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Hello all. I have been asked (see e-mail at the end) if TC will
participate in an upcoming
CRTC hearing as a member of a panel supporting the submission of CACTUS
asking that monies from privately owned cable operators designated for
community channels be released to the control of a board which would
funnel that money towards community-access media centers. Most (90%)
of this is about broadcasting (television, some radio) but CACTUS has
tried to give it a modern spin by including, in the
description of these centers, some of the things like digital/media
literacy
activities, maker spaces and local economic development. So, they see
these centers as
training and production centers offering hybrids of old and new media.
<br>
<br>
It is a bit self-serving in places, but they have done an enormous
amount of work on this. In the areas where I understand what is being
proposed, most of it makes sense. But as we
weren't part of the development of this document, I don't really see us
reflected in it either. That doesn't mean we should not support it.
But some input beyond my own is required.<br>
<br>
Also, I would have ask one of you to attend this hearing (Jan. 25). I
can't do it. I would assume that, if CACTUS wanted our participation
badly enough, they would arrange a travel budget to cover costs (the
CRTC does make provisions for this). <br>
<br>
So, should we take on this role? Anybody willing to do it?<br>
<br>
Excerpt: CACTUS Intervention, the complete version of which is attached
to this message if you want to take a deeper plunge into it.<br>
<br>
273. Our vision is that each community
in Canada should be invited to take inventory of its
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">current media training and production
resources (which might include film or video </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">production co-operatives, existing
community-operated television or radio channels, high </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">school, college or university media
training facilities, and former CAP facilities or maker </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">spaces in public libraries) and decide:</p>
<br>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> In which areas of media production
it is weakest and needs to expand services</p>
<br>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> How best to distribute content from
existing and new production facilities. This </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> might imply sharing or consolidating
facilities in the college, university, library, </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">community centre, existing video
co-operative or radio channel so that all can </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">access a broadcast tower, a high-speed
Internet connection, and the local cable </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">head-end, or it could imply a
distributed multi-hub structure, managed by a </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">single not-for-profit entity that
co-ordinates access across the license area, </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">according to the neighbourhood public
library model. We note that cable </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">community channel services were once
offered according to this model in big </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">cities, where there were as many as 12
neighbourhood offices throughout Metro </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Vancouver.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br>
274. The particular solution should be
proposed by the community.</p>
<br>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">275. The CRTC’s commendable and
innovative role in defending the place of “the community </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">element” in the broadcasting system
(even before Parliament had legally established its </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">existence under section 3 of the
Broadcasting Act, 1991) must be updated to emphasize </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">ownership and responsibility for the
community channel by communities, not by forprofit entitles selling a
single competitive service offering.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br>
276. Communities can recruit the
expertise they need on their own terms to devise the </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">appropriate technological solutions.
The role of national co-ordinating associations such </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">as CACTUS would be to make sure
effective dissemination of information about such </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">solutions is shared among communities.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br>
277. We therefore recommend that all
BDUs (licensed and exempt) be required to contribute </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">2% of their gross revenues to a new
fund to support community-access media production </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and distribution centres that hold a
community-access television undertaking license. We </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">will refer to this fund henceforth as
the Community-Access Media Fund or CAMF.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">278. As discussed in more detail in
Section VI (Distribution), all BDUs would also be required </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">to carry the televisual output of these
centres, and would thereby have access to the </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">content generated. The new
community-access media centres would be better resourced </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">and offer a greater range of
programming than was formerly available in the territory on </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">separate competitive services.</p>
<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------
<table class="moz-email-headers-table" border="0" cellpadding="0"
cellspacing="0">
<tbody>
<tr>
<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">Subject: </th>
<td>Fw: Copy of CACTUS Supplemental Comments CRTC 2015-421</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">Date: </th>
<td>Fri, 8 Jan 2016 16:24:46 -0500</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">From: </th>
<td>Cathy Edwards <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:cathy@timescape.ca"><cathy@timescape.ca></a></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th nowrap="nowrap" align="RIGHT" valign="BASELINE">To: </th>
<td>Marita Moll <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:mmoll@ca.inter.net"><mmoll@ca.inter.net></a></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br>
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<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Hi Marita,</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Here's CACTUS' submission. It's a
sizable document.</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">I would say that the important parts
for you in terms of answering questions about the role former CAP
sites could play ultimately in either:</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">- evolving into community media
centres (with licenses to broadcast) themselves, or</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">- being on the board of such a centre</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">... can be found in the section of the
document entitled "CACTUS Supplemental Submission" starting at "Section
IV - Unleashing the Community Sector" at paragraph 245, or if you're
really short of time, start at paragraph 362. We describe partnering
with other organizations already on the ground. You'll see the
strategy of mentioning other associations (radio, libraries, media
coops) as partners. We don't mention CAP sites explicitly in that
section, but we do mention CAP sites in paragraph 7 in the Executive
Summary, and in the complaints (a sample of which is attached) we've
filed nationwide with the Commission this week (see A06 0 Grande
Praire.pdf attached).</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Thanks for your interest, Marita. We
are going to get something out of this hearing. The fight is "how
much?"</font></div>
<div> </div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">Cathy</font></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="2">(819) 456-2237</font></div>
<br>
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