OTTAWA – Marc Patrone has been hired as a full-time member of the CRTC announced Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, today.
“I’m delighted to welcome Mr. Patrone to the CRTC," said Minister Verner, in a release. "During his career, he has been involved in numerous aspects of television news-gathering and production. His experience will greatly benefit the CRTC."
Patrone has been involved in the broadcasting industry for a number of years, says the release. His professional experience includes service as a producer-writer with the Atlantic Television System; a writer-broadcaster with Broadcast News/Canadian…
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OTTAWA – Tara Rajan will join the CAB February 25 to oversee Canadian Association of Broadcasters research and intelligence gathering, to provide economic analysis in support of regulatory and policy proposals, and to work with the CAB Board and committees on the development of policy and positioning, the association has announced.
Rajan’s background in the broadcasting and media industries includes serving as the first executive director of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, as vice-chair and public adjudicator on the CBSC’s Québec and National Specialty Services panels, and on the CBSC’s National Executive. She has held research and policy positions…
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GATINEAU – The Canadian Television Fund should be split in two: one with public money to meet government policy objectives, and the other with private money to support hit shows, Rogers Communications told the CRTC on Tuesday morning.
During day two of the week-long hearing into the CTF’s revenue and governance models, executives told commissioners that increasingly the CTF—originally the Cable Production Fund supported entirely by the cable industry—“is viewed as a public policy instrument for the Canadian government” instead of a way to encourage broadcasters to air popular shows, said Rogers’ Vice Chairman Phil Lind.
To qualify for…
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A coalition of creators wants the Copyright Act to be changed so that Internet Service Providers share in the responsibility of the content that customers circulate on their networks. The coalition in a paper released earlier this week called for ISPs to share in the liability for copyright infringement when it neglects to withdraw illegal content after being advised of its presence by the copyright holder.
Specifically, the coalition wants the law changed so that ISPs aren’t allowed to sanction or encourage the public to use telecommunication services to distribute content without the appropriate compensation to creators and copyright owners….
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IN 2003, WHEN THE HOUSE of Commons Heritage Committee issued the “Our Cultural Sovereignty” report (better known as the Lincoln Report) it recommended that “the existing foreign ownership limits for broadcasting and telecommunications be maintained a current levels.”
At that time, the then Canadian Alliance Party, whose leader was Stephen Harper, put out the following dissenting opinion: “The Canadian Alliance disagrees with (this recommendation). The Canadian Alliance supports relaxing foreign ownership rules on Canadian industry, including telecommunications and broadcast distribution. We suggest conducting an immediate review to determine whether to reduce or completely remove these rules.” Those very same…
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OTTAWA – Candice Molnar has been hired as the CRTC commissioner representing the Manitoba and Saskatchewan regions.
"I’m delighted to welcome Ms. Molnar to the CRTC," said Josée Verner, Minister of Canadian Heritage, Status of Women and Official Languages, in the official press release. "She possesses extensive experience in policy and regulatory matters, including provincial and federal telecommunications regulation. Her experience and expertise will greatly benefit the CRTC in carrying out its mandate."
Molnar worked for SaskTel for more than 20 years in a variety of capacities. As general manager of customer services, she led a province-wide team of…
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DESPITE THE CLOSING OF Canadian Digital Television (CDTV) at the end of August 2006, both the Canadian television industry and government still saw a need for further collaboration on technical and operational issues surrounding the roll-out of digital television in Canada.
To that end, a new group called the Digital Television Technology Group (DTV-TG) was formed about one year ago.
The Technology Group (whose web site can be found here) carries out collaborative investigative projects and research “to provide decision makers in industry and government with the technical information they need to plan for, and advance, the roll-out…
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OTTAWA – Outgoing CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch said Tuesday the public broadcaster needs a contract with Canadian in order to reach its potential before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
It’s a message similar to the one Rabinovitch delivered last march in his first appearance before the standing committee, which is review the role of the public broadcaster in the 21st century. Today was his second and last appearance before the committee.
“The Broadcasting Act has not changed in more than 15 years, CBC/Radio-Canada has not received an increase to its base operating appropriation in more than…
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OTTAWA – Shaw Communications has taken aim again at the Canadian Television Fund. In a full-page advertisement on the back of the sports section of Saturday’s edition of the Ottawa Citizen, Shaw asks: “What do you call a $250 million boondoggle?” The answer, also in all capital letters, reads the ad: “The Canadian Television Fund.”
The advertisement notes the CTF has lost is way, and has “little to show” for the $2.5 billion it has spent on promoting and developing quality TV programming in Canada.
“Who made the decisions to spend billions of your dollars only to achieve so…
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QUEBEC CITY – Canadian Heritage minister Josée Verner on Monday announced funding for a special broadcast of “La Fureur” on December 31, 2007, live from Quebec City.
The federal government will contribute $308,000 to the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue for the special broadcast. The program will be devoted to the 400th anniversary of Quebec City and the 10th anniversary of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie.
“The 400th anniversary of Quebec City is an important celebration for all of French-speaking Canada, as is the 10th anniversary of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. We could not pass up the unique…
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