Torstar has signed a multi-year agreement with Meta, formerly called Facebook, to increase the visibility of its journalism on the platform and increase publisher revenue.
Meta will pay Torstar to display links to the work of Torstar posts, including the Toronto Star, as part of its Facebook news innovation test program, according to a Torstar spokesperson. The finanacial terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The digital giant has already announced 17 deals with other Canadian outlets, including Globe and Mail and Le Devoir.
Torstar Vice President David Peterson said the deal will provide fair pay for the publisher’s journalism and support increased investment in its newsrooms.
“This agreement is an opportunity to work toward sustainability and long-term journalism solutions,” Peterson said in an emailed statement.
Jordan Bitove, co-owner of Torstar and editor of the Toronto Star, said in an emailed statement that the deal will help the company’s journalism reach more people.
“Our mission to hold the powerful accountable and build communities requires a stable and reliable investment in journalism,” he said. “We have all seen the dangers of a polarized society and the profound damage that misinformation causes.”
Marc Dinsdale, director of media partnerships with Meta in Canada, said the program is still in testing, which means Facebook users won’t see any changes yet. But eventually, the idea is for news links from trusted news sources to be embedded in various parts of Facebook, rather than just appearing in user posts.
For example, a link to an article that provides context alongside daily COVID-19 cases can be found in the platform’s COVID-19 hub, Dinsdale said.
The program aims to connect news publishers with readers beyond their normal base, he said, and connect readers with reliable news in an era of misinformation and mistrust.
“The goal of this is basically to receive 100 percent of the links published by publishers and to find more places to provide that content,” he said, adding that it is a “long process.”
In addition to the Meta payment, Torstar will benefit in terms of referral traffic and potentially new digital subscribers, Dinsdale said.
This news comes immediately after another partnership, this one between Torstar and Google. In a similar deal, Google will feature some of Torstar’s articles in its News Showcase, free to readers, for a monthly fee.
Google also has partnerships with other Canadian news companies, including Globe and Mail, Black Press Media, and Narcity Media. Many Canadian publishers now have agreements with Meta and Google.
Meanwhile, while digital giants are signing deals with Canada’s biggest news publishers, the Canadian government is working on new rules for them to pay, pay or not pay.
Former Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault spearheaded a pre-election initiative that sought to repair the imbalance between Google and Meta’s advertising monopolies and declining advertising revenue for journalistic entities.
On the table is a solution similar to what Australia has come up with: implement a mandatory code outlining trading standards and establish an arbitration arm to deal with any deadlock. There is also the option of a separate media fund. It is not clear at this time where Canada will take the lead after the elections.
Dinsdale said Meta welcomes the government’s legislation regarding digital giants and news publishers as it believes they are working towards the same goal.
“We know that there is a place for us to work in this ecosystem,” he said. “We want to make sure that what is proposed is fair.”
Dinsdale noted that Meta has several other investments in the news industry, such as the Local Journalism Initiative.
With files from Josh Rubin and Kieran Leavitt
Reference-www.thestar.com