Covid Journal, Dec 6, 2021

I’ve been swept up with a range of family issues of late so I haven’t been anywhere near as active as I’d like to have been over the past two months.

To be honest, the need to keep writing a ‘Covid Journal’ would have ended a long time ago, but … here we are.

I’m sad to say that I foresee Year Three of stupidity, arbitrary rules and growing anger and defiance against governments as they muddle their way through the pandemic.

I expect to see lots more inflammatory articles, particulary from rags related Post Media, about what a lousy job Justin Trudeau is doing. I’m sure there will be many ‘I wrote it first’ exclamations and gotcha moments from certain self-appointed political pundits that also happen to work for Post Media while pretending they are ‘progressive’.

But that won’t stop them from collecting millions from the public purse as they whine about social media and the ills of the digital landscape taking over traditional ‘Canadian-owned’ media companies that should be the only ones allowed to have a spot on the soapbox.

And you most certainly won’t see an honest accounting or public disclosure with any of these media companies concerning how much they’re raking in.

Thankfully, Canadaland is one of a very small handful of companies that SHOULD receive funding, but they wisely continue to turn it down. In one of their most recent articles, they track all of the pandemic spending on media companies and list the hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars that are being poured down the drain straight into the pockets of people who need it the least.

Postmedia received $10.8 million from the media bailout, $40.3 million from the CEWS, and $1 million from the Quebec government’s media subsidy program. Despite all of this additional funding, Postmedia closed 15 community newspapers, cut 70 jobs, and temporarily reduced salaries of employees making more than $60,000 per year in 2020. Postmedia reported a $52.8 million net profit in January.

Select Black Press publications collected money from these sources. The Lake Cowichan Gazette received $1,271 from the top-up fund, $5,000 from the emergency relief fund, and was the only recipient from Black Press to register for the CEWS.

Various Ming Pao Newspapers affiliates took funding from multiple government funds. The largest individual recipient of the top-up fund from Ming Pao was Saturday Magazine (Toronto Edition), taking $54,204. The same publication claimed $107,195 from the emergency relief fund.

A report from the Center for International Media Assistance in 2013 described Ming Pao as a “Beijing-friendly” publication, pandering to Chinese Communist Party sensibilities.

Here’s a full list of the most recent Journalism Support ‘top up’ that was distributed this fall.

I’m so relieved to see that publications like The Hockey News, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and The BC Catholic (!!!) are receiving additonal funding from the public.

NOT.