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Perhaps the greatest iro- ny of the crisis consuming the media world is that we reach a larger audience to- day than at any time in our history. In other words, more peo- ple will read the content of the newspaper you are hold- ing in your hands right now than would have 20 years ago. The reason for that, of course, is that online reader- ship of Canadian newspa- pers has exploded. And that makes the irony of our crisis all the more, well, ironic. The very tech- nology that allows us to reach ever greater audienc- es is also undermining our ability to sustain our busi- ness. Readers tend to think ofReaders tend to think ofR newspapers as a single busi- ness. But the truth is that we are a constellation of many different businesses, and each of those businesses has fared differently in the digi-fared differently in the digi-f tal world. Retail advertising, digitalRetail advertising, digitalR services, commercial print- ing, consumer shows, classi- fied advertising, subscrip-fied advertising, subscrip-f tion sales, flyer distribution ... are some of the businesses that sustain newspapers. Some segments, like flyer distribution, have been rela- tively unscathed by the digi- tal revolution, but others, like classifieds, have been decimated. For those of you whoFor those of you whoF might be tempted to think 'decimated' is hyperbole or, heaven forbid, fake news, consider classified advertis- ing, which historically has been one of the largest reve- nue streams for newspapers. Between 2000 and 2005, as the digital tsunami was gain- ing force, classified revenue fell by upwards of 10 per cent,fell by upwards of 10 per cent,f lost to free competitors like Craigslist and Kijiji. Over the next five years, it fell by another 50 per cent. Over the following five, almost 60 perfollowing five, almost 60 perf cent of remaining classified revenue disappeared. For our company alone, that ac- counts for tens of millions of dollars in lost revenue. Those numbers always give me a chill because I re- member an editor sharing with me a simple truism when I was a young reporter: "Classifieds pay for the newsroom." The bottom line is that the newspaper industry has suffered a catastrophic loss of revenue. And that threat- ens our ability to deliver lo- cally-generated news that is relevant to the communities we serve. We see the fallout of that crisis with the clo- sure of local newspapers and the growth of so-called 'news deserts,' entire com- munities with no local news provider. I came into this business 40 years ago with a profound belief in the importance of local journalism. The pas- sage of time has only rein- forced for me the relation-forced for me the relation-f ship between healthy, vi- brant communities and the availability of local news: theavailability of local news: thea solid line between a demo- cratically rich society and an aggressive press. What's happening to local news is tragic, but it is dou- bly so when you consider that a giant American duop- oly, Google and Facebook, is driving the proverbial nails into the coffin of Canadian journalism. These giant multination- als suck up more than half of all digital advertising in Canada - by some estimates $6.8 billion a year - yet they don't play by the same rules that Canadian media compa- nies must observe. This is particularly true when it comes to taxation; our gov- ernment essentially ex- empts these U.S. giants from any meaningful burden, even while diverting more tax dollars into digital adver- tising on these foreign-con- trolled sites. The Competition Bureau recently announced it would investigate possible anti- competitive practices by these giants. That's a start. But if we are serious about preserving local media, if we are serious about safeguard- ing our democratic institu- tions, so much more is re- quired. The tech titans are not only strangling traditional media, they are distorting the news all of us consume. We see evidence of that everyWe see evidence of that everyW day, the most egregious ex- amples south of the border - everyone remember Russia? - but closer to home, as well. The spread of 'fake news' and misinformation campaigns on these giant U.S. platforms is indisputable. Our ability to truly understand what is happening in our communi- ties, our province and our country is being held hos- tage by algorithms that none of us understand. Dana Robbins is vice- president of community brands with Torstar Corp. We welcome your ques- tions and value your com- ments. Email our trust committee at trust@met- roland.com. ONLINE READERSHIP A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD FOR NEWSPAPERS OPINION SAME TECHNOLOGY THAT ALLOWS MEDIA TO REACH WIDER AUDIENCE ALSO THREATENS ITS SURVIVAL, WRITES DANA ROBBINS DANA ROBBINS Column