CRTC overhauls rules for national news services

OTTAWA – The CRTC has issued revised standard conditions of licence for new and existing Canadian discretionary services operating as national news services, the latest in series of changes in the wake of its Let’s Talk TV proceeding.The Commission said Wednesday that licensing criteria for national news services “must better reflect the national nature of these services and that these services must demonstrate the capacity to gather news and report events happening throughout Canada”.Among other conditions, expectations, and encouragement, the CRTC also decreed that the types of programming broadcast by national news services should be comprised almost exclusively of news-related programming.“These...