Alternate Routes, Volume 10, 1993 Newsforum

NEWSFORUM

Conference Report

On January 22, 1993, Carleton University hosted an all day seminar in
Canadian Communication Policy at the School of Journalism and
Communication. The seminar: Publics, Markets and the State, featured
presentations from academia, the public and private sectors.

PANEL 1:
Revisiting Convergence: Information, Technology and Communication
Services, included speakers: David Ellis of Friends of Canadian

Broadcasting, Heather Menzies of Carleton University, and Michael

Ferris of the CRTC. Ellis, referring to aspects of his latest book Split
Screen: Home Entertainment and the New Technologies, stated that the
convergence of broadcasting, computing, and television has meant the

CRTC has been more concerned with orderly market place distribution
of video and information services than regulating to serve public interest.

Menzies suggested that one of the features of convergence in post-

industrial society is the end of old mass culture. The new mass culture
tends to be more defined in Canada by trade relations such as NAFTA
which will have devastating effects on protecting Canadian content and

cultural industries. Ferris focused on CRTC restructuring of the Canadian
broadcasting system which has been influenced by structural changes

such as U.S. direct broadcast satellites, digital video compression and

extended basic cable tiers.

PANEL 2:
The New Broadcasting Environment: Audiences, Technologies. Issues
included speakers Ivan Emke of Carleton University, Kenneth Katz of the
Department of Justice, and Alexander Crawley of ACTRA. Emke raised
a number of questions regarding who or what arc audiences If they arc
composed of many divergent groups rather than a unitary mass how do

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regulatory authorities determine what policy is in the public interest?
Katz explains that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms will increasingly
force the CRTC to confront its own role and reexamine its historical
attitude to broadcasting regulation with the development of niche market
services such as single religion or politically oriented channels. Crawley
noted that the creative artist has had to rapidly adapt because of changes
in new technologies. As consumption for cultural products increases it
should mean an increase for cultural creators but in Canada this will not
happen without the state, cultural policies and cultural content. George
Fierheller of Rogers Cantel Mobile Communication stated that from the
communication industries' point of view the CRTC needs to open
competition to serve the public needs and demands for communication
services.

PANEL 3:
Telecommunications Market Services and the Public Interest, included
speakers: David Colville of the CRTC, Joan McCalla of the Ontario
Ministry of Culture and Communications, and Larry Shaw of
Communications Canada (Department of Communication). Colville
described the changed arena for CRTC telecommunication regulation as
one which not only protects monopoly subscribers but that includes the
benefits of competition which accrue to the public in a fair and equitable

manner. McCalla focused on the current provincial telecommunication
strategy initiative which addresses telecommunications as both an

important sector of the provincial economy and as an enabling
infrastructure for all aspects of life. Shaw provided an overview of a
number of policy issues currently being addressed by the federal
Department of Communications. Guiding policies for telecommunication

s include keeping telecommunication local rates low, maintaining

universality, and providing the most good for the most people through
access to new services.

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Alternate Routes, lolume 10. 1993 Newsforum

PANEL 4:
Does the Work Get Out? Reporting on Communications and Cultural
Policy included speakers: Tony Atherton of The Ottawa Citizen, Val Ross
of The Globe and Mail, and Alberto Manguel, a Toronto author and
critic. Atherton explained how newspapers work against the reporting of
cultural policy because reporters who cover this area often have other
priorities. As a result, cultural policies are covered haphazardly, without
context and sometimes fall through the cracks. Ross asks, in cultural

policy reporting, what is the role of the reporter? And what, for example,
is the public's interest in the public interest? Reporters have to be able

to tell people why they should care, what is at stake and what the long
term effects of a decision or a policy change might be. Complex policy
issues involve telling a story in the context of a bigger picture. Manguel

explained that book reviewing has become more of a token showcase in
newspapers. The review is less of a focus on the book and tends to be
more a profile of the author. Often, U.S. publishers and reviewers set the
parameters of what a 'good' book review is. This means that reviews of

Canadian books are defined in an American context and literature from

Latin America often is seen as quaint local colour.

Vanda Rideout
Carleton University

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