Canwest canada
A healthy democracy depends on newspapers
for debate, dissent and diversity. Even Leonard Asper agrees: “Canadians
value newspapers as a terrain where provocative ideas and
solid journalism can inform and enlighten,” he told
the Canadian Newspaper Association in 2004. In his view,
CanWest cuts through "the clutter of enormous amounts
of information – and attempts by others to spin stories – or
hide information – to suit their needs – to give
your readers a clearer understanding of what is going on.”
Marvelous idea, Leonard. Why don't you try it at your
papers some time?
In Vancouver, news that isn’t from CanWest is scarce.
The company controls both daily newspapers, a popular news
weekly, two available TV stations and a radio station.
Thanks to “convergence,” they simply dominate
Canada’s third-largest city’s flow of information
and news. Same goes for the entire province of Saskatchewan,
where the only dailies in Saskatoon and Regina, the two
main cities, are CanWest controlled.
While other media giants have and continue to exist in
Canada’s newspaper world – with Osprey Media,
Hollinger, Transcontinental, Quebecor/Sun Media and Torstar
now controlling 71 dailies – none of them have the
crushing control over alternative sources like CanWest
does. Nor do they clamp down on their operations as severely.
See the whole Canadian newspaper situation here (PDF).
For a more accurate picture of the CanWest management
ethos, consider this comment from his late father Izzy
at a CanWest shareholders meeting: “[O]n national
and international key issues we should have one, not 14,
editorial positions.”
The next generation of readers largely ignores their local
dailies because of cynicism toward those controlling them.
They’ve become alienated in their own communities.
Vancouver’s media monopoly could present itself as
the grim future for Canada’s news media – if
we let Leonard have his way.
Here’s
a breakdown of CanWest’s major market holdings.
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