OPENING REMARKS BY KONRAD VON FINCKENSTEIN Chairman, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to the public hearing in Gatineau, Quebec CRTC Release Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this public hearing on diversity of voices.
Today’s panel is made up of Michel Arpin, Vice-Chair of Broadcasting; Rita Cugini, Regional Commissioner for Ontario; Stuart Langford, National Commissioner; Michel Morin, National Commissioner; Andrée Noël, Regional Commissioner for Quebec; Ronald Williams, Regional Commissioner for Alberta and the Northwest Territories; and myself. My name is Konrad von Finckenstein and I am the Chairman of the CRTC.
The Commission team assisting us includes Nick Ketchum, Hearing Manager and Senior Director, Broadcasting; Shari Fisher and Bernard Montigny, Legal Counsels; and Chantal Boulet, Hearing Secretary.
Diversity of voices The issue of media concentration is an important one that has preoccupied policy-makers in Canada for some time. Several studies have touched on the subject, most notably the Davey Report in 1970, the Kent Commission in 1981, the Lincoln Report in 2003 and the Fraser Report in 2006. The concern over media concentration is not limited to Canada. Many other jurisdictions, including the United States and the European Union, are currently studying this issue, and Australia has recently passed new legislation.
Why has so much attention been brought to bear on media concentration? Simply, the presence of a diversity of voices is essential to the proper functioning of a democracy. When people have access to information from a variety of perspectives, they are better able to participate in public debates and to become knowledgeable and engaged citizens.
This hearing marks the first time that the CRTC has held a comprehensive policy review of its approach to media ownership and the impact it may have on the diversity of voices available to Canadians. It comes at a time when the Canadian broadcasting industry has experienced a wave of consolidation, which has led to companies controlling not only a wide variety of traditional media, but also content that can be broadcast over digital platforms.
The main purpose of this proceeding is to ensure that the broadcasting system provides Canadians with the greatest possible diversity of voices, and especially editorial voices. Any policy guidelines that may be developed as a result of this proceeding should be simple, consistent and clearly articulated.
As you are all aware, the three major ownership transactions announced prior to March 13, 2007, will be considered under the existing rules and will not be affected by new guidelines arising from this proceeding.
The hearing starting today will focus on three key issues: the plurality of commercial editorial voices, the diversity of programming choices and safeguards for journalistic content in situations where different media outlets in a given market are controlled by a single entity.
When speaking of the plurality of voices, the Commission is referring to the number of editorial voices, including news and current events programming, owned by separate entities. In Canada, the broadcasting system is divided into public, private and community elements, and each plays a role in informing the perspectives of Canadians on local, national and global affairs. During this hearing, we will only examine the most effective means of ensuring that private broadcasters offer Canadians an appropriate number of different editorial voices.
The diversity of programming choices, on the other hand, refers to the content available to Canadians. The Commission has different regulatory tools at its disposal to ensure that our broadcasting system offers diverse content to listeners and viewers. However, at this hearing we will focus on these tools in the context of ownership. We will be taking a broader look at our regulatory tools during upcoming proceedings, such as the review of our policies for discretionary services and BDUs, and the TV licences renewal hearing.
Finally, we will also be studying the effectiveness of existing safeguards for journalistic independence, as well as the Journalistic Independence Code that has been proposed by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council.
The Commission will accept additional comments on the areas identified by the panel at the end of the oral hearing. Parties will have until October 5 to submit their final written comments. |