Jan 12 2021 — Jim Sheppard — “If we do not move with our audiences (to digital), we risk becoming dinosaurs on a melting ice cap,” CBC chief executive Catherine Tait told the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission on Monday. It was obvious to most people before COVID-19 – and it should be crystal-clear to everyone today – that the future of […]
Aug 20 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — In response to one of my recent posts in this series on how digital is the future of journalism, I was asked in the comments on LinkedIn what is the “revenue model” for legacy media publishers that will make it profitable enough for them to make the necessary switch to digital. (The implication being that […]
Aug 10 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — Well, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition. The battle for success in the world of Canadian journalism — which had been looking very bleak — has taken a turn for the better with the acquisition of The Toronto Star by Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett. Why? Unlike other media owners in the country they […]
Aug 7 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — In case anyone missed this important story earlier this week, The New York Times made more money in the latest quarter – in the middle of a pandemic – from digital rather than print. If it’s behind the paywall for any of you, here are the relevant paragraphs: As much of its staff worked remotely, […]
Jul 27 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — Global News is cutting some of its workforce in what it describes as a “significant” restructuring, with the biggest change on its digital platform, globalnews.ca, which will no longer have lifestyle, entertainment and social media teams. MSN is laying off digital journalists and replacing them with an algorithm to determine what news stories you can read on its site. […]
May 29 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — Finally . . . A major media organization in Canada is getting it right. The future of journalism – an essential service in the time of COVID-19 — is entirely digital and the new owners of The Toronto Star have recognized that. Torstar buyers plan to ramp up struggling newspaper’s digital strategy It’s too bad […]
May 7 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — You may have seen a full-page ad running in major Canadian newspapers today (May 2) entitled “An urgent message to the government of Canada from the publishers of Canada’s major newspapers.” It notes that newspapers “are suffering huge advertising revenue declines because of the coronavirus pandemic.” It calls on Ottawa to implement a tax on Google […]
Apr 27 2020 — Jim Sheppard — National Newswatch — One of the few positive developments in the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada has been the recognition by both the federal government and the public that journalism is an “essential service.” There are few things more important than distributing information by a wide variety of media so audiences can make the right choices to keep everyone […]