TORONTO – The final day of nextMEDIA – Monetizing Digital Media should be a very interesting one.
The two-day gathering will wrap up with a town hall meeting examining a broad range of issues related to the changing face of the Canadian and global media industry and with the group planned, some verbal fireworks are almost assured.
New media consultant Mark Kuznicki of Remarkk! Consulting moderates the session, which includes a discussion between industry panelists and conference delegates. The town hall contributes to Phase Two of the CRTC’s New Media Project Initiative, a study that will help the CRTC determine what actions, if any, it should take to ensure that all media platforms contribute to the objectives of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Acts.
The panelists are: Richard Hardacre, national president, ACTRA; Michael Hennessy, vice-president – wireless, broadband and content policy, Telus; McLean Mashingaidze-Greaves, CEO, Nimble; Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO, Quebecor Media Inc.
With items like the advanced wireless spectrum auction still front and centre (and with Telus and Quebecor on opposite sides of the fence on that one) and the fact that actors want to be paid for their work appearing on all the video platforms now available, the discussion should be lively.
“We are very pleased to co-host this town hall,” said Mark Greenspan, director of digital media, Achilles Media Ltd. “This is a perfect opportunity for nextMEDIA delegates to openly and activity participate in the shaping of new media policy in Canada.”
“The new media landscape is changing rapidly,” says Namir Anani, associate executive director, policy development and research, CRTC. “New media services both complement and compete with the traditional broadcasting systems. It is important that they reflect and serve the needs and interests of Canadians, and are therefore an area of interest for the CRTC.”
A number of issues will be on the agenda at the town hall meeting, including the classification or definition of the different types of new media broadcasting services, and the specific strategies required to foster a healthy Canadian market. Emerging business models and the role of public policy will also be discussed.
The New Media Project Initiative was announced in May 2007 by CRTC chairman Konrad von Finckenstein as a comprehensive study of the new media environment and its impact on the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications industries.
This is the second town hall hosted by Achilles Media Ltd. A previous meeting, held this past summer at nextMEDIA: The Future of Digital Content (Banff, Alberta), evoked a lively discussion around issues of net neutrality. Panel members included Amber MacArthur (CITY TV), Kris Krüg, Mark Kuznicki, Matt Thompson and Jason Roks.
NextMEDIA: Monetizing Digital Media – takes place Tuesday, November 27 to Wednesday, November 28 at the Diesel Playhouse, 56 Blue Jay’s Way, Toronto.
