tranquileye free media papers

September 2004 submission to CRTC concerning subscription radio applications.

Introduction: We believe that satellite radio may represent the single greatest threat to the relevance and vitality of campus and community radio since the creation of the sector some thirty years ago. Not only will the proposed services, if accepted, have a negative economic impact on campus and community radio in Canada, they fail to incorporate any aspect of community media, and their approach to Canadian Content runs contrary to thirty years of Canadian radio policy.

New media collapse space and time, and what is in danger of being lost is the local... Satellite radio and Internet audio are wonderful at serving specialized, yet geographically distributed audiences, but they fail when it comes to supporting local communities. As we move to more national and international services, the local is in danger of being further marginalized... We believe that community radio is the most effective means by which the local can be nurtured in Canadian broadcasting. We are inexpensive – the average revenue of our member stations is less than $120 000 – and unlike commercial and public broadcasters our focus is always clearly on the local community...
We urge the Commission to link the creation and expansion of new national audio services with support for local, community broadcasters through a Canadian Community Radio Fund.

Submission from Caroline Côté, Iain Cook, and John Harris Stevenson on Broadcasting Public Notice CRTC 2004-6.

"We believe that satellite radio may represent the single greatest threat to the relevance and vitality of campus and community radio since the creation of the sector some thirty years ago. Not only will the proposed services, if accepted, have a negative economic impact on campus and community radio in Canada, they fail to incorporate any aspect of community media, and their approach to Canadian Content runs contrary to thirty years of Canadian radio policy."