CRTC chair champions coverage of local news
Jean-Pierre Blais tells committee that financial profits aren’t everything
OTTAWA— The head of the country’s broadcast regulator said TV stations have a responsibility to cover local news, even if it hurts their bottom line.
Jean-Pierre Blais is telling a Commons committee that financial profits aren’t everything — the marketplace of ideas and information is equally important.
The chairperson of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) made the remarks in front of the heritage committee studying the future of local media.
Blais said that while digital platforms offer an alternative source of coverage, they don’t have the funding and expertise in gathering information possessed by professional TV news outlets.
The chairperson also lamented that a “disturbing number of television stations” have cut staff, centralized operations and reduced the length of their newscasts. In June, the CRTC announced changes to the way broadcasters can pay for local TV news.
The Commission required licenceholders in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary to produce at least 14 hours a week of local news content.
In smaller English-language markets, minimum programming was set at seven hours a week.
French-language stations are to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, but must produce five hours a week of local programming.