Dear partners and advertisers,
As you have probably already read, Bill C-18 was recently passed. It aims to ensure fair sharing of revenues between digital platforms and the media. It will take effect in six months. The giants Meta and Alphabet, refusing to comply, announced that they would block news media content on Facebook, Instagram, and Google platforms.
The impact for La Presse
La Presse occupies an important place in the digital market and more than 85% of our traffic comes from direct sources. The high level of reader engagement on our platforms will therefore allow us to continue to offer you successful campaigns, despite the threat from web giants to block news media content.
We are, however, concerned about the consequences of Meta and Alphabet's position for our society. At La Presse, we have chosen to transform our business model into a non-profit structure. In making information freely available to everyone, we aim to promote healthy and respectful societal debates and ensure society can evolve adequately informed.
In this sense, the threat from these two digital giants to block access to quality news, written by credible journalists, appears to us as harmful for our democracy since it will eliminate from one of the most used virtual public spaces in Canada all professionally produced information, paving the way for misinformation and the proliferation of fake news.
These threats not only demonstrate how the implementation of C-18 is paramount for all the media to be able to negotiate within a clear framework in a fair and equitable manner, but they also serve as further evidence of the abuse of power exercised by the digital giants because of their monopoly.
Your impact
As an advertiser, you can make a difference. This is truer today than ever, and you can have a real impact by choosing to trust us with your advertising investments. Investing in La Presse means choosing to advertise in a credible media, whose mission is to produce quality information accessible to all.
More than 4 million Quebecers consult La Presse each month. This significant reach combined with the strength of our primary data, the engagement on our platforms, and our innovative advertising formats, allows us to preserve what makes us strong as an effective media partner.
Thank you, dear partners, for supporting local media.
Patrick Salois
Vice President, Sales and Operations
La Presse
