Steve Anderson's blog

Collaborated article with Anita Krajnc

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

A year ago, OpenMedia.ca and Canadians for Al Jazeera, along with several other groups, rallied people from across Canada to contact the CRTC in support of Al Jazeera English's (AJE) application to broadcast in Canada. Of the approximately 2,800 public comments submitted to the CRTC, all were in favour of bringing the broadcaster to Canada, except 40 parties who filed comments in opposition.

Last fall, open media advocates celebrated the approval of the AJE application. The CRTC directly cites the citizen input it received to back up its decision, showing once again that we can push the regulator to do the right thing.

While Canadians looked forward to accessing this new independent public broadcaster, many worried that AJE would be unable to convince cable and satellite companies to carry the station. After a much anticipated wait, AJE officially began broadcasting on Bell TV, Rogers, and Vidéotron, on May 4, 2010. The best offering is from Videotron, which is giving customers a three month free preview of AJE from May 4 to August 4, and offering AJE in every package. Cable and satellite customers can learn more on how to order the new channel by visiting IWantAJE.net.

The good news:
Shaw has agreed to give all of its customers a free preview of AJE until August 31st.

They are also promoting the channel through their website.

That covers three of the tasks from our campaign, but leaves one to go.

The bad news:
After the promotion Shaw is only making AJE available if subscribers order it and pay an extra $2.95 a month.

Al Jazeera's coverage provides a unique take, more context and deeper analyses that is important for North American and Canadian audiences. The network's stated objective is "to give voice to untold stories, promote debate and challenge established perceptions."

Here is our submission to the CRTC regarding community television. Please read or download below.

Thanks to Canadians' enthusiastic efforts, Al Jazeera English(AJE) has begun operations in Canada. Viewers in this country now have access to independent public journalism on TV. Three major distributors carry Al Jazeera English and next month we will see the opening in Toronto of a Canadian bureau with even more journalists to keep the powerful in check. This is a win for quality journalism and media diversity. Thanks for helping make it happen!

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?