Source : Winnipeg Free Press

Firms can mix staff of TV stations and newspapers

by Martin Cash

CanWest Global and CTV will be allowed to further integrate the newsrooms of television stations and newspapers they own provided they maintain separate management for the different media, Canada's television regulator said yesterday.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) granting of licence renewals for the two national, privately-owned television networks was described by critics as a "rubber stamp" for the companies to do what they want in integrating news gathering functions at their respective television and newspaper assets.

The ruling was part of a seven-year licence renewal the CRTC granted both networks. Among dozens of detailed technical matters, the commission included as a condition of licence that Global, owned by Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications Corp., must set up an independent monitoring committee "to receive and handle all complaints concerning Global's compliance" with a seven-point statement of principles and practices. The statement was prepared by Global during hearings on the licence renewals and subsequently approved by the commission.

The CRTC also called for the creation of a task force on cultural diversity. It ordered CTV and Global to come up with a strategic plan within three months on how they would improve the portrayal of minorities on the air.

Critics of the ruling are concerned integration of news gathering operations from media companies within the same corporate family will limit the diversity of voices now available to Canadian consumers as well as decrease the amount of employment opportunities in Canadian journalism.

Gerry Noble, president & CEO of Global Communications Ltd., said the company is pleased with the regulator's ruling, although he admitted CanWest Global did not get everything it asked for, nor was he completely comfortable with at least one of the conditions of licence.

"We're pleased we got seven years, we're disappointed we were not given greater flexibility in advertising, and we are quite happy the commission adopted our statement of principles and practices," Noble said yesterday in a telephone interview from Toronto. "But we are still chewing on the fact that the commission made it a condition of licence that we set up an independent monitoring committee."

He said such a committee could rule that the company has breached the principles and, even if it is wrong, could jeopardize the company's ability to conduct business.

But at the same time, he said CanWest Global would quickly establish such a monitoring committee.

In its ruling, the commission said if CanWest and CTV cooperate with the Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council (CBSC) and come up with an industry-wide code of conduct regarding media cross-ownership, including a monitoring mechanism, then it would not have to maintain the independent monitoring committee.

Industry observers had mixed reactions to the ruling.

"Overall I think it was a positive ruling, but the caveat is there are legitimate concerns regarding the amalgamation of news gathering operations," Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and a longtime critic of Global Television's operations, said yesterday.

He said maintaining independent newsroom management may not be enough to prevent a limiting of the diversity of voices, especially in a market like Vancouver and Victoria where CanWest now owns three daily newspapers and two television stations.

However, Morrison said he believes a commitment from both networks to broadcast eight hours of Canadian-made, priority programming during prime time will mean more and better Canadian content.

Peter Murdoch, vice-president for media of the Communications Energy and Paperworkers union of Canada (CEP), was beside himself with frustration yesterday.

"Keeping the newsroom management separate is like managers of baseball teams staying in the clubhouse, but letting the players intermingle," Murdoch said yesterday. "Goodbye competition."

CanWest owns 16 conventional television stations across the country, one specialty channel and licences for 22 more digital channels. It also owns 14 major daily newspapers, 126 smaller dailies and weeklies, and a 50 per cent interest in the National Post.

Yesterday the commission also approved the $33 million sale of the Winnipeg CTV affiliate, CKY-TV from Moffat Communications to CTV Inc.

© Winnipeg Free Press