General

Bailing out the media

Opposition MPs, senators ask government to bail out Canwest and CBC

It’s the kind of government intervention that would normally be subject to instant, sweeping excoriation by the editorial board of the National Post, but as the Hill Times points out, “these aren’t normal times.” According to this week’s paper, NDP MP Charlie Angus and Liberal senator and former journalist Jim Munson are calling on the Conservatives to make sure that the collapse of the CanWest empire won’t sound the death knell for the many local newspapers and television stations that the company “gobbled up” during the golden age of media convergence that was the mid to late 90s. The pair also “expressed concern” over the future of the similarly embattled public broadcaster: CBC faces an ad revenue shortfall of up to $60 million this year. According to a spokesperson for Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore, the government has no plans to bridge that gap: “We are not giving any more money to the CBC. End of story.”

The Hill Times

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