http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl? http://www.eblah.com en http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1282879034/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1282879034/#num1 Boost community involvement
in TV, CRTC

By CBC Arts

August 26th, 2010

The federal broadcast regulator has directed Canada's cable firms to ensure that at least half the programming on their community access channels be created by community members.
The federal broadcast regulator has directed Canada's cable firms to ensure that at least half the programming on their community access channels be created by community members.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission said it wants to enhance local participation on community channels with the new policy released Thursday.

"The role of the community channel should be primarily of a public service nature, facilitating self-expression through free and open access by members of the community," the CRTC said in its decision.

It has given broadcasters until Sept. 1, 2014, to ensure that half of the programming is created by community members. The old rules, created in 2002, required about 30 per cent of programming be made by the community.

This means that the original idea for a program must come from members of the community, who must also be involved in some aspect of the production, whether in front or behind the camera.

The policy recommends that cable firms increase community outreach, train more volunteers and build better ties with community groups.

Half of spending at community channels must be devoted to access programming, under a new regime to go into effect on Sept. 1, 2014.

However, the CRTC has not imposed any new fees, nor will it allow ads on community channels. The cable channels currently collect about $120 million annually from Canadians to spend on community TV.

In hearings held in April, the CRTC found most cable and satellite firms devoted less than half of community-channel airtime to access programming in 2009:

•Cogeco, 54 per cent.
•Shaw, 48 per cent.
•Quebecor, 39 per cent.
•Rogers (Ontario), 37 per cent.

An association representing community groups told the hearing that cable firms had withdrawn resources from volunteers in recent years and filled the airwaves with repeats.

The broadcast regulator noted the lack of transparency in determining how the cable firms spend money on community access programming.

It has introduced a new stricter annual reporting system on how cable companies spend money at community channels.

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2010/08/26/community-tv-policy.html

.]]> Thu, 26 Aug 2010 20:17:14 B Control http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1282422031/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1282422031/#num1 In Defence of the CRTC
Recent rulings suggest the electronic media regulator can do the right thing when faced with public pressure.


     Konrad von Finckenstein

By Steve Anderson,
TheTyee.ca
18 August 2010,

I recently found my way into a media and technology industry conference where I 'accidentally' bumped into the chair of the CRTC, Konrad von Finckenstein, who was surprisingly charming. Our conversation couldn't have been more different from the experiences I've had at CRTC hearings, where commissioners bear down on you with condescending glares, like feudal lords against the backdrop of a row of flags, the CRTC logo hanging overhead in place of a medieval coat of arms.

What's more, Konrad also seemed pleasantly surprised to see me. When I pressed him on his thoughts regarding the community media hearing he avoided answering in detail, but in a polite and comical way. Our interaction conveyed to me that this man knows what the CRTC is: a politically contested space.

Many media commentators, myself included, have been critical of the CRTC over the years. At times they seem to see themselves as a mediator between industries rather than a public watchdog. When they do make a decision that incorporates the public interest they often do so with a conflicted and weak-willed approach. Case in point: The 2009 net neutrality ruling, while a huge step forward, puts the onus of internet openness enforcement on consumers.

There's also the 2007 Diversity of Voices hearing, on the plus side, they rebuffed calls to weaken media ownership rules and instead strengthened them to prevent further cross ownership, but then deliberately avoided affecting the high concentration of ownership already enjoyed by big media corporations in Canada.

Mobile internet openness, a big win

If the CRTC's weak nod to the public interest in the above decisions doesn't inspire confidence in the institution, two very recent rulings should. On June 30 the CRTC extended its Traffic Management (Net Neutrality) rules to mobile wireless data services. This ruling was made in response to requests by OpenMedia.ca through its partner The Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic (CIPPIC) -- two public interest organizations. This is a huge win. As Canadians increasingly connect to the internet using mobile devices, it's impossible to overstate the importance of this ruling for ensuring we have access to the open internet regardless of the devise we are using to connect.

Over the last couple years there has been a positive trajectory towards internet openness with many milestones, but this is a big one. There is more work to be done to ensure enforcement, but the CRTC has shown a willingness to listen to the public when we speak with a united voice. You can bet this latest decision and initial traffic management ruling is not what the big telecom carriers were pushing for.

The case of Fox News North

On June 15, media giant Quebecor announced the launch of a 24-hour right-wing news channel modeled after the Fox News network in the US. It appears the plan for the station was hashed out last year when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his then communications director Kory Teneycke sat down for a secretive meeting with Rupert Murdoch and Roger Ailes, the president of Fox News Channel. Teneycke is now leading this Canadian right-wing news network, to be called Sun TV.

Rather than accepting the need to compete on a level playing field like Al Jazeera English and other broadcasters do, Quebecor applied to the CRTC for a coveted Category 1 License -- meaning cable operators across Canada would be forced to carry this Fox-style channel, which would amount to a subsidy of millions, maybe even tens of millions, of dollars.

As OpenMedia.ca blogger Jesse Betteridge noted, for the CRTC to give into Quebecor it would have had to go back on its own principles and precedents, including a ruling denying Category 1 carriage for a proposed channel focused on diversity and multiculturalism called Canada One TV. Despite the involvement of a key Conservative operative, and the political pressure that inevitably comes with that, it appears the CRTC is listening to the public interest community. In July the CRTC sent a letter to Quebecor denying them Category 1 carriage until at least October 2011. Quebecor is not likely to give up, but for the time being this decision prevents them from getting special treatment and the subsidy.

Public engagement is key

When I bumped into another not-so-friendly CRTC commissioner recently he quipped that the CRTC makes its rulings and the government overrules them if they don't like them. "That's how it works," he said. This was an interesting and unsought admission from what is supposed to be an independent regulatory commissioner -- that he accepts the government's ability to undercut the authority of the expert body that is intended to regulate our media.

So indeed the CRTC recognizes its own limitations within a highly contested space, and feels political pressure from the Conservative government, which is very cozy with big media and big telecom companies. These companies also bombard the CRTC with their own arguments and narratives. Commissioners attend their conferences, the firms have a small army of lobbyists, and indeed there is a revolving door between the CRTC and industry that means many decision-makers come from the industry they are supposed to regulate.

But recent rulings suggest that the CRTC can do the right thing when faced with public pressure. It is our job to engage the CRTC, to be a force within the highly contested space of media policy, so as to give them the energy to push back against industry and the Conservative government that often acts on its behalf. If the public is engaged en masse, the CRTC can be transformed into the public institution it is supposed to be.

Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca. He is a contributing author of Censored 2008 and Battleground: The Media and has written for The Tyee, Toronto Star, Epoch Times, Common Ground, Rabble.ca and Adbusters. Reach him at: steve@democraticmedia.ca, http://facebooksteve.com, http://steveontwitter.com, and http://medialinkscolumn.com.


.]]> Sat, 21 Aug 2010 13:20:31 On Air http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1282235034/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1282235034/#num1 Is Stephen Harper
set to move against the CRTC?


By Lawrence Martin
GlobeandMail.com
August 19, 2010

Insiders say the PM wants Konrad von Finckenstein out well before his term as chair ends. And vice-chair Michel Arpin is being ushered out the door


     Konrad von Finckenstein CP

Last year, as revealed by The Canadian Press, Prime Minister Stephen Harper lunched in New York with Roger Ailes, president of Fox News, and Rupert Murdoch, who owns it. Kory Teneycke, Mr. Harper’s former spokesman, was also present at the unannounced event.


      Kory Teneycke

Mr. Teneycke later became the point man for Quebecor’s Pierre Karl Péladeau in his effort to create a right-wing television network modelled along the lines of Fox News. The new network is a high priority for Mr. Harper, for whom controlling the message has always been – witness his government vetting program – of paramount importance.

In this regard, he scored a fantastic coup when Mr. Teneycke became head, courtesy of Mr. Péladeau, of Sun Media’s political coverage. It’s not every day that a prime minister sees his one-time spokesperson taking control of a giant media chain’s coverage of his government. What, one wonders, will our journalism schools be telling their students about that?

As remarkable as it was, it received scant attention because the focus was on the TV bid. That bid hit a roadblock last month when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission declared that the top-category type of broadcasting licence being sought by Quebecor would not be available – if at all – until Oct. 1, 2011, at the earliest.

Observers of Mr. Harper have long noted that he doesn’t take kindly to commissions or agencies or anyone else who tends to get in the way of his wishes. It’s only necessary to look at what happened at, among others, Rights and Democracy, Elections Canada, the Nuclear Safety Commission and Parliament.

So the question naturally arises: Do the CRTC board members actually think they can get away with delaying or denying Mr. Harper’s wishes on Fox News North? Do they really believe they have some kind of independent power?

The CRTC chair is Konrad von Finckenstein, and his term doesn’t end until 2012. But insiders report that Mr. Harper now wants him out well before that date and replaced by a rubber stamper. The independently minded Mr. von Finckenstein, who did not respond to queries on the matter, is reportedly being offered judgeships and ambassadorships, one post being Chile. So far, he’s not biting. But the bait might get bigger.

In addition, CRTC vice-chair Michel Arpin is being ushered out the door. His term expires at the end of the month; he’d like to stay on, but his request is not being granted.

Names being floated as a replacement for either the chair or vice-chair include none other than Mr. Péladeau’s long-time right-hand man, Luc Lavoie. Mr. Lavoie is a competent fellow but, given his Péladeau ties, the idea sounds far-fetched, positively galling. But, then again, when has galling ever stopped Stephen Harper?

Replacing the CRTC’s chair and vice-chair would pretty well seal the deal for Mr. Harper and Mr. Péladeau. Mr. Teneycke has said all along that the new station would be up and running by the start of 2011 with a Category 1 licence, meaning cable companies would be required to offer it as part of a package.

Mr. Harper is benefiting very nicely from the Péladeau connection. When Mr. Teneycke took over Sun Media’s political coverage, one of his first moves was to unload columnist Greg Weston. Mr. Weston, one of the most straight-shooting and incisive columnists around, broke the fake-lake story before the G20 summit. His reward? The noose.

Mr. Harper must have been pleasantly surprised that the developments at the Sun chain caused barely a ripple of opposition from other Canadian media. It may embolden him to crush any CRTC opposition to the granting of Sun TV’s licence.

The CRTC is supposed to have some independence. It is supposed be at arm’s length. But, in this government, arm’s length has a different meaning, as in knuckles’ length.

Among those hearing about the pending CRTC shakeup is Ian Morrison of the advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting. As he correctly points out, the integrity of the CRTC has to be defended. “You can’t have the Prime Minister handing out radio and TV licences.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com.....crtc/article1677632/

.

]]> Thu, 19 Aug 2010 09:23:54 B Control http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1280326884/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1280326884/#num1 DAILY NEWS Jul 27, 2010 7:31 AM
CRTC Announces New Policy For Community and Campus Radio

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has introduced a new policy for community and campus radio stations. The policy provides this sector with stable funding, and emphasizes the importance of local reflection as well as the participation of volunteers in all areas of a station's operations.

"Community and campus radio stations serve a distinct need within the broadcasting system," said Michel Arpin, the CRTC's Vice-Chairman of Broadcasting. "In the years to come, these stations will have access to predictable funding so that they may continue to offer local information, give exposure to emerging Canadian artists and provide opportunities for volunteers to participate in the broadcasting system."

The Community Radio Fund of Canada will see its annual funding increase by over $700,000, which will be distributed among the more than 140 community and campus radio stations. Created in 2007, the CRFC is a not-for-profit organization that supports the development of non-commercial, community-based broadcasters.

The funds will be supplied by commercial radio broadcasters through a reallocation of the contributions they must make each year toward the development of Canadian content. As such, this initiative will benefit the campus and community radio sector at no additional cost to the commercial radio sector.

The Commission will also provide campus radio stations with greater flexibility by replacing hourly advertising limits with weekly limits.

Finally, the Commission took steps to simplify its licensing regime and to harmonize as much as possible the regulations for community and campus radio stations.]]> Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:21:24 TurnTable3 http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1279913450/ http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1279913450/#num1 CRTC Announces Hearing For Shaw's Acquisition of Canwest
from BroadcasterMagazine.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today announced a public hearing, to be held September 20, to consider applications by Shaw Communication.

Shaw says it is pleased the hearing will be held, and that it anticipates it will mark "the last step" in its acquisition of the broadcast assets of a restructured Canwest.

"Shaw's acquisition is tremendously positive for Canwest, and its employees, viewers and the Canadian broadcasting system," said Jim Shaw, CEO and Vice-Chair of Shaw. "Canwest is an important voice that has for decades played a central role in Canadian broadcasting. We are excited about the opportunity to assume control of Canwest."

The CRTC may have other matters in mind, as in its announcement of the hearings, it states that, in regards to Shaw Cablesystems current licences, "It appears to the Commission that the licensee, during the current licence term, may have failed to comply with sections 29 and 29.2 of the Regulations concerning monthly payments to the Canada Media Fund  for the period September 2009 to February 2010. The Commission notes that the licensee has now made the necessary monthly payments. The Commission intends to inquire into this matter at the hearing."

Shaw has more than 20 individual licence applications before the CRTC; each seeks to "renew the Class 1 broadcasting licence for its terrestrial broadcasting distribution undertaking (BDU)" with certain changes.

The CRTC will accept public comments and input on the hearings through August.
]]> Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:30:50 clockwatcher