Change and Churning in Canada's Media Landscape
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DISRUPTION: Change and Churning in Canada’s Media Landscape JUNE 2017 Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage The Hon. Hedy Fry, Chair 42nd PARLIAMENT, FIRST SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. This permission does not extend to reproduction, distribution or use for commercial purpose of financial gain. Reproduction or use outside this permission or without authorization may be treated as copyright infringement in accordance with the Copyright Act. Authorization may be obtained on written application to the Office of the Speaker of the House of Commons. Reproduction in accordance with this permission does not constitute publication under the authority of the House of Commons. 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Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca DISRUPTION: CHANGE AND CHURNING IN CANADA'S MEDIA LANDSCAPE Report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage Hon. Hedy Fry Chair JUNE 2017 42nd PARLIAMENT, FIRST SESSION STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE CHAIR Hon. Hedy Fry VICE-CHAIRS Larry Maguire Pierre Nantel MEMBERS Pierre Breton Hon. Peter Van Loan Julie Dabrusin Dan Vandal Seamus O’Regan Kevin Waugh Darrell Samson OTHER MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT WHO PARTICIPATED Dean Allison Wayne Long David Anderson Alistair MacGregor René Arsenault Phil McColeman Chandra Arya Irene Mathyssen Hon. Larry Bagnell Alexandra Mendès John Barlow Marco Mendicino Kelly Block Alexander Nuttall John Brassard John Oliver Hon. Tony Clement Joe Peschisolido Pam Damoff Michel Picard Francis Drouin Hon. Pierre Poilievre Jim Eglinski Scott Reid Nathaniel Erskine-Smith Peter Schiefke Greg Fergus Bev Shipley Andy Fillmore Scott Simms iii Pat Finnigan Robert Sopuck Angelo Iacono Adam Vaughan Bernadette Jordan Mark Warawa Matt Jeneroux Salma Zahid Robert Kitchen CLERK OF THE COMMITTEE Andrew Bartholomew Chaplin Jean-François Lafleur LIBRARY OF PARLIAMENT Parliamentary Information and Research Service Marion Ménard, Analyst Maxime-Olivier Thibodeau, Analyst iv THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE has the honour to present its SIXTH REPORT Pursuant to its mandate under Standing Order 108(2), the Committee has studied the media and local communities, and has agreed to report the following: v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACRONYMS .................................................................................................... IX FOREWORD FROM THE CHAIR OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON CANADIAN HERITAGE .................................................................................................. 1 DISRUPTION: CHANGE AND CHURNING IN CANADA'S MEDIA LANDSCAPE .......... 3 PART 1: INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................. 3 1.1 Our study ............................................................................................................. 3 1.2 The media as a reflection of Canada’s cultural diversity ...................................... 4 1.3 The media: a pillar of Canadian democracy ......................................................... 5 PART 2: CANADIANS’ ACCESS TO LOCAL INFORMATION MEDIA ........................... 9 2.1 Digital media ........................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Print media ......................................................................................................... 10 2.3. Research .......................................................................................................... 14 2.4 Magazines.......................................................................................................... 16 2.5 Ensuring a diversity of voices ............................................................................. 16 2.5.1 Official language minority media ................................................................ 16 2.5.2 Ethnocultural media ................................................................................... 17 2.5.3 Indigenous media ...................................................................................... 18 2.5.4 Regional diversity ...................................................................................... 21 2.6 Broadcasting sector ........................................................................................... 24 2.6.1 Community Television ............................................................................... 27 2.7 Radio sector ....................................................................................................... 29 PART 3: CURRENT POLICIES, PROGRAMS AND REGULATIONS ........................... 33 3.1 Internet advertising ............................................................................................ 33 3.2 Tax measures .................................................................................................... 34 3.2.1 Foreign over-the-top television services .................................................... 36 3.3 The Copyright Act .............................................................................................. 37 3.4 The Canada Periodical Fund ............................................................................. 38 3.5 Canada Media Fund .......................................................................................... 40 3.6 Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission .................... 41 3.6.1 Policy framework for local and community television (June 2016) ............. 42 vii 3.6.2 Licence renewals of the large television groups (May 2017) ..................... 43 3.7 Repurposing of the 600 Megahertz band ........................................................... 45 3.8 The role of CBC/Radio-Canada as a public broadcaster ................................... 46 3.9 Federal government advertising ......................................................................... 49 PART 4: IMPACT OF MEDIA CONCENTRATION ........................................................ 53 PART 5: JOURNALISM IN THE NEW WORLD ............................................................ 59 5.1 Not-for-profit news organizations ....................................................................... 63 PART 6: DIGITAL MEDIA AND ITS IMPACT ................................................................ 67 6.1 Opportunities created by the digital environment ............................................... 67 6.2 Digital content aggregators ................................................................................ 69 PART 7: SUMMARY AND PERSPECTIVES: THE FUTURE OF THIS INDUSTRY ..... 73 LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................. 77 APPENDIX A: GLOSSARY ........................................................................................... 81 APPENDIX B: JURISDICTIONS WITH SALES TAX ON FOREIGN E-COMMERCE CURRENTLY IN FORCE .............................................................................................. 83 APPENDIX C: MEDIA CONCENTRATION IN CANADA ............................................... 85 APPENDIX D: LIST OF WITNESSES ........................................................................... 87 APPENDIX E: LIST OF BRIEFS ................................................................................... 95 REQUEST FOR GOVERNMENT RESPONSE ............................................................. 97 DISSENTING OPINION OF THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY OF CANADA .................. 99 viii LIST OF ACRONYMS APF Association de la presse francophone AJRQ Association des journaux régionaux du Québec APTN Aboriginal Peoples Television Network ARCC Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada AWNA Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association BDU Broadcasting distribution undertaking DTH BDU direct-to-home broadcasting distribution undertaking CACTUS Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations CBSC Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council CHPC Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage CMCRP Canadian Media Concentration Research Project CMF Canada Media Fund CMG Canadian Media Guild CPF Canada Periodical Fund CRTC Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission CUPE Canadian Union of Public Employees CWTA Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association FCFA Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada FNC Fédération nationale des communications FPJQ Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec FRPC Forum for Research and