CTV Newsnet has received overwhelming public support for its CRTC application for licence changes to amend its mandate. By the Dec. 20 deadline for comments, the CRTC had received 1,219 letters of support for the application and just two negative missives. Those were sent by CTV’s competition, CBC and Global Television.
Last August, CTV applied to the CRTC to amend Newsnet’s condition of licence by deleting the need to operate on a 15-minute wheel format with at least two minutes of news headlines in each 15-minute segment and the elimination of the maximum of 25 exceptions per week to that requirement.
The broadcaster contends that these restrictions limit Newsnet’s ability to compete in the marketplace since there are now eight unregulated foreign-language news services available to Canadians via cable in addition to CBC Newsworld. The latest foreign entry is the Fox News Channel, which has been available to Rogers Digital Cable customers in Ontario and New Brunswick since mid-December.
Robert Hurst, president of CTV News, says CTV did not intervene against Fox News coming into Canada and is not opposed to the availability of foreign news channels in the market because TV news should be an open forum. What CTV does want is a level playing field, one that would allow Newsnet to properly cover important breaking news.
The same sentiment was expressed in the flood of letters sent to the CRTC by well-known and average Canadians alike.
Former Prime Minister John Turner stated in his submission: ‘In order for Canada not to become a junior partner in Fortress North America, it is important for Canadian media voices to operate on a level playing field.’
Another notable, Major-General (retired) Lewis MacKenzie, said: ‘During the coverage of the war with Iraq, I personally experienced the disruptive impact of the obligatory two-minute break every 15 minutes. I must admit that I failed to grasp the logic of the requirement at the time and I still do.’
Average Canadians also voiced their frustration with the format. A husband and wife in Newfoundland were in tears watching the coverage about the stricken submarine HMCS Chicoutimi when, in the middle of live coverage, Newsnet broke away for headlines. They happen to have two children in the Canadian navy, and are just two of the many Canadians who, Hurst says, contact Newsnet directly to complain about breaks in coverage. They receive a phone call, an apology, and an explanation of the CRTC guidelines in return.
Hurst says CTV completed the required regulatory filings on Tuesday but there is no word on when the CRTC will announce its decision. If the commission decides to take the application to the public hearing phase, another few weeks will be added to the process.
