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align=center><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=2><I>For our democracy to
survive, there has to be a free exchange of many views in our newspapers
and over our airwaves. Our national identity can never be reflected from a
single newsroom, be it in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver or
Halifax</I>.</FONT>
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<P class=MsoPlainText><FONT size=3><B><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: Verdana Ref; mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: MS Mincho">Media
Chaos Reigns in Canada</SPAN></B></FONT><FONT face="Verdana Ref"
size=2><SPAN
style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: MS Mincho">
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=2>by Wendy
Lill</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=2>December 20,
2001</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=2>In the last six
weeks we've continued to see the fallout from the wrongheaded,
ill-conceived federal approach to broadcasting and media concentration in
Canada.<BR><BR>CanWest Global's head office in Winnipeg has started to
directly dictate editorial policy in 12 local newspapers, and Global TV
documentary producers are told what slants are acceptable. This has
resulted in over seventy Southam journalists setting up their own web site
to condemn their employer for "narrowing debate and corrupting both news
coverage and commentary to<BR>suit corporate
interests." <BR><BR>Local TV news has moved up the endangered species
list. After CBC's shameful killing of 17 local shows last year, we
now see CTV has closed three newsrooms in northern Ontario, depriving over
200,000 Canadians of any local TV news.<BR><BR>Over at the CBC,
journalists are doggedly trying to work in the midst of a management
lock-out of their 1,600 technicians. During the lock-out, local<BR>noon
hour and drive home shows (the most popular shows in the CBC stable) have
been replaced by new national shows based in Toronto and
Halifax.<BR>People driving home in Sydney and Saskatoon have to listen to
Toronto chatter and hosts who don't know the names of our provincial
premiers.<BR><BR>It also appears that CBC is planning to cut the heart out
of the radio line-up. Saturday radio shows like The House, Basic
Black, Quirks and<BR>Quarks and DNTO are all on the chopping block.
Thought provoking radio seems to be going the same way as CBC local TV
news. <BR><BR>In the end, the federal government has to bear
responsibility for this chaotic situation. <BR><BR>About six
weeks ago, the Cabinet put its seal of approval on the CanWest Global and
Bell Globemedia empires when they directly renewed broadcast licences and
endorsed the principle of cross-media ownership. At the same time, the
long term underfunding and indifferent approach to management at our
public broadcaster have left them drifting into the mess they are
in. </FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=2>There are reasonable
policy options open to the government to keep our presses free, and
encourage real public debate on issues. The Kent Royal Commission
proposed a Newspaper Act that would guarantee local independence for
editors from publishers. The Competition Act could also be changed to add
"public interest" to the list of criteria the Competition Bureau examines
when looking at a media market; similar to what is done in
Britain.</FONT></P>
<P class=MsoPlainText><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=2>The government can
re-direct the mandate of the CBC so it can continue to provide intelligent
and informative service to Canadians, instead of allowing it to drift into
under funded obscurity.<BR><BR>For our democracy to survive, there has to
be a free exchange of many views in our newspapers and over our airwaves.
Our national identity can never be reflected from a single newsroom, be it
in Winnipeg, Toronto, Vancouver or Halifax. We are a nation of local
communities, and for our communities to be able to thrive, we need to have
local reflections of ourselves.<BR><BR>Without it, all the security in the
world won't make a whit of difference.<BR><BR></FONT><I><FONT
face="Verdana Ref" size=1>(Wendy Lill is the New Democratic Party Member
of Parliament for Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. Before entering politics,
she was a successful playwright and radio
journalist.)</FONT></I><BR></P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER>
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align=center><I><FONT face="Verdana Ref" color=#000000 size=1>©</FONT></I><FONT
face="Verdana Ref" size=1> 2001</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; WORD-SPACING: 0px"
align=center><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=1>Campaign for Press and Broadcasting
Freedom</FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-TOP: 0px; MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px; WORD-SPACING: 0px"
align=center><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=1>all rights reserved</FONT></P>
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align=center> </P></CENTER></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial
size=2>******************************************************<BR>'If we rule the
world together then we can succeed in peace and let each other be different and
have different opinions and different cultures. If there was no diversity then
life would be boring. Imagine me looking exactly like you or acting the same
way! LIFE NEEDS difference and until we realise it then we will not achieve our
hope of world peace!"-Natasha Salter, written on the occasion of her 11th
birthday (20 November 01).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>***************************************<BR>Denis
Salter<BR>Professor of Theatre<BR>McGill University<BR>853 Sherbrooke St
West<BR>Montréal <BR>H3A 2T6</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>T: (514) 398 6573<BR>F: (514) 398 8146<BR>E: <<A
href="mailto:d.salter@videotron.ca">d.salter@videotron.ca</A>><BR>
<<A
href="mailto:denis.salter@mcgill.ca">denis.salter@mcgill.ca</A>></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Home Office<BR>4965, avenue Connaught<BR>Notre Dame
De Grace<BR>Montréal<BR>H4V 1X4</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>T: (514) 487 2568<BR>F via Email: (309) 294
0444<BR>E: <<A
href="mailto:d.salter@videotron.ca">d.salter@videotron.ca</A>><BR>
<<A
href="mailto:denis.salter@mcgill.ca">denis.salter@mcgill.ca</A>></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A
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