Industry groups call for unbiased, consumer-minded replacement for Arpin

Speculation is mounting among industry and cultural group insiders about the kind of candidate the Conservative government will select as Michel Arpin’s replacement. Arpin left a vacancy at the 13-member commission (now 12 members) when his term expired on Aug. 30 without reappointment. Ian Morisson, spokesman for the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said in an interview that to his knowledge eight candidates have been interviewed, but neither he nor other sources could offer names. Morrison cited “competence” as a central qualification, adding that the challenge is finding a candidate “with the appropriate skills and background who is, at the same time, not suspect because of reasonably recent affiliations with one of the players regulates.” He referred to news reports suggesting that Prime Minister Stephen Harper may be attempting to steer the composition of the commission in part to accelerate Quebecor Media’s application to launch Sun TV News, a right-leaning news network led by former Harper aide Kory Teneycke. Observers have dubbed the service “Fox News North.” The Harper government says it maintains an "arms-length" relationship with the CRTC. In previous interviews, sources close to the CRTC told The Wire Report that such appointments are by nature political. Reappointments, they added, should never be assumed, and any government tends to appoint to the commission candidates who share its views. Another source likened commission appointments to stacking the Senate. La Presse reported Friday that several sources have said the Harper government offered the Arpin vacancy to Luc Lavoie, “the right hand man of Pierre Karl Péladeau.” Péladeau is the president and CEO of Quebecor, and Lavoie, who until recently worked as a Quebecor executive, is seen as a partisan Conservative with close ties to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, having served as his spokesman and director of communications. But La Presse cited a source who said that Lavoie turned down the offers, saying, “For him, it’s the chairmanship or nothing.” “Luc’s a really bright guy, and he’s got experience in the broadcasting industry, so it’s not all that outrageous,” one regulatory source told The Wire Report in a recent interview. “But Luc can be a bit of lightning bolt sometimes.” The source said the government has had trouble finding a suitable candidate, who, ideally, will be from Quebec and not be seen as beholden to any partisan or stakeholder interests. It’s also said that some candidates are concerned about their future job prospects if they serve in senior roles on the commission. The federal lobbying rules apply a “cooling off” period that prevents former public office holders from working as industry or consultant lobbyists for five years after they leave government. The more senior CRTC positions of chair, vice-chair of broadcasting, vice-chair of telecom and secretary general all fall under the cooling-off rule. The vacancy means that the CRTC will probably be without a vice-chair of broadcasting as it heads into hearings on a major broadcasting transaction—Shaw Communications’ $2-billion purchase of Canwest Global—on Sept. 20. Arpin told The Wire Report in an interview last week that although he sought reappointment as vice-chair of broadcasting, “the wise men decided differently.” Arpin suggested that political considerations may have been at play in the decision. Commission chairman Konrad von Finckenstein’s term 16 months from now, in January 2012, and given the importance of broadcasting in the CRTC’s mandate, the vice-chair is likely to wield significant influence in the shaping of commission policy. Karen Wirsig, spokeswoman for the Canadian Media Guild, said she feels there is no one left on the commission who is ready to take up Arpin’s interest in the transition to digital over-the-air television broadcasting. She said he was “the only one who really seemed to be concerned over what was going to be happening to over-the-air viewers when, really, nobody else seemed to care.” She added that “anyone who takes will want the chairmanship job once that comes up.” Wirsig said the incoming candidate should be “an advocate for the Canadian public” rather than someone who “continues in the vein strong political connections or somebody with a close connection to a particular broadcaster.” But Arpin wasn’t always so well-regarded within the cultural sector. In December 2008, in an interview with Playback Magazine, Arpin now-famously said he was “not that interested in televised fiction or even feature films” and that, given the choice, he “would prefer to read a novel.” The creative community and media pundits like The Globe and Mail’s John Doyle were incensed by the comment, particularly in light of a drop in Canadian scripted television that followed changes to the Canadian content rules in 1999. Arpin may not be the only commissioner leaving a vacancy when his term is up. Other terms ending in the next 18 months are those of Rita Cuigini, commissioner for Ontario, and Candice Molnar, commissioner for Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The term of Leonard Katz, the vice-chair of telecom, is good until October 2012, and commissioner Michel Morin’s term lasts until August 2012. Dennis McGrath, a Canadian television writer now working in Los Angeles who is involved with the Writer’s Guild of Canada, said the incoming vice-chair of broadcasting should defend the interests of Canadian viewers. But McGrath added that the potential candidate “must be familiar with the culture as a whole somebody who watches Hockey Night in Canada, who watches local news, and doesn’t make statements like Arpin made”—in reference to his comment on televised fiction. McGrath added that the new vice-chair should have “a healthy understanding of what digital technology does do to broadcasting,” yet be aware “of where the claims are over-inflated.” Such an understanding is expected to take on additional weight as online video streaming services like Netflix play a more important role in content delivery. Within the next five years the CRTC could revisit its hands-off approach to new media broadcasting, opening up a potentially heated discussion over net neutrality rules and Cancon obligations. Howard Bernstein, former producer of Canada AM and a former CBC News executive, said he is concerned that the CRTC’s “first response to anything that comes before them is, ‘Is it good for the cable companies?’” Bernstein half-seriously suggested that commission needs a “Ralph Nader-style” candidate who is an outspoken advocate for consumers’ rights. Bernstein said he “has never felt there’s anyone on the commission whose job it is to protect the Canadian public.” Bell Canada, CTV, Rogers Communications, and Shaw Communications did not comment for this story. --with files from Simon Doyle news@thewirereport.ca

Industry groups call for unbiased, consumer-minded replacement for Arpin

Broadcast | September 10, 2010

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