[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE]
Ottawa, December 5, 2023
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (NCRA/ANREC) welcomes the recent agreement between Google and the Canadian government regarding the Online News Act (Bill C-18). This landmark deal, which involves annual payments by Google to Canadian news companies, marks a significant step in supporting and sustaining journalism in Canada.
Google’s agreement to contribute approximately $100 million annually to the Canadian news sector opens up valuable opportunities for the community not-for-profit journalism sector to engage meaningfully in discussions and negotiations with Google. This agreement demonstrates a collaborative approach to supporting news media, which is especially crucial for community broadcasters who provide local and diverse content.
The NCRA/ANREC successfully lobbied the government of Canada to have community radio stations recognized as news publishers, with approximately 500 full-time equivalent journalists based on their CRTC licenses and spoken word requirements. This should position the sector to receive a sizable portion of Google funding. The details are still being negotiated, but this deal is a big step forward in getting tech giants to support local news and information.
The NCRA/ANREC is committed to working alongside government and industry partners to ensure that the community radio sector continues to provide essential services to communities across Canada, in many cases where no other local media is found. We look forward to being part of these critical conversations with Google and other stakeholders.
For more information:
Barry Rooke, Executive Director – NCRA/ANREC barry@ncra.ca
About the NCRA/ANREC:
The National Campus and Community Radio Association/L’Association nationale des radios étudiantes et communautaires (“NCRA/ANREC”) is a not-for-profit national association working to recognize, support, and encourage volunteer-based, non-profit, public-access campus, community and native radio broadcasters in Canada. We provide advice and advocacy for individual campus and community (“c/c”) stations and conduct lobbying and policy development initiatives with a view to advancing the role and increasing the effectiveness of our sector. Our goals are to ensure stability and support for individual stations and to promote the long-term growth and effectiveness of the sector. The NCRA/ANREC currently has 129 member stations.
