Communication policy in Canada

Communication policy in Canada

Communication and its related technology have experienced a massive transformation over the past century, and that has changed the way users and telecommunication corporations interact. The issue of policing has always been a critical issue put in place in an attempt to coordinate service enjoyed by consumers and creating regulations around the facility that make it safe for everyone. The government has always found a way of keeping telecommunication companies under its oversight, and thus resulting in myriad contentions on matters relating to telecoms. Politicians consider media house as an essential tool for running their affairs and therefore, always tries to have the upper hand in the dealing. Mostly the need for amendment of current policies crops up due to the development of new technology, thereby calling for the imposition of more original regulations on the kind of technology, infrastructure, and its users. In Canada, it has been challenging to establish a common ground between the government and its intervention in media. The implications of such an impasse go far into the inner factions of communication, such as the relationship between media and public, regulations on ownership transfer procedures. Mergers have been occurring in the communication industry, which traverses all kinds of media: Virtual Media, Content Marketing, and mainstream media. The cropping up of new avenues by which information can be transferred has changed the dynamics of Information Technology, thereby creating new gaps in policies. Many factors come into play whenever discussions on media policing arise, including aboriginal rights, division of revenue, and adherence to the stipulated laws. Canadian policies are famous in their reinforcement of indigenous benefits. Ottawa, for instance, has numerous counts of reviewing policies on broadcasting, arts, and culture policy. This is one of the examples where the policymakers have been vocal regarding the amendment of laws that benefit local communities. Policing is perceived to be dependent on external forces like cartels and corruption. Studying the interplay between how newer policing has been handled would shed light on how the law interacts with telecommunications.

 

Evolution of communication and its policing

Since the maydays of the implementation of technological infrastructure that could ease communication between different points and people, there have been significant contentions on the limits of their actions. There is a decent amount of overlap between transmission of information between two or more entities, confidentiality, and adherence to safe transmission measures. Communication and the propagation of information lie at the heart of every day activities by politicians, and hence a perfect avenue for them to spearhead their agendas. Politicians are infamous for their slyness in utilizing media to their advantage, and research exemplifies the nature of the interaction between policymakers and the media. Media corporations are mostly gullible to political influence by influential individuals, and the relationship between the media companies and politicians go deeper than influencing headlines. The early days of centralized communication are characterized by rampant involvement of politicians in media, both as proprietors as well as clients. A large number of media corporations are wholly or partially owned by the government or other powerful individuals who control how communication is carried out.

Policing in such an environment, therefore, presents itself as excessively dynamic and sophisticated as well. The case study on the acquisition of Astral Media by Bell Canada was mired by multiple altercations due to the many entities involved in influencing the regulation of new laws that could need to be repealed. The confrontation between the government, the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission and the decision-makers of the Astral Media and BEC. The proprietors at BEC seem to have set their target market as French-speaking Canadians and leverages the acquisition of Astral media to stand up to the dominant Quebecor Inc. Lawmakers lobby for their interests by disguising their efforts as to be fighting for aboriginal rights. Canadian policies are prominent for their advocation for indigenous rights, and politicians also leverage this imposition to propel their agendas. The history of lawmaking in all significant political outfits of the past have tended to covertly manipulate laws around the distribution of information. The consequences of such actions from past governments have been entangled into the current political and economic arena, where propaganda can be easily distributed through various communication channels. Control over institutions that have extensive coverage and traffic in their radio, television, or newspaper channels gives a subject a competitive edge over their political opponents. Popular broadcasters offer themselves to the highest bidder during electoral periods.

The processes undertaken to transfer some assets and rights from Astral media to Bell media were combated by few impediments, mostly regarding issues on regulations. The CEO and other top managers of Bell Media expected the attainment process to be smooth, and the barriers that confronted them were unprecedented. The control of corporations is done small tenets, usually representing the different functions of an organization. For instance, a telecom corporation could have different regulations imposed on it in various departments separately, thereby opening up holes that undermine their liberty. It is easier to harangue when many policies exist, unlike where a single system that covers a broad set of items. For instance, a memorandum of understanding would have been concluded by Bell Media and Astral media during the first application if the broadcasting law, which got amended in 2006 and other laws that list the conditions that a media provider has to adhere to before it is allowed to operate did not exist. The petition filed by the three media corporations, Codeco, Videotron, and Eastlink, also indicates the levels to which industry players get involved in policymaking. The appeal was successful, and Bell was accused of the potentiality to disorient the consumer choices. The plight for the satisfaction of the needs of consumers was lobbied for, and the complainants inadvertently contained their competitor. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission was objected to the acquisition of Astral by Bell and went great lengths to influence the outcome of the contention. Many unprecedented twists and power play had all the participants alert of any opportunity to gain mileage from the messy situation. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission presented some accusations on the merger terming the intent of Bell as to being self-serving and unwarranted. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation also forwarded its petition against the acquisition terming it as being motivated by ill will and self-centeredness. The Bell interlocutors had to cave into the demands of the various bodies, which included the adjustments of budgets, audience, and the divestment of some of the channels which, according to competition law, would destabilize all-round programming. For a country with over 600 Television channels, radical regulation has to be undrcarried, and in most instances, the scrutiny of all media providers is thoroughly undertaken, with each company getting probed according to its policies aligning with the indicated stipulation. It is worth noting that the Canadian Radio-Television Commission can challenge existing systems based on some new phenomena in the telecommunications industry. The privilege of oversight was implemented to allow the smooth operation of the industry at large while giving room for the creation of newer policies due to the regular innovations in the industry.

 

 

Dynamics of media and public

A media corporation is seen as an instrument for the public to offer entertainment and information. As such, a telecommunication company is expected in its policies to showcase its desire to bring value to the market. This argument is based on the fact that the many laws surrounding the granting licenses to communication companies are designed to limit too much independent action of private organizations, which happen to own the most popular media houses. The fact that Astral Media, at the time of negotiations, controlled the largest share of the television industry in Canada alludes to the threat Bell media posed to other already existing broadcasters. A successful first application for the acquisition would have undermined the broadcast rights for locals. The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission pleaded that the purchase would obliterate the benefits enjoyed by locals in the form of aboriginal rights. The expansion of budget on French television shows was a monumental gain to the people of the various cities which are served by the various TV and radio networks. For instance, Bell Media has to increase the budget allocations from 8% to 22%, which is a margin of C$350000. Initially, the budget for the English language television market was to be at 42%. Still, after the renegotiation with the CRTC, the portions had to reduce to 35.7% to expand the French-language market share. Also, the French Television market share, which represents the most substantial numbers of aboriginals were adjusted from the initial 8% to 22% of the total revenue share. Bell Media was also expected to adhere to other regulations, such as the support for local talent across all areas of video production, publishing, writing, and local sports activities. Such involvement focused on contributing to the revamping social activities like athletics and soccer. By offering coverage of matches to the widespread reach the media facilities reach, a lot could be achieved in the establishment of aboriginal talent. The roles imposed on telecom organizations are obligatory, and this situation depicts the pressure most enterprises have to withstand as they go about their business.

 

Gaps in policing

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission has been on the forefront in the updating of policies surrounding broadcasting in Canada, and it is known in its challenging of laws that undermine the spirit of nationality such as instances where telecommunications companies seek to enter the market yet their operational ideals contravene the very ideals that hold the Canadian society together. Critical metrics that come into play with the interaction between media corporations and the public include the ARPU (Average Revenue Per User). This metric can be deduced through the packaging of programs to fit varying audiences and budgets. Specific laws were set to regulate the kinds of channels to be broadcasted and their consecutive costs. More regulations surrounding the broadcasting include those that indicate the suitability of a program to be transmitted at a particular time of the day. To support the enforcement of this law led to the inception of grading television networks, as every application could be easily identified with its target audience. By controlling the time during the day by which television programs can be aired, it becomes easy to align the broadcasts with the ideals of a viewer. This regulation has been massively effective, especially with the common law of not airing adult content during the daytime. The issue with regulating Internet Service Providers has been an attempt by the government to impose regulations upon media that relies on the internet for transmission. The internet has been useful in the speedy enhancement of communication channels, which require limited policing to be run by an average user. Significant challenges associated with the internet have been regular misuse of the channels through misinformation and propaganda. The decentralized state of internet networking is quite challenging to monitor the activities of users, and this causes authorities to rely on reacting to incidences after they have happened mostly. The impositions on media organizations since time immemorial have been faced by burdensome regulations and penalties for the transgression of the various laws an organization could violate. Such impositions are unlikely to be hardcoded into the current media environment, mainly because the many rules that could be forged around regulating communication are likely to violate critical human rights such as freedom to expression. Although more policies have to be developed for this arena, the advent of internet media will be the stumbling block that widens the rift between the law, its creators and enforcers, and the public at large.

-local talent

 

Conclusion

Although some short regulations are in place to regulate the activities of media companies, enforcement of laws, especially those that deal with the distribution of media, has been an arduous task. Especially with the onset of internet media, enforcing some of these regulations that purport to protect consumers from inherently harmful content. Cyberbullying and malicious content have been the main impediment with the decentralization of media by website content. The inadvertent stagnation of mainstream media, television, radio, and newspaper during the last decade has been a transformational period in the history of communication. A lot of talent has been discovered with the advent of social media, resulting in presentation techniques that were unintelligible, were it not for the discovery of the internet. Situations like these that undermine the ability of the regulatory authorities of a country to impose rules on every citizen who is active on social media has led to the government opting for more creative ways of imposing their power. Internet service providers have been the target of regulatory authorities in an attempt to protect the public from harmful information. Governments have utilized these loopholes to exert command and influence over communication authorities. Legislators have done a commendable job at the imposition of policies and regulations that inadvertently generate revenue for the running of public affairs. Aboriginal rights are a component of lawmaking that has been explored expansively, and many policies have been created around the upholding of benefits for local Canadians when businesses seek to operate in a particular area. The policing of rules which govern all the sectors have been impactful to how the current state of affairs is running, and notable benefits have been accrued as a result of past amendments of regulations on operational procedures of businesses. Subscription rates for most Canadians are affordable, and the programming in the channels they choose to tune on is in many varieties. These laws do not restrain companies from benefiting from vertical integration; rather, the imposition of rules is a way for the government to control the extent of the actions of the media covertly. Corporations are said to be the invisible arms of the government because legislators have created laws that use big corporations to siphon funds. The relationship between the government and corporations is symbiotic, as big corporations are more likely to be bailed out by the government out of a financial crisis compared to smaller enterprises. The enablers of such a relationship are the codependence the two entities possess as each attempt to carry out their duties. The role played by CMPA has vastly contributed to the benefits yielded by enabling media and telecommunications companies to run their operations. Although there could be excessive interference between the organizations and the law enforcement agencies, many useful ideas that could guide the smooth interoperability of all parties.