Media Democracy Day Is Here
Citizens gather Friday to open up the news.
In Vancouver, expect a crowd.
It may not get as much publicity as, say, the Fraser Institute's Tax Freedom Day, but Friday is Media Democracy Day in Vancouver.
Sponsored by a number of organizations, including The Tyee, Media Democracy Day aims to draw attention to the current state of Canadian media and to alternatives to mainstream media.
The day was inspired by Earth Day and has three themes, said organizer Steve Anderson:
- Education -- understanding how media shape our lives.
- Protest -- speaking out against commercialized media.
- Change -- calling for media reform in the public interest.
Anderson, a grad student in communications at Simon Fraser University and the coordinator of Canadians for Democratic Media, said part of the aim of Media Democracy Day is to make people aware of media options that exist outside of the corporate mainstream.
More than 30 groups will have tables at a Media Democracy Fair Friday afternoon at SFU's Harbour Centre campus.
There will also be a screening of A Little Bit of So Much Truth, a movie about the Oaxaca uprising, in which Mexican protesters took over 14 radio stations and a TV station.
The day will also feature a talk by sociologist Saskia Sassen, author of The Global City: New Frontiers/Strategic Sites.
Triggered by Conrad Black
Media Democracy Day began six years ago as a reaction to trends in media ownership.
"I think the big thing that started it out was the Conrad Black deal for Southam," Anderson said.
Figures compiled for a Senate investigation into the state of the Canadian media show that Black's acquisition of the Southam newspaper chain in the mid-1990s gave him control over 42 per cent of all Canadian daily newspaper circulation.
In 1999, the high-water mark for newspaper concentration, the top five Canadian ownership groups accounted for virtually all daily newspaper circulation -- 93 per cent.
In 2000, Black sold off the Southam papers to various other chains. The biggest chunk went to the CanWest Global television network, which went in one stroke from owning no newspapers to controlling the largest share of circulation of any North American newspaper chain.
As communications scholar David Taras wrote:
"Global's takeover of Black's holdings gives Global extraordinary power in most Canadian media markets. In Vancouver, for example, a single company now owns the two major newspapers, the Province and the Sun, as well as a major TV station....
"The question is whether one man or one company should have so much control over the information available to citizens. The capacity to intervene in and even alter public life and public consciousness is nakedly apparent. The question is an agonizing one, and it is one that is fundamental to democracy."
Media keeps concentrating
Because Black sold his papers to several buyers, the level of newspaper concentration actually dropped after the sale -- the top five conglomerates went from controlling 93 per cent of total circulation in 1999 to controlling 79 per cent by 2003. But, as Taras suggested, the overall concentration of the Canadian media -- as opposed to just newspapers -- got much worse.
CanWest owns the country's biggest newspaper chain and CTVglobemedia owns the biggest private TV network and the Globe and Mail. And the trend to concentration continues.
As it does, Anderson sees an increasing need to challenge the big corporations' media "stranglehold."
Media democracy, he said, means "a diverse media system with diverse points of view and a plurality of ownership types."
It's not enough, he said, that there are many different media outlets available. What's also important is that there should be "a diversity of owners and ownership types, rather than just big-media for-profit corporations."
The media system should include small, independent for-profit media, non-profit media like Vancouver's Co-op Radio, and community media, Anderson said.
Opening up the media
A democratic system, he said, would also feature an open communications network and net neutrality, with "strict regulation" to curb media concentration and ensure that media act in the public interest.
Friday's media fair will include an array of different organizations, including Free Geek Vancouver, which is concerned with open source software and computer recycling, and Vancouver FreeTheNet, a group that's setting up free wireless Internet access.
The fair, Anderson said, "is a good event for people who have an idea that something's wrong" with the current media system but aren't aware of some of the alternatives.
"They know there's a reason why independent media is important. They can go here and see the different types."
Related Tyee stories:
- Reading up on Big Media
And the promise that independent journalism offers. - Giants of Citizen Media Meet Up
Founders of OhMyNews, Wikipedia compare visions. - Creating Counterweights to Big Media
How to open up Canada's news media in an era of corporate concentration.
![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
gaulois
25-10-2007
What about a public broadcaster???
Is there not such a thing as a public broadcaster in our brave new world?
And does everything happen in the English mainstream language? if the neocons of the market have not bulldozed that down too...
"Opening up the media", did you say??? A vendredi!
Grumpy
25-10-2007
Lazy media
It is very sad, that the 'Asper' Sun crows about wining many Webster awards, yet the man himself would have condemned the paper for lazy reporting.
If not for the Tyee, the Straight, and the local 'Black' press (even now the 'Black Press is becoming more and more like the 'Asper' press), we would be devoid of any truth reporting.
Example: The Asper Press and SkyTrain and RAV, versus light rail. As the Asper press champions light-metro construction, it condemns LRT, yet in the real world LRT trumps SkyTrain and RAV light-metro.
I have canceled my subscription to the Sun and tell those telemarketers trying to get me to resign, "The sun is a dishonest propaganda sheet for the Asper press", or words to that affect.
Jeffrey J.
25-10-2007
Please attend if possible
I encourage all Tyee readers to consider attending the Media Democracy Day events. Lack of freedom of expression will have very serious, long term impacts on democracy. Guaranteed. Great article!
G West
25-10-2007
Probably won't make a difference
It probably won't make any difference, but the CBC has a news editor's blog:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/editorsblog/2007/10/welcome_to_the_editors_blog.html#comments
Where comments can be made. Unfortunately they appear to have so little interest in it that one wonders if it's ever updated or read by anyone at the Corp.
Still, have a go.
Working Memory
25-10-2007
Vancouver Sun blogs
The Sun has had a blog network online since early October, and there seems to be only a smattering of comments.
Either I don't understand how to use it, or maybe there are even fewer people reading Canwest publications than we think.
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/blogs/index.html
murdock
25-10-2007
Ho Hum
You want to display more media?
You want to try to open up media to more people?
OPEN IT, with quality.
Tyee is a fair example.
Those two dailies that became street trash, because they were in 'free' boxes, but had so much advertising that they were essentially worthless. I cannot even remember their names, they were just so bad.
Another good example is The Real News. Take time to read them, then perhaps talk about them with folks you know. Ground level promotions.
Not a jump about protest day, total waste of efforts.
I learned about The Tyee from CKNW, from Rafe being a contributor and chatting about it, then interviewing David Beers.
I learned about The Real News from another contributor to the comments section of The Tyee.
Think about it, who really reads all those multitudes of billboards? The constant flow of advertising barrage at us from radio, TV and print? For me I tune out when I hear the 'jingle' in most radio ads, I cancelled cable TV nearly a decade ago and whenever I see it now at a friends house I am constantly reminded of Groucho Marx' comment and feel a need to read a good book, this urge doubles whenever an 'ad' comes on. I ended my Sun subscription a decade ago, then moved away from the 'big smoke', where I live now we get two bi-weekly black press papers; I use them for firelighters.
If the premise is:
Education - stop sending our children into corporate directed and focused government sponsored schools
Protest - do you really want to speak? DO NOT BUY IT. Cancel your subscription, sell your television (or start using it for a planter) and end your newspaper attention.
Change - switch your source of input of media. If news is your need, try going to the courthouse and actually sitting in on a case, or 6, for a day. Politics? Sit in on a council meeting (if you can stomach the tripe coming out from there), or a school board discussion (to try and understand what is going to be DONE to-with-for your children) or a day at the Legislature or Parliament (for some really funny amateur theatrics).
Better would be to SAMPLE the various media, then if you find some you like to follow them more aggresively, or if possible, participate, like here at The Tyee.
siamdave
25-10-2007
free press sure - but is freedom enough?
- considerable comment on the state of Canadian media at On Green Island - Outside the Box - including a recent letter in response to yet another column in the Star telling us all how lucky we are to have such a free media - Canadian press free enough - but is freedom enough?
GJW
25-10-2007
What is "open" media?
From the comments here, it sounds like open media is opinion-driven news with no advertising.
Good luck with that. I guess it works for Stephen Colbert and townhall.com, so let's get all our news that way.
That leads me to make a crude observation: opinions are like assholes. Everyone has them, and they all stink.
It also leads me to ask a question -- if there is a multitude of opinion-driven citizen journalists out there participating in the news -- not just reporting on it -- does that mean their coverage is accurate? Is the mob mentality always right?
Finally, a disclaimer -- I work for a Black Press "firelighter" and although it has its problems, I believe we do a good job of reporting on the news and events which are important to our communities. I don't think it gets much more open than that.
G West
25-10-2007
GJW
I live in Victoria and I try to read the Victoria News or the Saanich News on a fairly regular basis. Could you please, and I'm not being snide about this, refer me to a couple of examples of the kind of 'good' reporting you say appears in such publications? For the life of me I can't find it - there is the occasional editorial piece that's been picked up from Paul Willcocks and a few other free-lancers but apart from that...nada?
I agree that just a wide range of 'opinion' is not likely to help us find the light - but, at the same time, I really do find (other than the G&M and occasionally the Star) that there just isn't much real in-depth reporting happening any more.
seth
25-10-2007
FreetheNet - $1 down and $1 a month
I am saddened that the early efforts to implement a City of Vancouver wireless network came to nothing due only to the greedy Vancouver mayor and city council trading their oath of office, and campaign promises for a few bucks in corporate campaign donations.
Now a few brave souls at Freethenet are putting immense efforts into attempting to do what the city could for almost nothing, by getting citizens to do it for themselves.
Come on down to the media fair and cheer them on.
In the article http://wifinetnews.com/archives/007987.html, it is estimated 40 routers per sq mile are required to unwire a city. With the technology employed by our friends in freethenet.ca, the City of Vancouver's installed cost would be as low as $200 a router. Add another $150 K for a few metro ethernet fibre optic rings on existing city duct structures, and the total cost to unwire the City of Vancouver's 40 sq miles comes to $500K. The article using older technology sets this cost higher at about $5 million.
Maximum speeds would between 50 and 200 megabits/sec depending on the wireless /wired technology employed. Compare that to Telus and Shaw with their high cost, low speed, steam age technology poking along at 1.5 to 5 megabits per second.
The unwired network could include free telephone, cellular as well as high speed internet. Very low cost television could be added assuming the CRTC would allow the network to act like a cable company.
There are 160k households in apartments, 70k in single family units, and 130 k business's in the city. Assuming everybody would want in and who wouldn't with free telephone/cellular service, this comes to anywhere from $1.50 to $14 a household to set up the network. and an operation cost of less than $1 a month.. Those new to wireless would require a wireless/wired interface unit costing around $50.
For those neocons amongst you, who complain about government spending money for the benefit of its citizens. WHERE DO I SIGN UP!!!!. Bill me $15 for a years service in advance. Make a profit charge me the $50 I pay for telephone service every month. Whatever.
Another approach would involve adding the public, for no or little additional cost, to the data network required for BCHydro’s Smart metering program.
The economies of scale and the several orders of magnitude drop in communication equipment costs in the last few years, .gives public networks with existing distribution structures cost savings no private operator could match.
It really peeves me to know I am spending many times as much money in a month for slow obsolete telecom services as any Greater Vancouver city or BC Hydro could charge me one time to provide far better service.
Call up your MLA's, mayors and municipal councilors and ask if a few bucks in telecom company campaign donations are worth denying their citizens and business' free or cheap access to this important utility.
greengreen
25-10-2007
Metro, 24 hrs. CBC
Good to read today that both of the Vancouver "freebies" are going down the tubes: Metro and 24 Hours. both losing money big time.
News? Three cheers to CBC - newscasts, specials and documentaries.
greengreen
25-10-2007
Metro, 24 hrs. CBC
seth, Could your suggestions lead to a slight lessening of the ugly gap between the rich and poor?
Working Memory
26-10-2007
GJW re Mob mentality
Good question GJW regarding "is mob mentality right?"
That is exactly the problem with mainstream news media. You don't report the news. You shape the news in an effort to manipulate mob mentality on behalf of your advertisers.
Juxtaposition and necessary illusion go hand in hand in your industry, and you've been immersed in it for such a long period you are incapable of recognizing what you're doing. Either that, or you simply look the other way while you kiss your boss's stinky opinion.
The slogan on my blog is, "We don't break the news. We fix it."
I would very much like to hear your perspective regarding how mainstream news media creates mob mentality respective of the 2010 Olympics?
If you need a bit of background you can check out my take on the issue here http://www.olyblog.com/f/07/CrowdSourceF08032007.shtml#SUNBOOSTER
Maurice Cardinal
Editor: www.OlyBLOG.com