As he nears retirement from the daily grind, you can’t talk about Bob Fife and not talk about passion.
In a May 21 decision, the broadcasting regulator upped the contribution rules for audiovisual streaming firms, so that 15 per cent of their annual revenues—up from the current five per cent—support domestic programming. It’s expected to bring about $2-billion into the Canadian media ecosystem each year.
As The Globe and Mail’s long-time Ottawa bureau chief eyes retirement this summer, colleagues and political operatives reflect on the fear, respect, and relentless reporting that defined his career.
A recent Australian bill aims to force social media firms to reach compensatory deals with domestic media outlets—or risk fines that would then be distributed to support journalism. ‘We’re not at where Australia is in their thought process,’ says Minister Marc Miller.
Provincial and federal privacy watchdogs say their investigation concluded OpenAI was not compliant with federal and provincial privacy laws. Heritage Minister Marc Miller said ‘AI, like any other platform for that matter, has to respect the privacy of Canadians.’
European Union politicians have voted for a ‘digital minimum age’ of 16, and banning some addictive elements of social-media sites. As Ottawa contends with these concerns, one European politician says laws should also focus on regulating platforms.
Conservative MP Raquel Dancho says ‘any employment gains’ from the 2023 Rogers-Shaw deal ‘have been wiped out three-fold,’ with recent news the Canadian telecom giant is offering voluntary buyouts to about 10,000 staff.
The Parliamentary Press Gallery wrote to the PM last month, inviting him to return to the National Press Theatre to speak with reporters.
Former colleagues, politicos, and panellists mourn ‘trusted voices gone silent’ following CPAC’s cancellation of both its English and French-language prime-time news programs and double-digit staff layoffs.
Judges praised the three reporters for ‘impressive,’ well-researched work, columnist Rose LeMay for writing with ‘cogency, wisdom, humour and urgency,’ cartoonist Michael de Adder as ‘a real pro,’ and a front page that was ‘head and shoulders above the competitors.’
Performing arts groups have been lobbying the government to create a new live performance tax credit. Let’s hope the finance minister mentions this proposal in his economic statement because it truly is an investment for all, not just one gender or one region.
‘It provides a small degree of operational relief,’ says Christa Dickenson of the monthly three-cent-per-subscriber boost, ‘but the reality is that [cable] subscriber losses are accelerating, and this increase has been a long time coming.’
News should return to Facebook not because the law compels it, or because Meta wants it back, but because a fair deal makes sense. That is how sustainable and fair markets work in good faith. And that is how a healthy and plural information ecosystem is built with fair allies.
What we’re being told about it is fragmentary, tenuous, highly politicized, highly policed and highly contested, as the coverage of war always is. But when a country going to war takes measures to make sure there are no frontline correspondents, that tells us something. Let’s watch.
Bell is currently facing a $400-million lawsuit for its alleged failure to comply with what’s known as the ‘Notice and Notice system, ‘and other Canadian internet service providers worry they could soon be on the hook for similarly jarring sums.
The Hill Times’ deputy editor Tessie Sanci said the repeated interruptions and demands for her to stop recording ‘made it hard for all of us in the room to do our jobs.’
One of the creators of this year’s best-animated short film says he could ’not have made this film without’ the National Film Board of Canada, but its budget is projected to fall for the fifth consecutive year.
As Meta lobbies Ottawa on the return of news to Facebook, policymakers should know that must-carry approaches alone will not solve the challenges of disinformation and propaganda, or fix the news media’s monopolized markets or broken economic structures.
Restricting access to major platforms for younger teens will not remove the social needs those platforms currently serve. It will simply relocate them.
The mandated review of the Access to Information Act, includes proposals from the government that are ‘super regressive,’ says veteran journalist Dean Beeby. ‘It’s just bureaucrats running the show, and we’re all going to lose, because they’re not eager at all to open the system up and be transparent.’
Several companies are in court fighting a CRTC order that would require all firms with annual revenues over $25-million to allocate five per cent of Canadian revenues to cultural and broadcasting groups that create domestic news and entertainment.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada says its tax-credit-linked criteria was meant to filter out commercial requests, but the Canadian Association of Journalists warns against the government determining who qualifies as a journalist.
This year’s estimates include $1.38-billion in funding for the CBC, representing a marked decrease from the $1.58-billion allotted to the public broadcaster during the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Canada must reject any attempt to treat our media sovereignty as a bargaining chip in this critical trade negotiation.
A recent bombshell report revealed OpenAI internally flagged and banned the shooter’s profile on the startup’s chatbot, ChatGPT, months ago, but elected not to inform legal authorities in Canada.
