OTTAWA – CACTUS wants to rally Canadians to “take back” their local community channels from cable companies.
The Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS) says that there “are virtually no true community channels left since the cable companies started to ‘professionalize’ them more than 10 years ago”, and is encouraging consumers to demand that CRTC hand back control when it undertakes a review of community TV in April.
The group has published a free guide to the forthcoming review, and is urging consumers to share their views about community TV, including their hopes for its future.
"Most Canadians don’t know they have the right to access these channels to get their messages out and to gain broadcasting experience," said CACTUS spokesperson Cathy Edwards, in a statement. "And unfortunately most don’t know about the CRTC’s April 26 policy hearing about this issue. We designed our guide to encourage participation in this important process."
The deadline for responses to the CRTC’s questions about community TV is February 1st. The hearing is scheduled to begin on April 26, 2010.
Click here to view CACTUS’ guide.
