Having Trouble Logging In?

'Really aggressive broadband policy is the single best thing a government can do': Jarvis

May 19, 2010 - 1:42pm — Jonathan Migneault

OTTAWA—As the Internet brings about a sea change across the media landscape, “really aggressive broadband policy” is the single best action for governments to support new media, Jeff Jarvis, journalist, blogger and journalism professor at City University of New York, told The Wire Report Tuesday.

“Do what Finland is doing and declare broadband access a right,” he said.

Jarvis appeared in Ottawa Tuesday as the keynote speaker at the Reinventing Canadian Media Symposium hosted by the Public Policy Forum. In his 2009 book, What Would Google Do? Jarvis looked at the open and collaborative approaches of successful companies like Google.

Clement gives nod to convergence, but sticks to liberalization for telecom sector only

May 13, 2010 - 4:05pm — Simon Doyle

OTTAWA--Industry Minister Tony Clement said Thursday that the federal government will have to “stick handle” around the challenges posed by convergence as it pursues the liberalization of the foreign ownership restrictions for the telecom sector.

“There’s no question there’s been convergence in the industry between those providing telecommunications and broadcasting,” Clement told the House industry committee, where he appeared to discuss foreign ownership and the government spending estimates.

Opinion: Digital strategy consultation must involve all Canadians, not just industry

May 12, 2010 - 10:54am — Bernard Courtois

The formulation of a digital economy strategy for Canada is a task much larger than the creation of industrial policy. It is nothing less than the creation of a foundation for the kind of nation we will build in the 21st century.

Digital tools and content are pervasive. The tremendous growth of texting, for example, illustrates this. Canadians send about 174 million text messages per day. And to give you a sense of how quickly these tools are being deployed in 2002, it took us a year to produce that volume.

Opinion: CBC's business model is no longer sustainable, says Lacroix

April 1, 2010 - 12:22pm — Hubert T. Lacroix

Anyone following the fallout from the CRTC’s recent decision on value for signal is sure to have noted CBC/Radio-Canada’s forceful reaction. Some have called it exaggerated. Others have gone further than that: “Rattling cuff links. Umbrage. Outrage.”

Had I been wearing cuff links, that would indeed have been an accurate description of my reaction. Given the success we’ve enjoyed in the last few years, it was uncharacteristic and, perhaps to the uninitiated, overstated. “What’s the CBC’s problem?” the pundits ask.

Opinion: Time to review the role of the CBC, says Peladeau

April 1, 2010 - 12:18pm — Pierre Karl Peladeau

At a time when technology is becoming an integral part of the way people communicate and get information and entertainment, the CRTC’s job as a regulator is harder than ever.

That’s because regulatory systems are being undermined by the relentless spread of new kinds of communication and a borderless universe.

House parties discussing special legislative committee to study copyright bill

March 31, 2010 - 11:09am — Tim Naumetz

OTTAWA—Liberal Party MPs are pushing for a special legislative committee of the House of Commons to review the government’s new copyright reform bill once it is tabled in Parliament.

The move would be a way to handle potential conflicts over copyright policy within parties and for the MPs responsible for reviewing the legislation.