The CRTC must withdraw the proposed weakening of a regulation that bans false and misleading news from the airwaves and call a public hearing on broadcast news, says the Canadian Media Guild.
“The Commission appears to be proposing to give (broadcasters) free rein to lie and mislead the Canadian public in the guise of delivering news,” the CMG says in today’s submission to the CRTC. “This kind of loosening of the rules can be interpreted as a frontal assault on democratic debate and the notion of an informed citizenry.”
Hundreds of Canadians have submitted comments to the CRTC in opposition to the weaker regulation. Their comments reflect the concern that news and information programming will be turned into propaganda to serve corporate and political interests.
The CMG first called for a public hearing on the definition of news and news balance last October in response to the application by Sun TV News for an all-news channel. The latest CRTC proposal to weaken the rule against “false and misleading news,” and the overwhelming public response against it, further highlight the need for broader public input on how the broadcast regulator deals with news and information programming.
