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Don''t regulate: evaluate.

Article Excerpt
Corporate ownership of both print and broadcast media are seen as necessary to Canada's media model, said to be the world's best. Government should regulate neither media ownership now content, but better evaluation of how well the media are performing is called for. Excerpts from evidence presented May 27.

What we have learned, from previous inquiries into the state of the media in this country, is that government can do very little about either of these issues. Davey, Kent and others made recommendations in these areas, with few consequences. For the media to perform its role in a functioning democracy, it must be free and independent. Hence, government attempts to control ownership and content will always meet with resistance.

However, if you believe that the media is a public trust and that the well-being of democracy depends on people being sufficiently well-informed to make intelligent decisions about their lives and about their country, then government bodies such as this one ought to examine, from time to time, the degree to which media is fulfilling that role. The mere exercise of having the discussion has a value in and of itself. Beyond that, the most useful role the Senate committee can play is to attempt to make recommendations that would create a framework in which a free and independent media offers a diversity of views to all Canadians. Rather than specific regulations about ownership or content, you should explore new ways of giving voice to groups that feel disenfranchised by the existing mainstream media. There are many ways to do that.

During my time at CBC, I had the opportunity to work with or train journalists in the...

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