The Australian government said in July it would require Facebook and Google to pay for news provided by media companies under a royalty-style system that is scheduled to become law this year.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said Google and Facebook would be the first digital platforms targeted by the proposed legislation but others could follow.

Across the country, newsrooms are shrinking. Journalists are losing their jobs while their companies struggle to turn a profit. Can the government keep local news alive?

While the newspaper industry has applauded the $595-million, five-year funding commitment, a group representing Canadian broadcasters says it's unfair.

Last fall, the Liberals announced new tax credits and incentives, worth 595 million dollars over the next five years, to support the struggling news industry.

The tax credit will be worth 15 per cent of the cost of a subscription, although Finance Canada spokesman Jack Aubry says the actual dollar amount someone will save depends on the cost of a subscription.

Morneau said his experience is that journalists don't necessarily agree with what the government does and that won't change.

The publisher of The New York Times said he “implored” Trump at a private White House meeting this month to reconsider his broad attacks on journalists.

Experts on the press and democracy say the cries of “fake news” could do long-term damage by sowing confusion and contempt for journalists and by undermining the media’s role as a watchdog.

Trump often bypasses the vast information-gathering apparatus that reports to him in favor of getting his reality from TV, or sometimes just his gut.