<p>We’ve long heard about how the news business is failing - layoff after layoff, media execs have claimed that they have had no choice but to make cutbacks.</p><br><p>In Bell’s latest round of 4800 layoffs, CEO Mirko Babic defended his decision to a parliamentary committee, claiming the company was struggling in a tough economic environment - and that news was part of what was bringing them down.</p><br><p>But is that the full story? </p><p>Because before Google and Facebook ate up advertising dollars, the Canadian media companies of the 90s made a bad bet. And it failed to pay off. </p><p>And now… the news industry is taking the fall. </p><br><p><strong>Further reading:</strong></p><p><br></p><ul><li><a href="https://canadiandimension.com/articles/view/corporate-ownership-of-media-has-failed-canadians" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Corporate ownership of media has failed Canadians</a>, Marc Edge, <em>Canadian Dimension,</em> 2024</li><li><a href="https://thedeepdive.ca/bell-media-cuts-1-in-4-positions-bce-refuses-to-cut-dividend/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bell Media Has Cut 1 In 4 Positions Since 2020 as Parent Company Keeps Dividend Rolling</a>, <em>The Deep Dive</em>, 2024</li><li> <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/media-convergence-acquisitions-and-sales-in-canada-1.948788" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Media convergence, acquisitions and sales in Canada</a>, CBC, 2010</li><li><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270726604_Convergence_after_the_collapse_The_'catastrophic'_case_of_Canada" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Convergence after the collapse: The ‘catastrophic’ case of Canada</a>, Marc Edge,<em> Media, Culture and Society, 2</em>011</li><li><a href="https://cjc.utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.22230/cjc.2010v35n3a2392" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Financialization and the “Crisis of the Media”: The Rise and Fall of (Some) Media Conglomerates in Canada</a>, Dwayne Winseck,<em> Canadian Journal of Communication</em>, 2010</li></ul><p><br></p><p><strong>Host: </strong>Jesse Brown & Cherise Seucharan</p><p><strong>Credits</strong>: Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor), Bruce Thorson (Senior Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)</p><br><p>Sponsors: <a href="https://www.betterhelp.com/get-started/?go=true&transaction_id=1024f282985f1149edf67614693cca&utm_source=podcast&utm_campaign=3470&utm_medium=Desktop&utm_content=&utm_term=canadaland&not_found=1&gor=start" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Betterhelp</a> <a href="https://www.douglas.ca/?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=douglas_com" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Douglas</a><a href="https://www.indochino.com/?g_acctid=320-352-4200&g_adgroupid=153037609176&g_adid=670642866476&g_adtype=search&g_campaign=INCH_E-Comm_Canada_Search_Branded-Core-Exact_1c&g_campaignid=20471951715&g_keyword=indochino&g_keywordid=kwd-10625213985&g_network=g&gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=E-Comm-CA-Brand&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw_e2wBhAEEiwAyFFFo0paLdrQrhW-vHEcLwrr7HLal7EqqwuoVz4K9OV7M232XFvwDLu-mxoC8t8QAvD_BwE" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"> Indochino</a></p><br><p>Additional Music by Audio Network.</p><br><p>Support Canadaland at <a href="https://www.canadaland.com/join/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">canadaland.com/join</a></p><br><p>You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.</p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
