2023-11-02 23:34:35
The major cuts announced by TVA will hurt regional journalism and do not bode well for the future of news media, experts say.
If the information sector is not the most affected by Quebecor’s announcement yesterday, 98 positions in regional TVA stations will still be eliminated.
The news bulletins will eventually be produced from Quebec, which worries Colette Brin, director of the Center for Media Studies.
“It has an impact in terms of coverage. That means fewer pairs of eyes and ears of people who are on site and who understand the reality on the ground, who can support journalists.”
TVA, an “oxygen pump”
Ms. Brin and colleagues noted the importance of TVA for the regions of Quebec in a study published in 2019.
“In some cases, it’s an oxygen pump for regional information,” she summarizes.
This is a tough week for regional information, “already the poor relation” of information, underlines Ms. Brin.
On Wednesday, the information cooperatives bringing together six regional dailies, including The sunannounced that a third of the workforce had joined the voluntary departure program following the end of the weekly printed editions.
“When journalistic coverage drops, there is less interest in local and regional democratic life, less electoral participation,” underlines Ms. Brin.
Hard times
The news media, whose hired journalists benefit from subsidies and tax credits, are also going through very difficult times.
While they are already going through a crisis, the federal Bill C-18 asking the Web giants to pay them a royalty has plunged them into an even more stormy period in recent months, while Meta has blocked the news on its platforms, says Bruno Guglielminetti, digital communications consultant.
“We must repair C-18 to force these companies that have made money from information to contribute to its financing,” believes Jean-Hugues Roy, professor at the UQAM Media School.
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