are discussing the larger issues across a digital fence.
Traditional media today are publishing also on these platforms. Everyone has a role, and that's good. They may be discussing global issues across a digital fence, but local residents are still in their backyards, and they still want to know what's happening in their local communities.
Recent years have witnessed changing forces in media. Media staffs have been cut by a third since 2000. Major media company stock has fallen over the same period. No one is denying this. The root cause, according to many, is that the Internet has reduced the return that news outlets can earn by selling the attention of their consumers to advertisers.
In the last 18 years, one thing does remain. We are still supporters of Canada's official language communities in a unique way—through traditional media, along with a digital presence. What a delivery system. At your fingertips, we're still there. We've always been there. We were there in October 2016, more than two years ago, as part of the 2016 pan-Canadian consultation on official languages, when we—the QCNA, APF, and ARC du Canada—collaborated on a brief delivered to the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage. Our brief outlined a series of possible solutions and positive measures that will enable Canadian Heritage and targeted government departments and agencies to work closely with the consortium.
Unfortunately, we feel that we are no further ahead today.