A free and independent press is the lifeblood of any democracy. Here in Saskatchewan, the media landscape continues to change and evolve. For many, these differences are barely noticeable, but for those who grew up in small communities it has never been the same.听
Let鈥檚 start with the television market, which is dominated by our province鈥檚 two major centres: Regina and Saskatoon. It wasn鈥檛 that long ago that Prince Albert, Yorkton and Swift Current each had viable bustling stations serving their regions. It was a place to start your career and work your way up in the industry.
Now, Swift Current is closed entirely and only a handful of employees are left in Yorkton and Prince Albert. Smaller communities now rely almost solely on the two major hubs for their news.听
Much the same, the radio industry in the province has undergone significant changes. Radio still offers the most immediate information, because it is live. However, for a number of stations in Saskatchewan, 鈥渓ive鈥� is only 12 hours per day. Many stations now either pre-record their programming for evenings and weekends or even simply re-use their already completed daytime programming in these time slots, while others switch over to satellite radio for night time programming.
Then, there is the newspaper industry. Postmedia runs the two biggest daily papers in this province: the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon StarPhoenix. The third daily, the Prince Albert Daily Herald, was set to close in 2018, when the staff decided to purchase the newspaper and continue their long-term service for the community.
Print has seen the biggest shift to digital technology. Instead of getting the newspaper delivered to your mailbox, it鈥檚 far more practical on your mobile device.
Even the StarPhoenix and Leader-Post recently announced their Monday editions would soon only be available online. While this may be more convenient to the consumer, it鈥檚 a nightmare for the industry. In terms of ad revenue, which represents a significant portion of any paper鈥檚 income, digital is a mere pittance to the glossy print ads you see on paper. At the same time, subscriptions to papers are at an all time low. The existential crisis facing newspapers is how to make up the lost revenue.听
Hundreds of papers across Canada have closed or about to close. Our own province has not been spared. The Davidson Leader sold for a dollar back in December, the Kipling Citizen suspended publication 12 weeks on April 3 due to COVID-19 and the Moose Jaw Times Herald, a paper with more than 125 years of history, couldn鈥檛 withstand the challenges facing the industry.听听
As a Member of Parliament, I have the honour of sitting on the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. This is a role in which my over forty years of experience in the media business has served me well. When I look at the media industry, I see it headed in the same direction as the grain elevator 鈥� into extinction.
Now, this is where the debate starts. How do we respond to this new reality? Is it the government鈥檚 responsibility to prop up news organizations that cannot turn a profit in perpetuity, or is the media industry in need of major rethinking? The future of our democracy may depend on the answer to this question.
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