Canada’s government is spending another $58.8 million to fund local journalism jobs.
The money will go toward the
Local Journalism Initiative (LJI), a program created in 2019 aimed at helping media organizations increase “civic journalism” for underserved communities.
The funding will allow the program to continue for another three years, until 2026
–27, according to a March 1
news release from the Department of Canadian Heritage.
In 2022–23, news organizations under the program were able to hire or maintain over 400 jobs for journalists in nearly 1,500 underserved communities across Canada, the department said.
Many of the
publications that benefitted were in small towns or cities. And among those journalists, 60 provided coverage in indigenous communities, 84 in ethnocultural communities, 161 in official language minority communities, and 11 in 2SLGBTQ+ communities, said the news release.
Civic journalism covers activities of civic institutions, such as courthouses, city halls, band councils, school boards, the federal Parliament, and provincial legislatures, as well other topics of public importance.
The new $58.8 million brings Ottawa’s total investment in the program to $128 million over eight years.
When the LJI was first formed in 2019, it was expected to be a five-year program and was given $50 million. It subsequently received another $10 million over two years as part of a COVID-19 recovery fund for the arts, culture, heritage, and sports sectors. Then Budget 2022 provided an additional $10 million.
“A free and independent press is vital in informing, engaging and connecting us as Canadians. We have responded to the disruptions and challenges facing news organizations and have consistently supported news organizations through funding programs, tax credits for hiring journalists, and the Online News Act,” Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said.
“To assure underserved communities get the news they deserve, we will continue to support the Local Journalism Initiative, which helps Canadians get reliable facts and information when they need them.”
The funds are administered by seven not-for-profit organizations representing different segments of the news industry, rather than directly by the government. This is to protect the independence of the press, according to the LIJ program’s
website.
The announcement came just one day after media reported that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada’s public broadcaster, would be getting an
increase in funding in the coming fiscal year.
CBC is set to receive $1.4 billion in fiscal 2024–25, a boost from the $1.3 billion it spent in the previous fiscal year, documents from the Heritage Department show.
