Independent TV producers before heritage committee

Some independent broadcasting and production companies appeared before the House heritage committee last Thursday to talk about the impacts of vertical integration (when large communications companies own both the pipes and the content). Here's their introductory remarks.

New app to work with direct voter contact programs?

A Wire Report story by Jonathan Migneault today takes a peak at a new mobile campaign app being developed by a former Tory staffer.

It's set for launch this September on time for a number of municipal elections.

Is this designed to sync with direct voter contact programs? Methinks yes (if I was to guess).

Jacob Glick points out that the Google Latitude app could also be used for campaigning.

Here's a bit of background from a previous Hill Times story on direct voter contact programs, which can create demographics at the household level.

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Tories building database for Quebec
Province was excluded from direct voter contact program in the last run
By Simon Doyle
Published October 8, 2007

How bout a Cat 2, Sun TV?

I just obtained a copy of the CRTC's letter to Sun TV, confirming what everyone expected and denying them a Category 1. Here's a pdf copy. The text is below.

And here's a recent story The Wire Report did on what other all-news services thought about the application.

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5 July 2010

Peggy Tabet,
Director, Regulatory Affairs, Broadcasting,
Quebecor Media Inc.,
612, St-Jacques St.,
15th floor, South Tour,
Montreal, Quebec
règlementaires@quebecor.com

Re:  Application #2010-0931-6 to obtain a licence to operate a Category 1(A) service

More on Balanced Copyright For Canada

So there's been a few questions (read Geist on it here) about who is behind the new "grassroots" campaign Balanced Copyright for Canada. TVO's Jesse Brown, host of Search Engine, noted on Twitter last week that he searched a number of the names on the site's member list before it was taken down--and found that many of them worked in the sound recording industry (mostly the big labels). I contacted Jesse for some of the names he saw and who they worked for.

Here's the members he passed on to me: Graham Henderson (CRIA); Steve Kane (Warner); JP Boucher (Interscope); Madelaine Napoleone (Universal); Burt Gidaro (EMI); Robert Bolton (Warner); Doug Raaflaub (Warner Music); Rodney Murphy (SOCAN); Laine Pond (Warner); Derek Hauser (Sony); Velma Barkwell (Sony); Daniel Devlin (Sony).

I've also heard on good authority that consultants/lawyers James Gannon (McCarthy Tétrault), Barry Sookman (McCarthy Tétrault) and Don Hogarth (Hogarth Communications) were on the original members' list.

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UPDATE: The organization sent me an email Monday afternoon saying people will be available for interviews when it rolls out its advisory board. The email noted:

We plan to roll out our advisory board, soon.  But I can tell you the advisory board includes the singer-songwriter and independent recording producer Loreena McKennitt and Stephen Sohn the executive producer of Degrassi: The Next Generation and Instant Star.

Astroturf spottings

Here's a copy of the column on astroturf in today's HT, in case you don't subscribe.
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Grassroots lobbying is the new bling, but make sure it's real

By Simon Doyle
  
Is it a genuine grassroots lobbying campaign, or is it astroturf? It's not always so easy to tell.

"Astroturf" was being tossed around last week to describe a new copyright lobby group called Balanced Copyright for Canada, which is calling on Canadians to "Take action and be heard" in support of the government's Bill C-32, the Copyright Modernization Act.

But the group's website doesn't say who it represents, other than noting that "artists, other content creators and the people who invest in them have the right to be compensated for their creations."

The bill to launch a thousand lobbyists

Here's the announcement that just came through the press gallery. I removed the exact locations and phone numbers to avoid ruffling any feathers. 

Notice the media lockup is also in Montreal--and it was just announced this evening. Is this an attempt to bypass the press gallery? Probably!

Lobbying explained by H&K

Have a look at this pretty clever ad from Hill & Knowlton.

Now here's an interesting argument

In the CRTC hearings on fee-for-carriage, Radio-Canada is arguing that the distributors (cable and satellite co's) have higher profit margins than the oil and gas companies. Radio-Canada says distributors are sitting comfortably with profit margins of 25.3 per cent and oil and gas companies with 17.4 per cent. The average business' profit margin? Just 8.7 per cent.

Remember all the bad headlines about record profits for some oil companies last year? Do the broadcasters have a new strategy? A focus on profit margins? Demonizing their opponents?

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Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot

LA PRESSE

(Gatineau) Isolée parmi ses pairs, Radio-Canada a pris les grands moyens afin de convaincre le CRTC de lui accorder des redevances sur les revenus des abonnements du câble: comparer les câblodistributeurs aux pétrolières.

Commish's new guidance on 'improper influence'

On Nov. 6, the federal Commissioner of Lobbying quietly released new guidance on what constitutes "improper influence"--the essence of Rule 8 of the Lobbyists Code of Conduct.

What does this mean? What's new? Far as I can tell, the Commissioner, Karen Shepherd, has released an official opinion stating that registered lobbyists can violate the Code and put public office holders in a conflict of interest by taking part in "political activities." In my estimation this includes political fundraising or campaign work.

Lobbying on copyright? See the HT special

Just about every consultant lobbyist I know in Ottawa represents at least one client on copyright. So you should find a worthwhile read in The Hill Times' policy briefing on Communications and Intellectual Property.

Here's my contribution to the section, below.

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Introducing a copyright bill is kind of like swatting at a beehive with a big stick
By Simon Doyle
The Hill Times
Nov. 2, 2009

MONTREAL—Copyright policy was forever messy. Now it’s getting messier.

The last time the government conducted major chang- es to the Copyright Act was in 1997. About 80 different organizations lobbied the government and Parlia- ment. Reflecting on the passage of the amending legislation, Bill C-32, and the temporary war zone it creat- ed, former Heritage minister Sheila Copps called it the most lobbied bill in the history of Parliament.