GATINEAU – In his first public statement since becoming chairman of the CRTC, Konrad von Finckenstein today told Shaw Communications and Videotron that they should resume their required monthly payments to the Canadian Television Fund.
However, he also told the leaders of the CTF to start addressing the concerns raised by both companies, which have been reported on repeatedly by Cartt.ca over the past month.
The Commission statement reads:
"The CRTC recognizes the important role that the funds administered by the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) play in supporting the production of Canadian programs. This programming in turn assists Canadian…
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CALGARY – Shaw Communications has again rejected the arguments made by those who support the Canadian Television Fund and its aims.
Today the company "categorically rejected" a suggestion made by former Shaw executive Richard Stursberg, who is now CBC TV’s executive vice-president, that withholding payments to the fund will "unravel" the Canadian broadcasting system.
"It is unconstructive and misleading. The CBC is the biggest recipient of CTF monies. Canadians deserve a fair and independent accounting of how billions of dollars that they paid out in taxes and fees were spent by the CTF and the CBC," said Jim Shaw,…
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IN THE DR SEUSS CLASSIC How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, the Grinch is robbed of his revenge when the good burghers of Whoville preserve their Christmas spirit and retain their celebrations despite having been robbed of their gifts and sustenance.
In the modern Canadian retelling, the Grinch is not Jim Carrey but Shaw Communications CEO Jim Shaw, who started sledding off with the Canadian content money our regs say he’s obliged to pay, just before Christmas – and has since encountered fewer effective voices preserving its spirit than there are moguls on a ski run.
Instead, while Mr. Shaw…
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TORONTO – Canadian Women in Communications have announced the winners of its CWC Annual Awards for 2006.
Four Canadian women and one communications-industry employer are recognized annually for their contributions to the Canadian communications industry.
“Celebrating the achievements of women is one of CWC’s most important and rewarding tasks,” said Stephanie MacKendrick, CWC president, in the press release. CWC holds an Annual Awards Gala in Ottawa that celebrates the achievements of women, and those who support their advancement in the Canadian communications industry.
Participants in the awards presentation program will include: Minister of Industry, the Hon. Maxime Bernier, Minister…
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OTTAWA – NDP Heritage critic Charlie Angus read from Cartt.ca today in the House of Commons while calling for hearings into the future of the Canadian Television Fund.
The emergency hearings will happen soon after a motion to launch them passed the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage today.
During Question Period this afternoon, Angus suggested that Heritage Minister Bev Oda was colluding with the cable industry to kill the fund after reading our Analysis piece on the CTF this morning which keyed off an interview with Shaw Communications senior vice-president Ken Stein, who described the meeting to Cartt.ca.
Oda…
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MEDIA VIOLENCE IS AGAIN in the news. A week ago, Professor Peter Jaffe and his coalition gave a press conference on the subject of media violence. It seemed to be for the benefit of the uninitiated.
Did the group of teachers and parents even realize that much of what they sought was, in the case of television, already in place? Or did they have an ulterior objective in ignoring the huge efforts already made by Canada’s private broadcasters?
And last week, M. Bernard Bigras’ Private Member’s Bill C-327 (An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act [reduction of violence in…
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OTTAWA – This evening Konrad von Finckenstein was officially announced as the new chairman of the CRTC.
Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women, made the announcement with an early-evening release on the Heritage Ministry’s web site. "Mr. von Finckenstein’s credentials will bring strong leadership to the CRTC," said Minister Oda. "I am confident that his experience will greatly benefit the Commission."
A long-time public employee who held very senior positions in the Brian Mulroney Conservative government and helped write the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, von Finckenstein was also Commissioner of Competition at the Competition Bureau…
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MONTREAL – Videotron announced late Tuesday afternoon that it won’t be making its regular monthly contributions to the Canadian Television Fund either.
In a letter to the CTF, Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Videotron parent Quebecor Inc. said it won’t pay and has asked the Bev Oda, Minister of Canadian Heritage, to launch a thorough review of the fund’s management and membership structures.
In a press release, Péladeau said he feels "deep dissatisfaction with the Fund’s governance, performance and direction" and complained that "Fund managers pay little heed to the main private-sector contributors to the Fund and give…
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GATINEAU – Despite much experimentation and breathless reportage on the future of electronic media, Canadians still get their entertainment via traditional means, the CRTC said today.
The Commission released a 181-page report today, requested by Canadian Heritage Minister Bev Oda in June on the future environment facing the Canadian broadcasting system.
The report finds that any negative impact on the broadcasting system from shifting media consumption patterns has been marginal to date, according to the Commission release. This observation is based on the fact that Canadians still consume the vast majority of programming through regulated Canadian broadcasting undertakings.
"However,…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC has announced Namir Anani will be joining the organization as associate executive director, industry analysis, economics and technology on January 2nd.
"Namir comes to us with a depth of experience in new media research, development of new IT and communications technology as well as management in both the public and private sectors. (He) joins us from Canadian Heritage where he is the director general and CEO of the Canadian Heritage Information Network," said a memo from Len Katz, the Commission’s executive director, broadcasting and telecommunications.
Anani has a BSc in electrical engineering as well as…
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