Media Links: Whose Digital Media Revolution?

Find this article in The Tyee, rabble.ca, Common Ground, and VUE Weekly.

It's not a question of if we can have a digital media revolution; it's a question of what kind of revolution we want to have.

The signs of a media system in transition are everywhere, both in our use of media and in media policy. Canadians now spend more time online than in front of the TV, the government has collapsed the Canadian Television Fund and the Canadian New Media Fund into one $350-million-dollar "Canadian Media Fund" with a focus on content for "multiple platforms," and government is about to embark on a national consultation concerning Canada's digital strategy.

The question becomes: do we want a media revolution where the same big media and telecom giants re-establish and expand their control? Or do we want a media revolution that provides new opportunities for Canadian media makers and consumers?

You can make the difference

The good news is that there are ample opportunities for Canadians to get involved in the transformation of media. If together we engage at the right moments, we can work with policy makers and politicians to guarantee a new media ecology that is by and for us.

The current challenge is that the government is not openly inviting us into forthcoming key historic media policy decisions. For example, the Canadian Media Fund is currently undergoing a consultation process with industry to define its priorities. From what I've heard, much of the independent media world isn't being invited to contribute to this process. Most importantly, the industry consultation neglects citizens who will contribute $134.7 million per year to the fund. Shouldn't we have a role in deciding how the money is spent?

Read the rest of this article on The Tyee's website.

Steve Anderson is the national coordinator for OpenMedia.ca. He is a contributing author of Censored 2008 and Battleground: The Media and has written for The Tyee, Toronto Star, Epoch Times, Common Ground, Rabble.ca and Adbusters.

Reach me at:
steve@openmedia.ca
http://www.facebooksteve.com/
http://www.steveontwitter.com/
http://medialinkscolumn.com

Media Links is a syndicated column supported by CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly

Media Links by Steve Anderson, CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada License. You must attribute this work to Steve Anderson, CommonGround, TheTyee, Rabble.ca, VUE Weekly