Spring 2007 CMNS 130 1

Democracy’s Oxygen

The Media and Canadian Politics

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 2

Objectives

• Map the Political Press in Canada

• Contrast ideal and reality of theory of press freedom

• Identify at least three principal outcomes from concentration of ownership

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 3

Structure of the Political Press in

Canada• Source: The Senate of Canada, Interim Report on the Canadian News Media April 2004, Chaired by the Honourable Joan Fraser

• ( Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications)

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 4

Theory of the Press in Canada

• Classical Liberal/libertarian view: Fraser Institute, old Alliance wing of the Conservative Party– Argues for radical freedom of expression– No difference between freedom of press and freedom of expression

– Property rights of press synonymous with freedom of expression

– Thus, do not restrain “marketplace of press anymore than you restrain marketplace of ideas”

– A thorough rejection of any propaganda model

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 5

Theory of the Press in Canada Cont’d

• Social Responsibility View– Origins with the CBC/radio– Argued by two major Royal Commissions– Assumed in the professional standards adopted by the news profession: eg.• http://www.bcpresscouncil.org/code.html• http://www.cbsc.ca/english/codes/rtndacode/rtnda.htm

– But: low awareness, only 2 public editors( news ombudsmen in Canada)

– Reactive, under funded

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 6

Background

• 37years since the Davey Commission: the Uncertain Mirror (1970)

• 23 years since Kent: Royal Commission on Newspapers ( 1981)

• 2004 ( April) Interim Report on the Canadian News Media: Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications , chaired by the Honourable Joan Fraser

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 7

Changes

• Professional training of journalists– More formal education– More standards to comply with– Technological change– Proliferation of electronic news sources

– Drive for growth and consolidation

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 8

Statistical Snapshot

• Daily Newspapers– Circulation about 5 million daily– About one in two read one every day ( General Social Survey 98)

– Now about 100 papers nation wide– Big Five Dailies( share as at 2003)

• CanWest ( 13) 28.5%• Quebecor (15) 21%• Torstar(5) 13.8 %• Gesca(na) 9.2%• Osprey (22) 9.2%• Bell GlobeMedia (1) 6.4%

– Note: this replaces estimates CC234.

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 9

Snapshot cont’d

• Top 3 control 63% of circulation. Top 5 …79%

• About 1000 community papers– Much less highly concentrated: top 8 control 39% of circulation

• TV: – According to Statistics Canada, one quarter of all viewing is of news and public affairs.

– Viewing share: 19.2 % for Bell/CTV/Globemedia

– CanWest:14.7% CHUM 7.6%CBC 15.2%

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 10

TV News Summary

• Newsworld, RDIm Newnet, LCN• CNN, CNBC, CNN headline News• TV%, BBC World• Application from Al Jazeera/Fox News for direct

importation on satellite and cable channels in Canada

• In English share, CNN gets 1.7% and Newsworld 1.1% ( with bumps for major events)

• Most watched: supper hour news, where CTV or Global dominate local markets

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 11

TV News cont’d

• Of Canadian broadcasters, 50% of spending on Canadian broadcasters is on news.

• Total news spending in 2002 was $654 million ( Broadcasting Policy Monitoring Report)– $230 million by CBC alone

• Would expect at least that again by print media

• Major wires: CP and Broadcast News– CanWest uses own wire– Wire Coverage Provides one third to one half of average paper content

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 12

Internet:

• 16.8 million users• 27% view the news, or 29% access government information directly

• Media Metrix says the following sites most frequent:– 1. Msnbc.com– 2. Cbc.ca– 3. Cnn.com– ( bbc ranks 8th.)– Foreign ownership: 25% in print, 20% direct and 33% indirect in TV

– Of the 12 largest firms, only BCE widely held– Very profitable: margins 20% or more, lower in TV than print

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 13

Urban Landscape

Most competitive market: Toronto5 dailies2 alternative weekliesMany third language papers,3 TV all news3 all news radioInternet

Least competitive: Vancouver

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 14

Profile of Journalists

• Montreal: 150 journalists on TV• Plus 351 for print

• Vancouver employment highest for community papers 113 work for 25( 5 p per weekly)

• On TV: CBC has 15, CTV 22, Global 13 nationwide.

• Sun employs 96, Province 70

• Many more print journalists

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 15

Ethics & Diversity of Coverage

• Differing interpretations of the Charter • Differing interpretations on balance• CanWest’s drive for a national editorial policy: resignations of editors ( Russell Mills)( Stephen Kimber)– A firing of an editor for publishing an editorial critical of then Prime Minister Chretien: Shawinigate

– Tried to impose a national editorial policy 3 times a week: partial retreat

– Caught instructing insertion of the word “terrorist” for Fallujah insurgents ( CC:254) and protested by the National Council on Arab relations

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 16

Reality Collides with the Ideal

• Press freedom presupposes free, fair and equal competition

• But the market does not allow that: instead, it promotes concentration of ownership – Oligopoly: control of a view– Monopoly: control of one

• What oligopoly can do:– Raise the threat of direct owner censorship of

editorial content– Diminish freedom of individual journalists– Prioritize cost cutting/shareholder value – Reduce local coverage and substitute chain

coverage– Lead to a decline in public service values ( CC:

252)

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 17

Major Media Issues

• Relaxing restrictions on Foreign Ownership

• Avoiding forced sale or significant regulation of competition

• Linguistic Solitudes: french, english and third language media?

• Loss of journalistic specialization/training

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 18

Pending Mergers

• BellGlobeMedia ( CTV) takeover of CHUM

• Canwest/Goldman Sachs takeover of Alliance/Atlantis and over 14 Specialty Channels eg. History

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 19

Other Proposals before Senate

• National public newspaper• Professional designation for journalists like doctors

• National ombudsperson( more consistency among provincial press councils)

• Arms length monitoring( like Pew Foundation or Canadian Media Research Consortium)

• Need for study of impacts of concentration

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 20

POSSIBLE IMPACTS OF CONCENTRATION OF OWNERSHIP

• Costcutting after acquisitions?– Closure of CITY news after proposed buy out by Bell Globemedia

– Closure of high cost bureaus: eg. Foreign News• Current breakdown: CanWest: 2, CTV 9, Globe 7, La Presse 3, Torstar 6 CBC 12 ( Final Report on the Canadian Newsmedia, Report of the Standing Committee on Transport and Communication, June 2006).

• Decline of voter Turnout?– Loss of local news bureaus in Ottawa in 3 communities leads to larger decline ( Christopher Waddell, ibid. 11)

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 21

Experience in Other Countries

• France restricts ownership and control of press

• UK limits concentration indexes• US and Germany limit cross ownership

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 22

Recommendations

• Revise Competition Act• Require Self Identification: declaration of controlling shareholder

• CRTC put a priority on news and information programming

Spring 2007 CMNS 130 23

THE DEMOCRATIC IDEAL IN CANADA

• Fletcher and Everett– Media define a national political discourse– Allow Canadians to defines themselves as members of an “imagined community”

– Set the Agenda for public debate– May even influence the values, attitudes and beliefs of Canadians• Strong hypothesis: a kind of ‘hyperdermic needle’ model of propaganda cultivation

• A weak hypothesis: tell us what to think about, not what to think

• Certainly: important enough in Canada that we regulate the summit of political discourse: election speech ( see next week)