News about media and the regulatory environment both inside and beyond Canada's borders.

IN THE NEWS

The return of a Rogers key man

Toronto: Former Rogers CEO Nadir Mohamed has been below the radar since his retirement in 2013 that came with a reported compensation package of $26.8M. The Globe & Mail magazine has the scoop on what he's been up to in a subscriber-only feature, headliner Nadir Mohamed has a cool new job.

In defence of the regulatory process

Did the CRTC overstep its authority when it reversed earlier policy and eliminated simultaneous substitution of American-based commercials on US television stations carried by Canadian cable systems?

The reversal cost Bell Media a bundle on its Super Bowl telecast and earned support in its battle from the National Football League which argued that the broadcaster had every right to monetize what it paid for.

Christianne Laizner, who joined the CRTC’s legal branch in 2010 and has been its senior general counsel since 2013, takes us behind the scenes in a feature penned by Sheldon Gordon.  

The “simsub” policy change is not a done deal yet. Bell is appealing the regulatory decision to the Federal Court of Appeal. But Laizner points to an earlier ruling by the appellate court in May 2015 upholding the CRTC’s Wireless Code of Conduct as a harbinger that the Bell application will be dismissed -- Canadian Lawyer

 

Osgoode Law Journal swings with the times

For the first time since its inception in 1958, the Osgoode Hall Law Journal has its first black managing editor. Michael Thorburn, a 3L student at Osgoode Hall Law School, received special recognition during the law school’s Black History Month on Monday (Feb. 27).

 

Worth Noting

Meet Donald Trump's propagandist: Right-winger Alex Jones is no ordinary radio host. He's the biggest conspiracy theorist in the US and in the past he has been labelled a loony. But now he is in regular contact with the president and feeds him his ideas. "Trump and I have talked several times since the election -- about freedom and our common goal to destroy our enemies" -- Veit Medick, Der Spiegel

Can donor funded newsrooms be truly independent? Around the world media outlets are taking millions of dollars from private donors and foundations in order to pay for news. The Mail & Guardian in South Africa receives grants from the Gates Foundation to cover health, and Gates funds development news at The Guardian in the UK. In Latin America, Plaza Publica (in Guatemala) and Ojo Publico (Peru) accept donor money to cover news in the public interest.

But in a world where news credibility has become a burning issue and government leaders in Hungary, Turkey, Venezuela, and the US (among others) have gone on the attack against journalism, the question of funding sources and the effect they have on media independence is an important one --  Anya Schiffrin, Columbia Journalism Review