Tuesday, March 21, 2023

LocalNEWS

The future is uncertain. A Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) commissioned study published in August 2020 forecasted significant chances for Canada's local news industry. In 'The Crisis in Canadian Media and the Future of Local Broadcasting', it is expected that through the end of 2022, an estimated shortfall of revenue in the ballpark of $1.06 billion will result in newsroom closures and “widespread job cuts” across television and radio operations. These are primarily effects driven by the headwinds from digital competitors and declining advertising. At the highest risk of closure are small-market, private TV and radio stations.

Staying Alive: Keeping Canadian newsrooms alive, vibrant, and diverse

How do journalists, producers, and public policymakers ensure that we maintain and grow healthy newsrooms across the country? This podcast, Staying Alive, seeks tangible solutions and strategies fit for today’s economy as we emerge from a global pandemic. We discuss ways to rethink local news, give a voice to our diverse communities, and most importantly, how to keep the lights on. We interview media executives, academic experts, and producers on the evolution of local news to shed light on best practices and strategies to become more competitive and relevant in today’s global market.

Trailer

Staying Alive: Trailer (S01)

Listen to strategies that journalists, producers, and public policymakers of today can grow the business using emerging platforms, diversify voices, and most importantly, do so in a way that’s true to why journalism remains to be critical to democracy today.

Full Episodes

Staying Alive: The Issues with April Lindgren (S01E01)

Understanding the issues of local news today: How it started and how it's going. We take a look at the critical issues in the business of journalism and areas of opportunity.

Staying Alive: The Business with Colette Watson (S01E02)

The evolving business models of local news, successes, challenges, and the importance of considering diversity in public policy.

Staying Alive: Growing Digital with Jeff Elgie (S01E03)

Strategies to grow a digital-only news publishing business, and how to define local in a globalized, streaming market.

Staying Alive: The Future with Irene Berkowitz (S01E04)

With social media becoming a major distributor of our local news, should they have a role in funding the sustainability of our newsrooms? Reflections from a professor on the future of local media.

Host and Executive Producer: Winston Sih
Editor: Kattie Laur
Supervisor: Ramona Pringle, Associate Professor, RTA School of Media, Toronto Metropolitan University
Second Reader: Gavin Adamson, Co-Interim Chair and Associate Professor, School of Journalism, Toronto Metropolitan University

Photo credit: Unsplash; Music credit: Motion Array

Produced in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Media Production at Toronto Metropolitan University.

© Winston Sih, 2021