Media ownership in Canada 2012

1. MEDIA OWERSHIP: CONCENTRATION,
CONVERGENCE, VERTICAL INTEGRATION
Professor Kim Kierans
University of King’s College
Halifax, NS
kim.kierans@ukings.ca

2. Media in Canada
 122 daily newspapers - 95 paid & 27 free (2012)
 1,100 community newspapers (2012)
 2,300 magazine publications
 1,086 radio services (2011) including 733 private stations,
353 religious, community, campus, Aboriginal, and other
radio services
 109 commercial TV stations (2011) –CTV, Global, TVA,
City/Omni
 232 Pay, Pay-per-view, Video-on-Demand and Specialty
Services (2011)
 108 community TV stations (2011)
 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation – TV (29), Radio (82),
online, & specialty services (2011)
Sources: Newpapers Canada, CRTC, Stats Can.

4. Source: http://openmedia.ca/sites/openmedia.ca/files/Media%20ownership%20chart-2012_0.pdf

5. Definitions
 Concentration – when media company
buys properties that have similar services. Concentration
of ownership can lead to a company dominating a
market and/or an audience i.e. Irving in NB, Transcontinental in Nfld
 Convergence or cross-ownership –
the merging of previously distinct media platforms and
services – print, radio, TV, cable, and Internet ((NJ p. 69
 Vertical Integration- when one company owns both
content and distribution. - TV or radio (programming) and
cable, satellite, Internet, phone or wireless service
(distribution).

6. Media mergers –Wave 1
2000-2006
 2000 – 1. BCE> CTV & Globe and Mail; 2.
Quebecor> Videotron, TVA & Sun
newspaper chain; 3.CanWest> Hollinger
newspapers & National Post (total +$14
billion)
 2006 – BCE sells stake in CTV and new
company Bell Globe> CHUM ($1.6 million)

7. Media Mergers – Wave 2
2007-2009
 Rogers> City TV (from CTVglobemedia
$375 m)
 Astral>Standard Radio ($1.08 billion)
 Quebecor> Osprey newspaper chain ($517
million)
 CanWest & Goldman Sachs>Alliance
Atlantics (2.3 billion)

8. Media mergers Wave 3
2010-current
 Post Media> CanWest newspapers ($1.2B);
Shaw>CanWest Global TV ($2B); Bell
Canada>CTV ($3.2B)
 Latest Bell Canada>
Astral Media ($3.38B)
http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6612/125/

9. Why should you care?
Commercial media corporations
have major power over
politics, public discourse,
and culture.”
(C. Edwin Baker, Media Concentration and Democracy: Why Ownership Matters, Introduction, 2006)
Matters,

10. http://www.iabcanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Canadian_Online_Advertising_Revenue_Survey_en.pdf

11. “The function of the press
in society is to inform, but
its role is to make
money.”
(PD,55, Leibling, The Press,(New York:Ballentine Boos, 1964, 7)

12. Concentration &
Convergence/Cross-ownership
1) Restrict diversity of ownership
2) Restrict diversity of viewpoints
3) Restrict diversity of sources
4) Restrict diversity of approaches to information

13. Media ownership rules
Broadcasting: a non-Canadian can own up
to 46.7 per cent of a
Canadian broadcaster
Print: non-Canadian ownership is limited to
25 per cent because Section 19 of the
Income Tax Act requires 75 per cent
Canadian ownership to offer tax
deductions to advertisers.

14. Competition Act (1985)
Governs all business mergers including newspapers
and telecommunications
Considers financial or
economic aspects of
mergers and their
effect on competitive
markets not public interest
The problem? The act ‘misses
a critical dimension of news
and information, namely, the importance of the plurality of
owners and the diversity of voices, not just in a given
community but in the wider regional and national
landscape’ (Senate, 2006:17).

15. The Broadcasting Act
(1991)
…declares that ‘programming should serve to
safeguard, enrich and strengthen the
cultural, political, social and economic fabric
of Canada’ through a wide range of
programming ‘that reflects Canadian
attitudes, opinions, ideas values and artistic
creativity’.

16. Studies into media concentration
Britain - Royal Commission on the Press, 1947
United States - Hutchins Commission on Press
Freedom, 1947 “Theory of Social Responsibility”
“Full access to the day’s intelligence.”

17. Canadian media studies
First media study….
Special Senate Committee on Mass Media 1969
known as the Davey Committee
“A successful paper prepares its
audience for change.”
Recommends:
Press Ownership Review Board
to screen future newspaper mergers
Why? Increased concentration of ownership is
undesirable and contrary to public interest.

18. Second media study:
Royal Commission on Newspapers 1980
- known as the Kent Commission
Recommended:
1. New Canada Newspaper Act
2. Limit media companies to five newspapers and
only one newspaper in each geographical market
3. Adopt a policy to prevent new mergers of print
and broadcast outlets in a single market
 Why? Without government regulations “company
will take over company until all Canadian
newspapers are divisions of one or two great
conglomerates.” (Royal Commission, 1981:220).

19. Other studies…
 Royal Commission on Corporate Concentration (1978)
 Federal Task Force on Broadcasting Policy, Caplan-
Sauvageau (1986)
 House of Commons Heritage Committee, “Our Cultural
Sovereignty” - a study of the Canadian broadcasting
system (2003)
 Standing Senate Committee on Transport and
Communications, Interim Report on the Canadian News
Media (2004) and Final Report (2006)
 House of Commons Heritage Committee
Impacts of Private Television Ownership
(2011)

20. Source: International Media Concentration Research Projects with updates for 2011-12 for Canada by Dwayne Winswck

21. Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation - CBC
public broadcaster
‘In a world of media concentration
and cross-media ownership, the
importance of the CBC as an
alternate source of news and
information programming is greater
than ever’(Senate, 2006:33-39).

22. Independent voices

23. A brave new world…
 Microfunding and micropayments/Paywalls
(Globe Plus, AllNovaScotia, Brunswick News
 Trusts, family ownership (Toronto Star,
L’Acadie Nouvelle, The Guardian)
 Sponsorships & Philanthropy (Tyee.ca,
ProPublica)
 Not for profit (Halifax media coop, rabble.ca,
tyee.ca)
 Collaboration (Huffington Post, OhMyNews)
 Hyperlocal websites, newspapers, blogging
 Mobile subscriptions
 Government subsidies tax breaks

24. Final thought…
‘No real democracy can function
without a healthy, diverse and
independent news media to inform
people about the way their society
works, what is going well and perhaps
most important, what is not going
well or needs to be improved’(Senate, 2004:1).