Wednesday 1 September 2010

Atwood vs SUN TV

Canadian author Margaret Atwood has signed a petition against allowing Sun Media access to a Fox News North news channel.

The Globe and Mail's Jane Taber says Atwood is "criticizing Stephen Harper over what she sees as his dictatorial approach to regulating the airwaves."

The online petition, with more than 41,000 names to date, reads, in part:

“Prime Minister Harper is trying to push American-style hate media onto our airwaves, and make us all pay for it. His plan is to create a ‘Fox News North’ to mimic the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics. The channel will be run by Harper’s former top aide and will be funded with money from our cable TV fees!”"

Sun Media has said all along Jan. 1, 2011, is the proposed launch date for Sun TV News.

Meanwhile, The Wire Report says Sun Media has been granted a CRTC hearing in November on a new request after being told the earliest the CRTC would listen to Sun Media was the fall of 2011.

"The CRTC has opened a consultation on a new Quebecor Media Inc. application for a broadcasting licence for an all-news channel called Sun TV News - but the application still contains a request for mandatory carriage," says The Wire Report, which is published by Hill Times.

"On Wednesday the CRTC issued a notice of consultation to consider Quebecor’s application, which includes a request for a three-year mandatory carriage guarantee with cable and satellite providers."

Ah, to be a fly in the back rooms of the CRTC and PMO.

3 comments:

  1. Just curious as to why my David Atkin Twitter observation was removed?

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  2. Well, it is David "Akin" and your cheap shots were anonymous.

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  3. Quebecor will end its request for a Tier 1 licence for SunTV to avoid a confrontation or "consultation" with the CRTC. Officially, the reason for the change is that it will allow SunTV to go to air as soon as its ready rather than waiting for a final CRTC decision on the Tier 1. But the real reason was...

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