Post Tagged with: "new media"

Corus Calls For Net Neutrality Task Force

As I wrote earlier this week, the deadline for submissions for the CRTC's Diversity of Voices proceeding closed on Wednesday. There is a lot to review – samples of submissions from hundreds of Canadians, competing consultants reports (CFTPA hired Nordicity, Canwest hired Communic@tions Management), some calls for regulation of new media content (ACTRA, Socan), and opposing claims about whether the CRTC should encourage or discourage greater media concentration.

My column focused on the net neutrality issues associated with new media and the diversity of voices and I think it is noteworthy that several submissions raised similar concerns. Corus, which is one of Canada's most successful media and entertainment companies, immediately became one of the highest profile Canadian companies to express concern about net neutrality, stating:

Canadian creators and producers need to ensure that they can continue to have access to the networked bit stream on the basis of equitable rules. The CRTC should examine its potential role in governing net neutrality to ensure that access remains open to Canadian services on new digital distribution platforms. Corus recommends the establishment of an Industry Task Force on net neutrality.

The Corus concerns were echoed by Pelmorex, which owns the Weather Network, which ranks among the most popular Canadian websites.

July 20, 2007 — Comments are Disabled — Neutrality

Diversity of Voices

My weekly Law Bytes column (Toronto Star version, homepage version) focuses on the CRTC's upcoming diversity of voices proceeding. The column notes that the initiative should be seen as part of the larger new media challenge, which CRTC Chair Konrad von Finckenstein has described as "the defining challenge of our time in broadcasting. There is no more important matter facing the Commission, nor does any other matter have such long-term consequences."

The CRTC has launched the New Media Project initiative will analyze whether new media should be regulated and assess its impact on the creation and distribution of Canadian content. The initiative will also consider critical access issues including network neutrality (described by von Finckenstein as "Internet traffic prioritization") and whether access to high-speed broadband networks should be elevated to a core policy objective. A final project report is not expected until March 2009, however, the CRTC has a second initiative that will cover some of the same terrain much sooner – the Diversity of Voices proceeding.

The Diversity of Voices proceeding comes in response to the growing consolidation of Canadian media and seeks commentary on whether the changing corporate landscape has had a negative impact on the diversity of perspectives within the Canadian broadcasting system. The CRTC’s interest in the issue arises directly from the Broadcasting Act, which includes a statutory objective that Canadian broadcasting "provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern."

The need for an open consultation on media diversity is long overdue.

July 16, 2007 — 1 comment — Columns

CRTC Confronts “Defining Challenge of our Time”

Appeared in the Toronto Star on July 16, 2007 as Media Diversity Hearings Are Long Overdue In a little noticed speech last month at a Canadian broadcasting conference, Konrad von Finckenstein, the newly appointed Chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), told the industry that new media is […]

July 16, 2007 — Comments are Disabled — Columns Archive

Canadian Cultural Policy Must Adapt to an Internet World

My weekly Law Bytes column (Ottawa Citizen version, homepage version) focuses on the need to adapt Canadian cultural policy to an Internet world. Given our easy access to Hollywood movies and U.S. television programming, it is unsurprising that Canadians have long placed great emphasis on cultural policies. To avoid marginalizing homegrown talent, Canada has set Canadian content as a key objective in the Broadcasting Act, established foreign ownership restrictions within the cultural industries, and safeguarded cultural policies in its international trade agreements.

As a result, Canadian television and radio broadcasters must be Canadian-owned and comply with Canadian content requirements, while funding programs at the federal and provincial level help the Canadian cultural sector compete on the global stage. These policies have enjoyed a measure of success – Canadian musicians and children's television programming are particularly noteworthy in this regard – however the emergence of the Internet and new media is rendering many current policies increasingly irrelevant.

I argue that two pillars of Canadian cultural policy need to be reconsidered.

July 3, 2007 — 1 comment — Columns

Broadcasting Community Surprisingly Calls For Internet Regulation

Appeared in the Toronto Star on April 2, 2007 as More Web Regulation Doesn't Make Any Sense The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has faced seemingly continuous criticism for years, however in May 1999 it released a decision that generated near-universal praise. The New Media decision, which adopted a hands-off […]

April 2, 2007 — 1 comment — Columns Archive