摘要 : Background: The Canadian government allocated $595 million in subsidies over fiveyears to news media in 2019, but the bailout was based on questionable data. Financiallosses were exaggerated; a think tank report was criticized for... 展开 Background: The Canadian government allocated $595 million in subsidies over fiveyears to news media in 2019, but the bailout was based on questionable data. Financiallosses were exaggerated; a think tank report was criticized for using data selectively; datafrom a university research project differed sharply from annual industry counts; and jobloss figures were disputed.Analysis: Hard data can diverge markedly from soft data accepted in pursuit of policyoutcomes.Conclusions and implications: A second campaign under way on behalf of entertainmentindustries could yield a bailout several times larger than the first. Closer scrutinyshould be exercised of media narratives and offered data. An independent media researchcentre should collect and verify data for policy purposes. 收起