Canada restricts cross-media ownership, seeks to ensure diverse editorial voices

[marmar]

from CBC News:



CRTC imposes cross-media ownership restrictions
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 15, 2008 | 12:23 PM ET
CBC News


The CRTC has brought in new regulations to restrict cross-media ownership as a way of ensuring a diversity of editorial voices in the same market.

The broadcast regulator said on Tuesday that, in future, a person or entity will only be permitted to control two media outlets in a single market. In other words, a media group that already owned a local radio station and a local television station would likely have to sell one of those broadcast outlets if it wanted to buy a local newspaper.

The CRTC also said it would impose limits on the ownership of broadcasting licences so that one party would not control more than 45 per cent of the total television audience share as a result of a merger or acquisition.

"It is an approach that will preserve the plurality of editorial voices and the diversity of programming available to Canadians, both locally and nationally, while allowing for a strong and competitive industry," said CRTC chair Konrad von Finckenstein.

The ownership restrictions followed hearings last year into the issue of media concentration and the diversity of voices following two high-profile media deals — CanWest Global's purchase of Alliance Atlantis Communications, and CTV's acquisition of Chum Ltd. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.cbc.ca/money/story/2008/01/15/crtc.html

[A-Long-Little-Doggie]

1. That's it, I'm moving to Canada!

It would be nice to live in a free country!

[movonne]

2. I wish we had the brains to do the same...I feel like the US is going

to be home to the big corporations...and down the line people will flee to places that are more like a democracy...