Support for local news – from the federal broadcast regulator.
The head of the C-R-T-C has told a Commons committee studying the future of local media – that television stations have a responsibility to produce local news.
And Jean Pierre Blais says – that applies even if the coverage hurts their bottom line.
Blais says today’s digital platforms do offer an alternative source of coverage – but they don’t have the money and expertise in gathering information – that professional TV news outlets have.
In June, the C-R-T-C announced changes to the way broadcasters can pay for local TV news – and it required licence holders in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary – to produce at least 14 hours a week of local news content.
