The Northern View is looking for support when it comes to recent actions from global media platform Meta's Facebook |
With the social media provider Facebook recently acting on its threat to banish links to Canadian news services, a theme we took note of last week, the publisher of the local Black Press publication Northern View is seeking the support of local government to send a message to Meta, the parent company of Facebook.
The Battle Cry from Melissa Ash of the Northern View came by way of a correspondence to the District of Port Edward Council session for August 8th, in which the hyperbole was strong as the local paper portrayed the call for action towards Meta, to that of defending democracy.
The correspondence provides a snapshot of why the Publisher and Black Press are upset with the Meta move and highlights the talking point of a democracy under attack, while also noting of the service that the paper provides to the region.
The Key passage from the Northern View's battle plan that of calling on the District to exercise its economic might to send a message to Mark Zuckerberg's organization.
"We ask that the District of Port Edward use its economic clout and join its provincial and Canadian counterparts and governments around the world that are taking a stand at this crucial time in history to proclaim that the power to decide how and what information is shared isn't the purview of an elite group of foreign based players, but should be in the hands of democratic governments and the people who elect them"
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I think that there is quite a bit more to the issue than Northern View/Black Press "anger" at losing "free advertising" from Meta in return for providing free content. Local government should support local media by buying advertising locally. It would be interesting to know how much local governments here pay Meta for advertising their messaging.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Facebook does have a huge amount of clout and its their rules, but that is not just the way it is, so get used to it. Incredible as it may sound, we each have the ability to refuse to play by the rules that govern their global dystopia and move on to other ways of communicating with others. Apparently Gen Z is doing that in increasing numbers.
Economic clout of Port Ed? Heh.
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