Jen Gerson, co-founder and editor of the independent outlet The Line, spent years working in mainstream Canadian journalism — including at the National Post and Calgary Herald — before stepping away to launch her own platform in 2020.
Since then, she has become one of the most vocal critics of federal journalism subsidies, arguing that programs like the Canadian Journalism Labour Tax Credit and the Online News Act have turned legacy media into dependents of the very government they are supposed to scrutinize.
In testimony before a parliamentary committee on Bill C-18 and in multiple columns, Gerson warned that tying newsroom survival to government-linked revenue streams creates an unavoidable conflict of interest.
“I have real concerns about making media outlets dependent on revenue that is subject to the whims of the government in power,” she told MPs. “The industry’s dependence on these revenue streams makes us pawns of partisan politics whether we wish to be or not.”
Gerson has pointed out that the subsidies — which can cover up to 35% of eligible journalists’ salaries and have funnelled hundreds of millions through tax credits and mandated platform payments — reward outlets that align with federal priorities while punishing those that do not. She described the effect as subtle but corrosive: stories critical of government policy or highlighting failures in areas like energy regulation or regional economic issues can become harder to pursue when the outlet’s financial health depends on programs administered by the same government.
“The more dependent media becomes on Ottawa, the more sympathetic it grows to the claims of other industries for similar treatment,” she wrote in one analysis. “Spend your working life inhaling the fumes of government subsidy, and you tend to believe in its natural advantages.”
Unlike many who left quietly, Gerson has used her platform to document how these incentives distort coverage. She has highlighted cases where subsidized outlets appear reluctant to aggressively question federal spending, regulatory overreach, or programs that benefit the media industry itself.
Her move to fully independent, subscription-supported journalism was deliberate. The Line accepts no government funding, no corporate bailouts, and no platform mandates — a model she says restores the direct accountability journalists should have to readers rather than politicians.
Gerson’s critique has resonated with many in Alberta and Western Canada, where national media coverage often feels filtered through Ottawa-centric assumptions. Her experience illustrates why growing numbers of Canadians are seeking out citizen-led and independent sources that operate without the structural pressures created by taxpayer-supported funding models.
