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Not meeting obligations, says CEP – CHUM hit with CRTC complaint
Tuesday August 15th 2006OTTAWA, Aug. 15 /CNW Telbec/ – Chum Limited is in violation of its TV station licences and the CRTC should call an inquiry into the issue and require that the broadcaster fulfill its licence obligations and commitments, says Canada’s largest media union.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada has filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio/Television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) in which it is asking the CRTC to declare CHUM Limited in violation of its TV station licenses as a result of recent program cancellations at various stations across the country.
"The dramatic reductions in local programming run counter to explicit commitments made by CHUM to the CRTC. The cuts also have the effect of reducing local content to such a level that at some locations, CHUM is no longer in compliance with its conditions of license," a CEP complaint filed with the CRTC states.
Stations most dramatically affected by the cuts, mainly in local news coverage, include A-Channel Ottawa; A-Channel Victoria; CityTV Calgary; CityTV Edmonton; CityTV Vancouver; and, CityTV Winnipeg. Locals news coverage, the complaint adds, has also suffered at the A-Channel in Barrie, Ontario. The massive cuts resulted in the loss of 281 jobs at the various stations and came on the same day that CHUM announced the sale of its TV stations to Bell Globemedia.
"CHUM’s contention that these cuts were unrelated to the sale and were due solely to poor ratings is a marvelous coincidence for the bottom line, and particularly the buyer," said Peter Murdoch, CEP Media Vice- President. "But at any rate, poor ratings do not permit a broadcaster to abandon its conditions of licence."
"Our concerns are two fold," Mr. Murdoch added. "The impact on our members at these stations has been enormously adverse and we obviously want to mitigate those effects. But we also want to ensure that the commitments broadcasters make in acquiring licences have meaning.
"License conditions and legislation under the Broadcast Act are there to ensure that public interest is an integral part of media accountability. The purchase of a national network isn’t an episode of banal reality television – this has an effect on the fabric of the country.
"We expect the CRTC to call an inquiry into our complaint immediately. Canadians want an opportunity to voice their concerns to our regulatory agency," said Murdoch. The 150,000 member CEP is Canada’s largest union of media workers.
Front Page, Headline, Industry News
Not meeting obligations, says CEP – CHUM hit with CRTC complaint
Tuesday August 15th 2006OTTAWA, Aug. 15 /CNW Telbec/ – Chum Limited is in violation of its TV station licences and the CRTC should call an inquiry into the issue and require that the broadcaster fulfill its licence obligations and commitments, says Canada’s largest media union.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada has filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio/Television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) in which it is asking the CRTC to declare CHUM Limited in violation of its TV station licenses as a result of recent program cancellations at various stations across the country.
"The dramatic reductions in local programming run counter to explicit commitments made by CHUM to the CRTC. The cuts also have the effect of reducing local content to such a level that at some locations, CHUM is no longer in compliance with its conditions of license," a CEP complaint filed with the CRTC states.
Stations most dramatically affected by the cuts, mainly in local news coverage, include A-Channel Ottawa; A-Channel Victoria; CityTV Calgary; CityTV Edmonton; CityTV Vancouver; and, CityTV Winnipeg. Locals news coverage, the complaint adds, has also suffered at the A-Channel in Barrie, Ontario. The massive cuts resulted in the loss of 281 jobs at the various stations and came on the same day that CHUM announced the sale of its TV stations to Bell Globemedia.
"CHUM’s contention that these cuts were unrelated to the sale and were due solely to poor ratings is a marvelous coincidence for the bottom line, and particularly the buyer," said Peter Murdoch, CEP Media Vice- President. "But at any rate, poor ratings do not permit a broadcaster to abandon its conditions of licence."
"Our concerns are two fold," Mr. Murdoch added. "The impact on our members at these stations has been enormously adverse and we obviously want to mitigate those effects. But we also want to ensure that the commitments broadcasters make in acquiring licences have meaning.
"License conditions and legislation under the Broadcast Act are there to ensure that public interest is an integral part of media accountability. The purchase of a national network isn’t an episode of banal reality television – this has an effect on the fabric of the country.
"We expect the CRTC to call an inquiry into our complaint immediately. Canadians want an opportunity to voice their concerns to our regulatory agency," said Murdoch. The 150,000 member CEP is Canada’s largest union of media workers.
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Front Page, Headline, Industry News
Not meeting obligations, says CEP – CHUM hit with CRTC complaint
Tuesday August 15th 2006OTTAWA, Aug. 15 /CNW Telbec/ – Chum Limited is in violation of its TV station licences and the CRTC should call an inquiry into the issue and require that the broadcaster fulfill its licence obligations and commitments, says Canada’s largest media union.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada has filed a complaint with the Canadian Radio/Television and Telecommunications Commission
(CRTC) in which it is asking the CRTC to declare CHUM Limited in violation of its TV station licenses as a result of recent program cancellations at various stations across the country.
"The dramatic reductions in local programming run counter to explicit commitments made by CHUM to the CRTC. The cuts also have the effect of reducing local content to such a level that at some locations, CHUM is no longer in compliance with its conditions of license," a CEP complaint filed with the CRTC states.
Stations most dramatically affected by the cuts, mainly in local news coverage, include A-Channel Ottawa; A-Channel Victoria; CityTV Calgary; CityTV Edmonton; CityTV Vancouver; and, CityTV Winnipeg. Locals news coverage, the complaint adds, has also suffered at the A-Channel in Barrie, Ontario. The massive cuts resulted in the loss of 281 jobs at the various stations and came on the same day that CHUM announced the sale of its TV stations to Bell Globemedia.
"CHUM’s contention that these cuts were unrelated to the sale and were due solely to poor ratings is a marvelous coincidence for the bottom line, and particularly the buyer," said Peter Murdoch, CEP Media Vice- President. "But at any rate, poor ratings do not permit a broadcaster to abandon its conditions of licence."
"Our concerns are two fold," Mr. Murdoch added. "The impact on our members at these stations has been enormously adverse and we obviously want to mitigate those effects. But we also want to ensure that the commitments broadcasters make in acquiring licences have meaning.
"License conditions and legislation under the Broadcast Act are there to ensure that public interest is an integral part of media accountability. The purchase of a national network isn’t an episode of banal reality television – this has an effect on the fabric of the country.
"We expect the CRTC to call an inquiry into our complaint immediately. Canadians want an opportunity to voice their concerns to our regulatory agency," said Murdoch. The 150,000 member CEP is Canada’s largest union of media workers.
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