ABOUT THE SECTOR

The Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec (“ARCQ”), l’Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada (“ARCC”), and the National Campus and Community Radio Association/Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (“NCRA/ANREC”) are the three associations that are not-for-profit organizations committed to non-profit, community-owned, and locally-reflective radio and online broadcasting. Together, we represent 84% of Canada’s licensed community radio broadcasters.

WHAT IS COMMUNITY RADIO IN CANADA

Community radio is about volunteerism, social engagement, independent music, learning by doing, community capacity building, citizen journalism and more. Here’s a quick sketch of Campus/Community radio in all our diversity.

Total watts of broadcasting power: 192,000+
Staff: 450 (Full-time equivalent) down from 700 pre-2020
Volunteer force: over 6,000 working an estimated 45,000 hours per week down from 10,000 pre-2020

Our volunteers are the cultural pioneers and opinion leaders of their local communities. Close to one-half of these volunteers are students and student leaders; they are opinion-makers, newsmakers, and trend-setters in their communities and future leaders of Canadian culture and society. As well the majority of these volunteers nationwide are artists, political and social activists, and members of multiple civil society organizations and grassroots movements.

Programming languages: at least 65 — English, French, Macedonian, Polish, Slovakian, Arabic, Hindi, Croatian, Serbian, Mandarin, Spanish, Cantonese, Somali, Polish, Italian, Ukrainian, Ethiopian, Hindi, Punjabi, Pakistani, Hungarian, Assyrian, Eritrean, German, Vietnamese, Romanian, Japanese, Korean, Klahoose, Portuguese, Amharic, Khmer, Polish, Kurdish, Azeri, Armenian, Tagalog, Turkish, Mandarin, Finnish, Swedish, Russian, Berber, Tamil, Haitian Creole, Bosnian, Bengali, Farsi, Somali, Eritrean, Cree, Hän, Algonquin, Nepalese, Tigrinya, Greek, Ethiopian, Eesti, Gaelic, Urdu, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Ojibway, Mi’kmaq

Estimated population within the signal range of NCRA members: 23,771,000 Canadians, or over 75% of Canada’s population. Combined with the French language associations, this number is close to 90%

Our members are as diverse as the communities they serve and respond to local realities/needs in their programming, staffing, community development work, and their services and fundraising. There is no typical community-based radio station – all our members are exceptional!

Each dollar invested in Community Radio goes immeasurably farther in our community than money invested in other parts of the broadcasting sector. A far more significant portion of that investment will stay in the community where it is supported since our volunteer base is comprised of community-minded, grassroots, engaged citizens who participate in the local economy and use creative solutions to stretch their operating dollars.

Much of this economic impact is not reflected on traditional balance sheets. For example, a large portion of the advertising on c/c stations is targeted and priced for local independent businesses and non-profit organizations and may also be discounted, played for free as a public service announcement or exchanged for goods and services in-kind.

Community-based radio stations are community-owned, democratically-governed, non-share not-for-profit corporations; therefore they are not subject to acquisition/relocation; they are structurally bound to the communities that they serve.

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT NEEDS

With the rise of disinformation on social media platforms, disseminating verifiable information and journalistic integrity is more important than ever. The COVID-19 pandemic has put the need for trusted sources of factual content on full display. Canadians depend on the news to learn how to keep themselves and their families safe and informed, regardless of health, environmental or social emergencies. Unfortunately, misinformation is being widely spread throughout social media channels, putting a greater onus on traditional media to reach Canadians with factual information.

Disseminating Reliable, Local Information in All Communities

As public and private broadcasters increase their focus on major urban centers and newspapers cease to operate at an alarming rate, regional and rural markets home to more than 30% of Canadians are in critical need of support. Community radio is uniquely positioned to fill that void today and for the foreseeable future. The disinformation fostered by social media and an increasing reliance on questionable web-based information sources can only be offset by investing in local news and information provided by community-based broadcasters.

During the pandemic, campus and community radio stations have been at the forefront of providing public health information to Canadians. For example, stations continue to have phone interviews with key leaders such as chief medical officers, doctors, mayors and more to keep listeners informed. The stations allow listeners to hear directly from trusted sources of information to stay safe, educated and healthy. During the pandemic, community radio saw an increase in listeners of as much as 16%.

Unfortunately, the pandemic caused many businesses to cut their advertising budgets and therefore cut campaigns short with local stations. Advertising continues to be the largest source of income for stations primarily run by volunteers due to their small budgets. The sudden revenue drop caused some stations to lay off staff and rely more on volunteers to continue serving communities. Without a supportive base of volunteers, many stations would likely have had to close their doors and stop broadcasting important information. The pandemic has also severely impacted the volunteer base at stations nationwide.

As not-for-profit entities, any investments in community radio represent a direct investment in creating and promoting Canadian content. As community radio is the training ground for future broadcasters, operational support for these stations will support the entire broadcasting sector. So far, as many as 180 stations have functioned without government support for their operational needs. This recommendation would represent a significant step forward and dramatically impact the health and viability of these broadcasters whose importance has only grown in recent years.

We recommend that the Government of Canada, through the Community Radio Fund of Canada, provides long-term funding to support the operations of community radio stations which will serve to provide news and entertainment programming that keeps Canadians informed, supports homegrown talent and promotes Canadian content. (Called the Community Broadcasting Iniative)
RECOMMENDATION #1

Fostering Community-Based Journalism

Our sector commends the government for its Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) which supports creating journalism that covers the diverse needs of underserved communities across Canada. Campus and campus radio stations have served these communities for decades, and the LJI has had a substantial impact on local stations and our democracy.

However, current funding provided through the LJI is insufficient to support the increasing need of the Canadian population adequately. Since 2008, more than 451 news operations have closed in 324 communities across Canada. This year the LJI has allowed for the hiring of 38 journalists in underserved communities across Canada.

As we see local news and information eroded regularly, the void is being filled by increasingly unreliable sources of information and promoted by social media algorithms that have been demonstrated to hurt our society and democracy writ large. The void in local news and information has resulted in a full third of US citizens who believe their election was stolen, horse medication flying off global shelves as an antidote to COVID because of one statement by an uninformed US president, and a total of about a dozen accounts are responsible for more than 80% of the vaccine disinformation available on social media.

Each of the groups that administer the LJI can dramatically expand the number of journalists hired with the appropriate resources. This expansion would have a material impact on communities and their ability to make informed decisions.

Additional funds need to be placed into three areas. (1) Placement of (at least one) paid journalist in all communities deemed to be news deserts or in a state of news poverty.. (2) Centralized administrative support unit to govern and nurture independent content development (toward locally reflective news leads). (3) Enhanced resources toward promotion, marketing and technology for effective news distribution.

LJI-produced news is creative commons, and could easily be used as part of the national broadcasters’ news sources.

With the three areas above addressed, the government will be better able to support community-based journalism and help to create more in-depth and up-to-date local news to keep communities informed. Canadians have relied on local outlets to learn about COVID-19 outbreaks and get updates from local public health officials. Increased funding in the three priority areas will help Canadians stay up-to-date with the latest information from their communities, not just the broad strokes nationally.

We propose that the government not only make the LJI program permanemt but augment the program. The funding envelope should be increased to $100M over the 5 years (as opposed to the $50M in the campaign promise) to support the program
RECOMMENDATION #2

Advertising Inclusion

The Government of Canada uses the services of a single Agency of Record (AOR) to develop media plans and purchase media space for government advertising. An AOR enables the government to get better value by leveraging the collective buying power of departments. Centralizing these services also enables better integration, oversight, control and reporting.2 Therefore, when the Government of Canada launches different advertising campaigns, such as those seen during COVID-19 to keep Canadians informed, they use the AOR to complete the advertising purchases with different media outlets.

Unfortunately, campus and community radio stations remain left out of advertising purchases by the government’s AOR, despite serving a sizable portion of the population in over 65 languages. Advertising tends, instead, to be delivered to large national media corporations and the CBC. We believe that minority communities deserve to be informed by their government, and those rural communities would also tend to benefit more from government messages if campus and community stations were included in the AOR’s plans. For many Canadians, major media outlets are not a source of information either because they don’t operate in their area or they don’t operate in their language. The Government of Canada should require its AOR to advertise with campus and community stations to reach all Canadians. This will also help to bolster station operations and promote Canadian news and content.

The most recent study by the Association des radiodiffuseurs du Québec (ARCQ) shows that 78.4% of community radio listeners surveyed consider their station to be the best source for local information, far ahead of other media. A study carried out in 2022 demonstrated the correlation between advertising investment and the amount of news and current affairs produced by community radio stations. As media is run locally by volunteer citizens responsible for administration, community media investment encourages local purchasing, economic development, and democracy. Data tied to listenership in English Canada is outlined in this 2022 study by Abacus Data.

Despite its imperfections and the need for a higher percentage, we firmly assert that the Quebec model, initiated by the government in 1995, which advocates for a minimum 4% investment in community media, holds the key to resolving our current challengesWe propose that the federal government swiftly embrace, customize and expand this model for adoption across Canada. This approach offers a straightforward solution, given its existing implementation in our nation, and it also lends crucial support to Canadian organizations focused on advancing our economy and production endeavours.

The federal government must take its leadership role in addressing tech giants and their ability to impact news and information nationwide and set an example by investing advertising dollars responsibly with a Canada-first approach. The Canadian government’s advertising purchases have been made from foreign companies for too long without considering the different communities in the country and forgetting the impact its actions can have. While no longer investing advertising dollars in Meta is a step in the right direction, there will be no long-term impact if there are no new targets or ways of doing things to change the way the government buys advertising. It’s increasingly important that the government of Canada share its information directly with listeners who cannot access it via social media.

We recommend that the Government of Canada make advertising with campus and community radio stations mandatory for all advertising campaigns.
RECOMENDATION #3

Other Information

Hello Members,

This critical update includes new lobbying efforts needed by members with the cabinet shuffle and a response to Meta/Google’s banning of local news and our social media accounts.

But first – here is a copy of our responses for the CRTC call, Phase 1 of the Broadcasting Act. Thanks to “Radio Legend” Catherine Fisher for the countless hours reading, drafting and responding to over 100 submissions.

Cabinet Shuffle

As announced Last Wednesday, Pablo Rodriguez has been replaced by Pascale St-Onge from Brome—Missisquoi, Québec. The former Minister of Sport moves to the Heritage Committee. We must inform her of our stations’ importance and impact on their local community. We are back to square one, and the NCRA/ANREC and our partners have already requested a meeting. It’s great to note that our member station CIDI-FM does have a strong relationship with her.

C-18 Impacts

The unintended consequences of getting our stations designated as local news producers have resulted in our stations being banned by Meta/Google. Bay FM in CornerBrook (CKVB) is the first station we know of that this has happened to within our sector. Check out this piece (10 minutes) by CBC which is an excellent summary of what is happening.

This puts our stations in the middle of the conflict, where social media giants are now actively blocking access to our station’s listeners, regardless of the content. This is a fight for control over who has the power to dictate media consumption and structures in Canada. It’s the Government of Canada vs Tech Giants and the start of the power struggle for who dictates this.

The Remedy – Advertising

The Government of Canada has pulled all its advertising from Google/Meta, $10,000,000 worth. We (NCRA/ANREC and the ARCS) think this funding should be spent on Canadian soil – YOU.

Actions to Take

Your MP needs to know this; we need to start a groundswell of additional support at the MP level, and we need your help. There are two specific tasks for you to complete THIS WEEK.

Call Your MP

We are asking all stations to call your MP. Below are some suggestions for what you can say, but we need every station to try to connect their MP via phone this week (Before August 5th). Although it is the summer, staff at Parliament Hill (I know, my wife is one of them) and at constituency offices are working, and their call numbers are minimal. This is the perfect time to call and ask to speak to your MP and explain the situation. MORE INFORMATION BELOW

Follow up with an e-mail and CC the new minister

Whether you talked with your MP or not, we ask that you follow up with an email and CC the new minister. More information and template letters are below.

Let us call on your behalf

If you don’t have the time or don’t want to – can you permit us to contact the MP on your behalf? Simply fill out this form.

Tracking:

We are tracking this campaign and expect all stations to participate (Online, Licensed or not yet broadcasting). Please complete the form here once your call to the MP has been made.

Once that is done, please email the mailing list (use this thread) and reply all; tell us what the outcome was – did you set a meeting? did you talk to the MP? What did they say? Did you leave a message and follow up with an email?

I can provide additional information, answer questions/calls and more. Please take this opportunity to help out your station and the entire sector to get one step closer to more funding opportunities.

Barry Rooke

Executive Director

NCRA/ANREC

Info on Calling your MP

Step 1 – Find your MP’s phone number here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/members/en/

Step 2 – Call the Hill Office and then the Constituency Office.

Step 3 – Customize the script below based on whether they answer the phone or not and their responses.

Step 4 – Follow up with an Email (template further below), and CC hon.pascale.st-onge@pch.gc.ca, barry@ncra.ca, alex@crfc-fcrc.ca

Step 5 – Fill out this form

Script

Answer:

Hi, my name is XXX; I’m calling from NAME OF STATION, located in YYY (If you’re in an urban riding, name the street/area/campus, if rural, the city/town). I wanted to share some information about the station and talk about Meta blocking news on social media. Would MP ZZZ be available to speak to?

If yes, topics:

We are concerned that Meta has started blocking community radio stations from sharing information with our listeners on their platform, news or otherwise.
In the short term, you can support the sector’s request to reallocate funding from web giants to community radio.
Can you help us in the long run by supporting the Community Radio Initiative*** , which will provide core and stable funding for stations like ours across the country?
Share information on the Local Journalism Initiative, especially if you have or want a reporter to cover issues in your broadcast community.
Talk about other concerns your station has.

***note the change in the name by the CRFC, they think Community Broadcasting Fund is too close to the Radio Fund and causes confusion

If unavailable:

Can we arrange a time to meet?
Could Barry Rooke, the Executive Director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association, join us in that meeting?

If not interested in meeting:

Can we send along some additional information via email?
Can we arrange a time for you to meet with Barry Rooke of the National Campus and Community Radio Association?

No Answer:

Hi, my name is XXX; I’m calling from NAME OF STATION, located in YYY (If you’re in an urban riding, name the street/area/campus). I wanted to share some information about our community radio station and Talk about Meta blocking news on social media. Would MP ZZZ be available to have a conversation to in the coming week? We are available …… I will also follow up by sending an email later today with more information. Thank you and hope to here from you soon. You can reach me at EMAIL OR PHONE……

Template Letter

(Station Letter Head)

August 1st, 2023

Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0N2

MP NAME;

Re: Community Radio & Name of Community

We are the [Campus/Community/Indigenous] Radio station [Name and Call letters] located [City & or Exact Location]. I called and left a message with your office, but I wanted to follow up with more information. Our not-for-profit organization provides critical local news, information and entertainment through volunteers to your riding.

We are writing to speak to you about the impact that Meta and Facebook’s ban on local news is having at our station and the importance of core and stable funding for campus, community and indigenous radio stations.

In Mid-July, Meta’s properties started restricting access to some Canadian Not-For-Profit radio stations’ social media on their platform – a fundamental way local communities can access news and information, often the only source of news in the area.

If this happens to us, we expect [Include info on impacts, listener access etc].

Our station operates on about [Insert total annual expenses amount here], which means we have X number of staff that support about X volunteers. Having additional core and stable funding would allow us to spend more time generating local programming instead of trying to keep the lights on [or Insert example of what you would do with it].

In the short term, would you support reallocating advertising from web giants to community radio?

Can you help us in the long run by supporting the Community Radio Initiative, which will provide core and stable funding for stations like ours across the country?

We would also like to share more information on the immediate need to renew the Local Journalism Initiative.

We would really like to speak to you and can arrange a time in the coming week to do so. It would be helpful to include Barry Rooke, the Executive Director of the National Campus and Community Radio Association in our discussion as he can provide additional information related to the community radio sector in Canada.

We thank you for your interest in supporting local media; we welcome questions or comments and encourage you to visit [insert station website] for more information about our station’s work in its community.

Sincerely;

[Your Name,

Your Station,

Your Contact Information,

Your location]

CC: Barry Rooke – National Campus and Community Radio Association (Barry@ncra.ca)
Alex Freedman – Community Radio Fund of Canada (Alex@crfc-fcrc.ca)
Pascale St-Onge – Minister of Canadian Heritage (hon.pascale.st-onge@pch.gc.ca)

A brief regarding Government Advertising via Not-For-Profit Radio and C18

July 28 2023

Government Advertising via Not-For-Profit Radio

Happy to discuss anything further; please do not hesitate to contact me for any reason.

Yours;