Most Canadians oppose government funding newsrooms, media consolidation: Angus Reid survey

By Michael Lee

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    Toronto (CTV Network) — A recent survey finds most Canadians oppose having government fund newsrooms over concerns of journalistic independence.

The results from the Angus Reid Institute, released on Thursday, found that a majority of Canadians also oppose the consolidation of the news media in Canada, in order to encourage greater competition.

In all, 59 per cent of Canadians surveyed do not believe that the government should fund newsrooms, 19 per cent say it should and 22 per cent are unsure.

Conservative voters are more likely to say the government should not fund newsrooms at 83 per cent compared to a plurality of past Liberal and NDP voters at 48 and 38 per cent, respectively.

The survey comes as Google and Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, threaten to block news links from their platforms over the federal government’s Online News Act, which would force those companies to negotiate compensation deals with media outlets.

A previous Angus Reid survey found that while 61 per cent of Canadians agree that tech companies should compensate news organizations for their content, 49 per cent also believe that the federal government should “back down.”

“However, there is no stop to the seismic shift to the media consumption landscape happening under newsrooms’ feet,” the latest report from Angus Reid reads.

The results show that over the last seven years, fewer Canadians are getting their news from traditional sources such as TV, radio, newspapers and magazines.

Over that time, the internet has continued to be the most common way that Canadians get their news, including the online versions of traditional media, and that has only increased.

MEDIA CONSOLIDATION Asked about consolidation in the news industry, 57 per cent said it should be discouraged, while 20 per cent said it is necessary for the survival of newspapers, specifically. Twenty-three per cent were unsure.

Across age demographics, the majority of male respondents believed consolidation should be discouraged, including those between the ages of 18 and 34 at 59 per cent, those aged 35 to 54 at 63 per cent and males 55 and older at 57 per cent.

A plurality of female respondents between 18 and 34 years old said consolidation should be discouraged at 44 per cent, though relatively more were unsure at 35 per cent compared to other age groups.

A majority of women between 35 and 54 years old, as well as those 55 and older, were opposed to consolidation at 51 and 64 per cent, respectively.

Across political alignments, relatively similar majorities of past Conservative (64 per cent), Liberal (58 per cent) and NDP (63 per cent) voters were opposed to consolidation.

This comes after Postmedia and Nordstar, which owns the Toronto Star and other publications, recently ended talks about a potential merger.

Meanwhile, Canadians were more likely to oppose completely defunding the CBC at 47 per cent than support it at 36 per cent.

Conservative voters were more likely to support defunding the CBC at 73 per cent than Liberal (13 per cent) or NDP (13 per cent) voters.

METHODOLOGY The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) conducted an online survey from July 4 to 6, 2023, among a representative randomized sample of 1,610 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.

With files from CTVNews.ca Writer Sissi De Flaviis and The Canadian Press

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CTVNews.caProducers@bellmedia.ca