RadioActive wrote:

In a sweeping and very lengthy document, the CRTC has reaffirmed that all licenced TV stations in Canada must broadcast local news to the communities they’re designated to serve – or else.
 
“All licensees will be required to broadcast a minimum level of local news and to allocate a percentage of their previous year's revenues to such programming,” the edict reads, “with the exhibition and expenditure levels to be determined at licence renewal based on historical levels."
 
And the big boys must continue to provide at least 14 hours per week of news in the larger markets. 

Among the new regs:
 
-Local news must be presented seven days a week (which means Rogers could not have cancelled City TV’s weekend news, which they did several years ago.)
 
-They have to employ full time journalists or establish bureaus in the markets where they’re licenced.
 
-And all newscasts must be at least 5 minutes in length. (A loophole to be sure – how you can expect anyone to be informed in five minutes when most TV stories are about 90 seconds in length seems impossible.)
 
But there IS some discretion, and it’s interesting that the Commission particularly singled out the ongoing issue of Rogers and its OMNI news – or lack of it.  
 
“…the Rogers terrestrial BDU serving Toronto will have the option to reduce its contributions to community programming in Toronto in order to redirect its allowable contribution to local expression to support the creation of either (a) community programming by other Rogers community channels or (b) local news by City or OMNI local stations in Toronto or elsewhere.”
 
Not sure if that’s what Rogers was looking for, and it remains to be seen if that means restoring OMNI casts means taking money out of City’s product.
 
The CRTC makes it clear they expect the big guys (Bell, Rogers, Shaw etc.) to follow the rules and find the money to ensure continuing coverage in major cities. Smaller areas of the country and independently owned OTA broadcasters – most notably Channel Zero’s CHCH – will be eligible to dip into a Local News Production fund that will help pay for producing enough news product to meet the new requirements. I’m still not sure exactly where this money will come from or whether it will inevitably mean an increase in cable bills down the road to pay for it.
 
Finally, it’s telling that while the CRTC acknowledges that a lot of people are now getting their information online, they still don’t believe the websites have the same resources as conventional TV stations and thus those broadcasters have to continue to provide the service as a condition of licence.
 
There is a lot more here for the adventurous or those suffering from insomnia. But those, as they say, are the headlines. 

Interesting. So how does this affect City's operations outside of Toronto? Winnipeg broadcasts a radio show in the morning and nothing else. Does this mean they now have to create weekend newscasts?

....jobs...jobs....jobs...

The lowly crtc ... too little too late jokers.  It's like a young Oliver Twist trying to control the Artful Dodger with the threat of no more cool whip.

I wonder...down the line...if this will apply to 'regional' radio stations which, due to 'cost saving' adjustments can no longer 'do' local news as they're [as a result of the previously mentioned 'cost saving adjustments] no longer local in the market they're licensed to 'serve'.

It is all about the dividends rather than the audience isn't it?  [and bonus's for coming in under budget naturally?]