This is actually great news if it happens!
http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2010/06/11/tasha-kheiriddin-fox-news-north-a-welcome-addition-to-canadian-media-jungle/Tasha Kheiriddin: Fox News North a welcome addition to Canadian media jungle
By Tasha Kheiriddin
June 11, 2010 – 10:30 am
Oooh, the fearmongering has started. Fox News North is coming! Batten down your remotes! If Liberal and NDP politicians are to be believed, Canadian airwaves are about to be flooded with right-wing propaganda, leaving hapless viewers at the mercy of pundits like Ezra Levant, who is rumoured to be courted to host a show on the new, as yet unnamed channel.
Funny, but when the decidedly left-wing Al Jazeera English (AJE) got regulatory approval last month for broadcast in Canada, nary a peep was heard from Parliament Hill, and its arrival was welcomed by media organizations such as Canadian Journalists for Free Expression. (Ironically, their news release contained no mention of the lack of freedom of expression in Qatar, where AJE’s openly anti-Semitic parent network Al Jazeera Arabic is based). But this reaction should not be too surprising. Fairness seems to be a relative concept in Canadian broadcasting – what’s left is fair, and what’s right is fair game for suspicion.
This bias is even entrenched in Canadian broadcasting law. Back in 2005, journalist and now lawyer Adam Daifallah and I wrote about the feasibility of a Fox News North in Canada, in our book Rescuing Canada’s Right. But unlike the United States, where a similar “fairness doctrine†was repealed in 1987, Canada’s Broadcasting Act still presents a serious impediment to the existence of such a channel.
Why? Section (i) (iv) of the Act mandates that broadcasters must,
“provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern.â€Meanwhile, section 3(i)(d) requires the Canadian broadcasting system to,
“serve the needs and aspirations of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society…â€In other words, networks must provide “balance†and cannot challenge many Trudeauvian sacred cows of Canadian identity, as defined by the Act.
This combination makes the creation of a one-point-of-view conservative network difficult, if not impossible. Indeed, when we wrote this, now-Senator Linda Frum had made inquiries about starting a conservative radio station, and was told not to bother, as she would not get approval from the Canadian Radio and Telecommunications Commission. Charlotte Bell, senior vice-president of regulatory affairs at Canwest, then vice-president of regulatory affairs at Global Television, told us that conservatives shouldn’t bother with TV, but focus on the internet.
But apparently none of this has deterred Quebecor Media International President Pierre Karl Peladeau or its new VP of development Kory Teneycke from chasing the dream of a Fox News North. According to CBC’s Don Newman, Mr. Teneycke has been mulling the idea as far back as 2003. Exploratory work on the new channel got rolling last summer and journalists are now being hired to fill its Ottawa bureau.
Apart from surmounting regulatory hurdles, the biggest challenge for the network will be finding an audience. Are there enough conservative viewers in Canada hungry enough for another tv news channel? Considering the slagging existing broadcast media takes by readers of this blog, I would wager yes.
Opposition politicians and other detractors should thus stop fearmongering about television they haven’t even seen yet. Diversity of views and competition will only improve the quality of the news product on offer to Canadian viewers. Not to toot our own horn to excess, but consider the impact the National Post has had on the media landscape in Canada. Ten years ago, Conrad Black created the Post to provide a fresh perspective for Canadians. More right of centre, more “in your faceâ€, it challenged the newspaper establishment and forced the competition to raise its game. As a result, readers of all Canadian papers benefit from stronger reporting, a greater choice of viewpoints, even better layout and design.
In introducing AJE in May 2010, managing director (and former editor in chief of CBC news) Tony Burman said:
“Our experience introducing this channel is, once it’s on air, once people see it, all these kind of negative stereotypes … are put aside…This is an opportunity for Canadians to make their own judgment.â€Shouldn’t that standard apply to a Fox News North as well?
