Study Finds Opportunity for Media Reform in Canada

Cross sector study takes the pulse of civil society concerning media issues.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 25, 2010

OpenMedia.ca released a report today entitled "Revitalizing a Media Reform Movement in Canada," which is focused on the potential for a broader movement for media change in Canada. The report is the result of an in-depth study funded by the Necessary Knowledge for a Democratic Public Sphere program of the Social Science Research Council, with support from the Ford Foundation. The study is a collaboration between Simon Fraser University Communication professor Rob¬ert Hackett, and two non-governmental organizations (NGOs): OpenMedia.ca and the World As¬sociation for Christian Communication (WACC), an ecumenical NGO concerned with communication rights for all.

The report can be found at: http://openmedia.ca/revitalize

The objective of this research project was to identify issues, allies, resources and frames that could facilitate successful media reform campaigns, projects and partnerships. The research shows that there is definitely potential for a much stronger network and movement for change in media and telecommunications in Canada.

Key findings include:

• There is overwhelming recognition of the importance of the Internet in NGO work, and unanimous endorsement of the principle of Net Neutrality as a regulatory underpinning for equitable and affordable access to the Internet.
• The data confirm that trade unions and independent media, arts and culture groups, particularly those representing media and cultural workers, are core advocates for democratic communications. Other groups, especially those concerned with human rights, are also supportive.
• More than half of survey respondents rate Canadian mainstream media’s democratic performance as poor or very poor, although many NGOs report positive relationships with particular media.
• NGOs appear to have a more favorable view of CBC and especially of independent media.
• An overwhelming majority of NGOs agree that the quality and diversity of Canadian journalism affects their organization’s work.
• There is an encouraging culture of collaboration amongst NGOs in the sectors we surveyed.
• Values such as openness, accessibility, participation, choice, diversity and innovation may resonate well with NGOs in Canada.
• Media reform organizations should consider some kind of expansive institutional structure, such as an association or network that can facilitate communication and engagement with a broad and diverse array of organizations.

“Our survey of NGOs and issues strengthens my view that there is a democratic deficit in Canada’s media and policy,” said report co-author and SFU Communication professor Robert Hackett, “but there are also welcome signs of a growing and self-conscious movement for democratic media reform.”

OpenMedia.ca National Coordinator and study co-author Steve Anderson said today, “we want to make Canada's media as open and innovative as possible, and this requires that we make smart and informed decisions regarding the scope and direction of our work. This study goes a long way in illustrating the potential to expand our work, and what steps we need to take to get there.”

WACC Deputy Director of Programme, Philip Lee said today, "The Canadian media scene is wide open for civil society to get directly involved democratizing its communication structures. It should seize the opportunity with both hands."

Building from this study, OpenMedia.ca is inviting citizens to provide input concerning their work through an online survey at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QL85KKW

Contact:

Steve Anderson
OpenMedia.ca
National Coordinator
604-837-5730
[email protected]

Summary:

Revitalizing a Media Reform Movement in Canada
The research comprised three basic elements. An online questionnaire was prepared and distributed to current and potential allied NGOs. The first step in this respect was to prepare a list of Canadian NGOs in different issue sectors that might be expected to have a stake in media content or regulation.

The second part of the research entailed telephone and in-person interviews with key individuals in Canadian advocacy groups, selected by OpenMedia.ca on the basis of their potential for future involvement.

Thirdly, a workshop of 19 activists, advocates, academics, trade unionists, and independent media producers, including many members of the OpenMedia.ca national steering committee was held May 26, 2009, at WACC’s global headquarters in Toronto. The meeting discussed communications/media policy issues in Canada, current activities and campaigns of OpenMedia.ca, the initial results of the online survey, the work in this area done by workshop participants, and potential future strategies and campaigns.

Findings

Strikingly, there was overwhelming recognition of the importance of the Internet to the work of NGOs and unanimous endorsement of the principle of Net Neutrality as a regulatory underpinning for equitable and affordable access to the Internet. That finding suggests that OpenMedia.ca’s particular emphasis on the SaveOurNet.ca campaign and its recent change of name has a pragmatic as well as principled grounding.

At the same time, our respondents expressed concerns about other media issues as well, including the quality and performance of Canadian journalism at a time of large-scale cutbacks in newsrooms, and the overall democratic performance of major Canadian media. Respondents expressed support for a range of solutions, including structural changes in media (e.g. more diverse ownership), better journalism and content, regulatory and financial support for independent and community media, and better funding and public resources for public service media. The diversity of perspectives and priorities evident in respondents’ views of media issues should make it possible to find partners for campaigns on a range of issues.

Shared values of media openness, access, and innovation (defined not only in technological but also social and political terms) may offer a route to popularize support for at least some dimensions of media reform. Indeed, the comments unequivocally supportive of equitable access to the Internet, from both survey and interviews, suggest that an alternative strategy to coalesce NGOs around this issue and related frames could be productive.

While the research showed an encouraging willingness to engage in collaboration with each other, it also suggested that certain factors limit the formation of a media reform movement. These include the lack of a unified progressive social movement in Canada, as well as the disinclination to date of existing progressive organizations to recognize and act upon the relevance of communications structures and policies to their own primary mandates. One key task for a media reform movement is to make existing progressive social movements aware of the relevance of media issues. Internet access and Net Neutrality seem to constitute an especially promising entry point.

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OpenMedia.ca is a national, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to advance and support an open and innovative communications system in Canada. Our primary goal is to increase public awareness and informed participation in Canadian media, cultural, information, and telecommunication policy formation.