VANCOUVER – Over 1,000 Canadians have clicked through to the CRTC asking that Canadian media companies get no bigger or become more concentrated says the group behind the letter clicking campaign.
"Our campaign to stop the big media takeover is striking a chord with Canadians from coast to coast," says Steve Anderson, co-ordinator of Canadians for Democratic Media. "It’s clear that there’s a lot of dissatisfaction, especially about news coverage. The situation in Vancouver-Victoria, where CanWest Global owns three daily newspapers and two TV stations, is a particular source of anger."
Canadians for Democratic Media are hoping Canadians will come to their web site to sign and send an electronic form letter as an intervention in the CRTC’s Diversity of Voices proceeding. The deadline to submit is tomorrow.
"When you have fewer and fewer companies owning more and more outlets, quality and diversity of content tend to go down," added Anderson in his news release.
"Too often in these proceedings, policy-makers only hear from people and companies with a vested interest in the media industry… This time, they’re also hearing, in droves, from Canadians with a democratic interest in the media industry. We hope the CRTC will get the message that there is appetite for a shift in direction for Canada’s media policy, where rules for broadcasters are being abandoned and unprecedented consolidation appears welcome."
The CRTC will hold a public hearing on the issue in September.
