Action

Fresh Media: Local Media Innovation Hubs!

The Numbers:

Cable monopolies are holding back nearly $120 Million dollars a year from a public trust that is supposed to be used for independent citizen media.

The Reality:

The misuse of these funds is costing us more than just money. If cable monopolies weren't pocketing public funds we could have:

Independent media centres in communities across the country that would act as incubators for job creation, empowerment, and media innovation.
A platform for local debate, culture, and programming controlled by citizens, not private media monopolies.
Media centres where everyone, including marginalized citizens like at-risk youth, could freely develop their skills and capacities, and share their experience and perspectives.

It is outrageous and unfair that four of the most profitable companies in Canada are taking public funds to promote their brands.

Take a moment to tell the CRTC you don't want big cable companies to have unfettered access to public funds.

Tell me more

Subject:

Dear Commissioners,

(Edit Letter Below)

Re: Public Notice of Consultation 2009-661

I am concerned about the state of the community television sector. Whereas it used to be possible for ordinary Canadians to go to a cable community channel to express their views and make a program, this has become difficult in many places today and impossible in others.  Many of these studios have been closed and many of the channels that are left have been "professionalized".

This shift away from community-access programming leaves Canadians without a democratic platform to participate directly in their own broadcasting system -- even though TV is still the medium through which most of us get information and entertainment.

Providing a community TV channel was an important way for Canada's cable companies to contribute to the communities they serve.  Cable customers pay for community access on their cable bills, even though they are not told this and there is no accountability for this money.

To ensure that Canadians have access to community channels in the future, they should be in community hands. The money that is collected for community access should go to community-run channels that are within 30 minutes of every Canadian. They should be considered a basic public resource, like a library: a place where ideas and viewpoints can be expressed and shared. It is this kind of expression that has made Canada the nation it is.

Finally, their distribution, whether it is over the air, on cable, the Internet, or on satellite, needs to be protected, so that they can't be taken away from our communities in the future.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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