Voice Your Concern Over Media Consolidation

June 30, 2007 00:34 +0000 | Politics 4

Media consolidation is a very big deal in this country. In what used to be a chorus of diverse voices, Canada has now only 3 television companies: Canwest Global, Bell Globe Media, and CBC. The newspapers are much the same, with the only additional player there being Torstar. It's a dangerous world we're making for ourselves where the difference of opinion isn't really all that different anymore.

The CRTC, the government body charged with protecting our culture in the media has been asleep at the wheel while companies like Alliance Atlantis and CHUM have been bought up by their competitors. This leads to less diversity of opinion in the news as well as reduced local and regional content. In other words, the changes are getting progressively greater that when you hear a story, you will only ever have access to the same side of the story... no matter what media source you turn to.

To that end, DemocraticMedia.ca was formed and is petitioning the CRTC to wake up and fix its mess. I encourage everyone to use the handy online form to send a citizen's deputation to the CRTC to be read at a hearing in Ottawa this September, or better yet, if you can, show up and depute yourself.

Here's a copy of my letter:

I am very disappointed with the actions of the CRTC to date. I've always been a proponent for you in conversation both academic and social. You are charged with safeguarding Canada's cultural identity and you are failing at this all-important task.

It does not require a great deal of comprehensive skill to understand that media consolidation is bad for Canada. Indeed, any child can recognise this rule in nature: monocultures are weak and more susceptible threats than diverse groups. This is true in agriculture, it is true in software, and it's most certainly true in the media.

The CRTC is failing Canadians in its charge to safeguard our access to news and culture. By allowing consolidation, you limit choice for your stakeholders (the Canadian people) and leave the hearts and minds of the country open to threats like an uninformed populace, a disenfranchised voting base and foreign ownership... the typical symptoms of a monopoly.

I am unable to appear before the CRTC in September, but I want to ensure that my voice is both heard and counted at those hearings.

Comments

queenmab
30 Jun 2007, 1:42 a.m. |

not sure if this is 100% relevant to what you're talking about, but just an interesting point about news...they've developed this citizens journalism website about 10 years ago in korea called "oh my news" http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=153109&rel_no=1

citizen reporters can write for a hobby or choose, after they've gottten past a certain number of articles and level of readership, to be on staff (like one of the teachers in my school)

it's becoming more international too
http://english.ohmynews.com/english/eng_section_special.asp?article_class=19

it's a pretty good idea, giving the power of the press back to the people (or well online press anyways)

Daniel
30 Jun 2007, 5:38 a.m. |

Toronto is going to be home to The Real News soon, a similar project and of course there's always indymedia. I didn't know about this Korean project though, very cool. Thanks :-)

Scott
2 Jul 2007, 3:06 p.m. |

The Alliance Atlantis buyout still isn't approved by the CRTC, so petitioners can still create a rather hefty roadblock. Just sayin'.

Roland Tanner
4 Jul 2007, 5:18 p.m. |

On the plus side, either Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp has been blocked from Canada somehow, of he has not turned his gleaming eye from Mount Doom to consider the hobbits (oops, Canadians) just yet. It could be worse, although I completely agree consolidation is a bad thing.

Do the wonders of the interweb mitigate this anyway? Newspaper sales globally are tanking right now.