The Modern Canadian Newspaper Industry

Journalism is the only source to obtain information to form a personal opinion about events that are happening in society, but often is fueled by sales and viewership that often presents false reports to drive popular opinions. The opinions that are presented to the unaware subscriber or viewer can be dangerous when a person starts to believe in everything that is being presented to them. The expectation of the news media to present only facts is far from the agenda of media. Whereas, the media needs to be profitable like any other corporation. For instance, the media started the Spanish- American war through false journalism as competition between two rival newspapers. William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer were owners of separate New

It being the leading source of news since the printing press. We put our faith in the media to report accurate facts unbiasedly. Between 1983 and now the media industry has consolidated from 50 individual companies to 6. That means that though the impression given is that there are a multitude of sources to attain information, the messages being communicated are all one in the same. The limitation of media sources cause a ripple effect of limited information, allowing these companies to control the public’s perception on

Newspapers and other forms of news are very vital communication methods in the world today. The goal of news is to sell us their ideas by being biased and talking about how their idea is best. News can give us biased information although, the viewer could do further research on the

The public can now have a say in what they see, and this differs from ‘old guard newsrooms.’ Liquid journalism is intertwined, being a very fluctuating version. Generalizations do not seem to be the same words one would associate a journalist with. TV was free, but now people pay for in time and money. They are constantly looking for profit centers. Antitrust rulings keep companies from owning too much, and the companies are no longer stopped from syndicating by fin-syn. Buying smaller channels is a way for bigger companies to make money, too. CBS and NBC were the first two major companies for broadcasting. The FCC limits the sizes of conglomerates, questioned by the NRA. Critics argue that owning so much of each media type (radio, tv, newspaper) decreases competition of

Each frame found in the Herald was first coded and then organized into sections contingent on how they contributed to the production of a text. The first and most prevailing frame found in the paper is the legitimizing frame, whereby the production of Alberta’s oil is depicted as a national treasure that must be extracted. The papers’ industry legitimating frames are giving the impression of being common sense for the reader. These frames supply the broader context for the majority of its right leaning coverage (Gunster Storylines 344). The Calgary Herald lauds the oil sands as the economic engine of Canada and devotes a tremendous amount of attention towards the economic benefits of the resource. Praising it for its history of stimulating

Newspapers are rooted together with the public sphere, globalization, and mass media. The newspaper and the public sphere give citizens an opportunity to examine public concern and global matters. Does this mean that those involved with the Canadian ownership and newspaper industry ultimately wield the power in Canadian society, by exercising this influence to mold the Canadian opinion of readers (Wagenberg & Soderlund, 1975)? Historically, multiple independent newspapers existed, but this had significantly lessened over time with the rise of concentrated ownership in the newspaper industry. Canada has the most concentrated ownership of any country in the free world, meaning that the ownership of newspapers are left into fewer and fewer hands. For example, there are 42 daily newspapers across Canada owned by PostMedia. This raises concerns about concentrated ownership, and if this impacts a Canadian society in having a free diverse range of voices in our national and local media in order to sustain a healthy democracy. The current issue is whether or not concentrated ownership is causing distrust in mainstream Canadian newspapers, creating a climate of insecurity, and if there is an effect on the quality of journalism.

Let’s start by taking a look at the bias side of electronic media. Take for instance the difference between Fox News and CBS. Both are news stations, both are intended to bring us the news, yet the

Until the 1980s, the control of the media was in the hands of the national government. From then, the control shifted to private outlets and by the 1990’s, there were more than fifty multinational companies who controlled it (“Mass Media”). Today, only about six major companies control the larger fraction of media in America (Williams, Par. 1). Norman Solomon wrote in the New Political Science Journal that most reporters and editors work for just a few huge companies. These journalists and editors are on the payroll for “mega-media institutions”, of which, only about six exist (Solomon 297). How much will the public learn if these companies generally control the output of information?

Strange as it may sound, Canadians truly love they’re magazines. According to Magazines Canada (2012), which is an organization funded by the Canadian government, Canadians read more magazines per capita than any other nation in the world. This, in and of itself, should show the extent in which magazines play a part in Canadian culture. In 1960 the Royal Commission on Publications “found that 75% of the general-interest magazines bought in Canada were American publications, that Time and Reader's Digest took 40 cents out of every dollar of magazine advertising, and that there were only 5 Canadian general-interest consumer magazines” (S. Martin, S. Sarfati, 2013). Harsh restrictions on foreign publications were recommended but these recommendations

We have learned through the reading that Canada has been doing efforts as far back as 1920s to protect its national magazine industry through imposed protective tariff or prohibition the importation of some runs. This protections can make sense if we consider that in 1970 a committee concluded that "magazines constitute the only national press we possess in Canada. Magazines, in a different way from any other medium, can help foster in Canadians a sense of themselves." (Culture and Globalization, p17).

99 per cent of journalists who work for news outlets have their own Twitter account where they interact with readers. Many large digital editions maintain and monitor platforms for discussions and commentary. Professionalism. Although professionalism is a very subjective feature, I believe that most Canadian news outlets and journalists adhere to the code of ethics and report the news in a timely manner, with a lot of attention to detail and without any bias. Professionalism is reflected in the quality of reports – mainstream news sources and large newsrooms provide balanced and concise reporting of events. Among negative trends in Canadian journalism I would name competitiveness, low quality of content, and sponsored content (native advertising). Competitiveness. Based on my observation, the amount of freelance writers, journalists, and communicators is steadily increasing. Since the field offers so much diversity, minimal education, and less technical skills, many claim to be journalists. Therefore, the industry often settles for lower quality and a better price, versus hiring highly trained and experienced

Media plays a big role in conventional Canadian society. It is becoming more and more influential and a bigger part of everyone’s daily lives. Since the invention and spread of the use of the printing press in the mid fifteen-hundreds, societies have been able to produce mass quantities of information available to the general public. Books were printed and made available to a large audience, replacing word of mouth communication about a society’s existence. Since then, various other forms of mass media have been created; including, radio networks, television programs, mass produced magazines, music and advertising. These are all examples of media that Canadians are exposed to

The newspaper industry is undergoing a radical change in three primary areas caused by technology. First, the underlying two-sided business model is changing. With the Advent of internet, news content is easily and freely available from various sources but lacks quality journalism and credibility. Revenues from online advertising are not large enough to compensate for decline in revenues from print advertising & subscription. Newspaper industry is experiencing new realm of new content delivery and in process of understanding and establishing sustainable sources and

News Corporation accounted for six popular national newspapers in the UK. This level of ownership impacts the variety of ideas and values that can circulate. Concentration of media ownership threatens democracy in political journalism(Baker, 2007), leading to over-representation of political viewpoints, values that are favoured by media owners. There is a negative correlation between media domination and levels of pluralism which is needed in society, to sustain representation. The concentration of media ownership leads to less competing suppliers, thus leaving a gap in a democratic political system. Due to Rupert Murdoch’s large media empire, it has been said that he has wielded political power through his influence over headlines. It could be interpreted this way when considering the support given by News Corporation owned newspapers, to Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s and Tony Blair in 1997. The impact of Rupert Murdoch can also be shown

Newspaper Owner 1 is a “diversified media company that generates most of its revenues through newspapers sold around the country and around the world” (pg. 122). Competition for subscribers and advertising revenues