Friday, July 19, 2019

Saving Canadian Journalism?

TheNotSoInvisibleHand's
UnderwrittenBudgetSheetReWriteVille


So.

How much of the federal government's, 'Save The (Legacy) Press!' subsidy will go to, say, Postmedia this year?

Canadaland's Johnathan Goldsbie reports that it will be close to $10 million:

In its quarterly earnings report released today, Canada’s largest newspaper company said that it expects to receive $8 to 10 million per year from the federal government’s new tax credit for journalist salaries.

“Based on our current staffing levels,” wrote the management of Postmedia, “we expect the per-annum journalism tax credit to be between $8 million and $10 million,” dating from January 1 of this year [pdf]...



Which, of course, is supposed to help pay for all kinds of reporters:

The refundable labour tax credit introduced by the government in its most recent budget will subsidize 25% of the salaries of “eligible newsroom employees,” to a maximum of $13,750 per person per year. A subsidy of $9 million would represent about 650 employees with annual salaries of at least $55,000 each...


Now.

This is all fine and good, except...

Based on past performance, an argument could be made that our money will actually make it possible for the hedge fund debt-strapped, money losing company to keep-on-keepin'-on with its habit of compensating the very private entitity's top five executives at the super-fine levels they so richly deserve.

The Halifax Examiner's Tim Bousquet published an analysis of those super-fine justly deserved numbers recently:

Yesterday, Postmedia released its Management Information Circular in preparation of January (2019)’s shareholder meeting; the circular shows that CEO Paul Godfrey was awarded a $1.2 million bonus on top of his $1.2 million dollar salary in 2018, and with stock options brought in over $5 million in 2018. The top five execs at Postmedia collectively received over $10 million in compensation...


Imagine that!



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Please note: No legacy press investigatory resources were used in the construction of this post...


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4 comments:

Danneau said...

How will you and Norm and Laila and Mound and Robin Matthews et al spend the lavish payments you'll be getting from Justin? This makes me ill. What's the use of my boycott of PostMedia and the other fat cat purveyors of mis-dis-information, deflection and obfuscation if my sort-of elected leaders subscribe for me?

Lew said...

As a general rule of thumb, smart folks don’t bite the hand that feeds them.

We can therefore expect that Trudeau’s Ministry Of Truth is safer now from legacy press contradiction than it was last year.

Lulymay said...

I'm waiting to hear from all those who use the CBC's comment section to foam at the mouth that they don't want "their hard earned tax dollars going to these commies" and yet their fine upstanding, take no tax publications, who continually preach the power of St. Stephen Harper et al are content to watch Postmedia grab with all their might onto the public teat themselves.

By the way, is that creep that owns the National Enquirer (and covers up for a certain US politician's extra curricular activities) still an influential member of PostMedia board?

e.a.f. said...

The federal Liberals may think this is a good idea, to financially support their "investor class" donator class. however, those B of D. types amount of a few people. the rest of us, vote and we are millions. who ever dreamt this one up, ought to have their head examined. While First Nations' communities still don't have running water which they can drink, the Liberals think its O.K. to give millions to millionaires. I'm not good with that.

Tax payers are subsidizing the bonuses of very wealthy people. I am not good with that. B.C. needs money for affordable housing, use the extra millions for that.

Thank you for giving this the publicity it deserves. We won't be reading about this in the MSM. All Post Media does is report with a slant towards Conservatives. I vote NDP, so why should my tax dollars be used to support Conservatives and Liberals who I don't agree with. if the MSM in Canada actually provided information citizen taxpayers wanted to read, they wouldn't be in this situation, all of their own making.

o.k. enough of my rant, off to send letters to the political class.....