Le Devoir editor talks future of newspaper business

CTV Montreal: The future of Quebec's media Le Devoir editor Brian Myles on what the future holds for Quebec's media after the bankruptcy filing of Groupe Capitale.

A parliamentary commission in Quebec City will look at the future of print media in the province days after Groupe Capitale Medias filed for bankruptcy protection, as newspapers navigate a precarious future.

CAQ premier Francois Legault has pledged to fund the group that operates six regional papers putting the publications on life support.

Le Devoir is not in Groupe Capital, and its editor Brian Myles said he will push for fairness moving forward in terms of support for newspapers from governments.

"Many media are struggling right now, and we can understand that the $10 million was needed and the $5 million additional was needed for Capitale Medias, but at some point the government has to ask itself, 'where do we stop?' and when will those subsidies to one group, those loans to one group become a disadvantage for the other ones," said Myles.

Myles said newsrooms would benefit from tax deductions in newsroom salaries across the board to help those putting the news together.

"The most important part of a newsroom is the staff, the reporters that are doing a great job every day," said Myles. "This is what you need to support. You don't need to support the industry itself or one corporation instead of the other one. You need to support the actual job of reporting the news."

With traditional sources of funding fading, Myles is frustrated that some philanthropic funding sources has been hurt by a "half-baked" measure from the federal government that excludes organizations such as the Friends of Le Devoir from tax deduction status.

"It's a huge problem for us at Le Devoir, and I have at least three donors, who are willing to give some $600,000, who are waiting for that measure, for that qualified-donor status to happen," said Myles. "I kind of feel like I was let down by the federal government."