The Effects of Concentrated Ownership on Quality Journalism in the Contemporary Canadian Newspaper Industry (Essay Sample)

Effects of concentrated ownership on quality journalism in Canadian newspaper industry
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The most important issues to be considered in understanding the effects of concentrated ownership on quality journalism in the contemporary Canadian newspaper industry.
The concentration of media ownership refers to the process in which few individuals or firms progressively increase the number of shares in the media industry. Concentrated ownership of media occurs when only one or few companies control various media outlets. The high level of media consolidation has resulted in media industry being owned by few individuals or firms. Apart from few community media broadcasts, the vast share of the media industry in Canada is owned and controlled by few companies including new caps, Rodgers, Quebecor and Canadian broadcasting corporation. The Concentration of ownership of Canadian media showed a drastic increase between the year 1990 and 2005 with the ownership dropping from 17% in 1990 to 1% in 2005. This prompted the standing Senate committee to carry out research on media ownership in Canada to determine the extent of concentrated ownership in the country (Kozolanka, Mazepa, & Skinner, 2012). The majority of the newspapers in Canada belongs to the same firms that control television and radio networks.
Nearly half of the current Canadian newspaper market belongs to the Sun Media chains and Post media whose merging has further increased the rate of ownership concentration in Canada. The 2006 final report of the Senate committee expressed concern about the increasing levels of newspaper ownership in Canada. The major concern by the committee regarded the effects of the increasing media ownership concentration on news quality and diversity. The other concern of the committee was the ineffectiveness of Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunication (CRTC) and the Competition Bureau of Canada (CBC) to control the rate of media ownership concentration in the country. Concentrated ownership of media houses has limited the Standards of employment for journalists. Concentrated ownership of media causes less freedom, diminished job security and threats to the rights of intellectual properties of journalists. Journalists in Canadian media companies have been working under threats from their employers who force them to provide biased information to the public. This is one way in which newspaper monopoly can degrade the quality of journalism in the mass media industry. Newspaper Monopoly has not only led to the spread of untruth perception of some groups in Canada but has also frozen the fundamental rights of journalists (Mosco, 2003). .
The concentration of media ownership in Canada has lead to misrepresentation of the minorities by these media houses. The minority groups in Canada are also under-represented in Canadian media with most newspaper prints failing to consider them their news coverage. There is the improper representation of Canadian blacks and Asians in Canadian media and any representation of these minority groups; they are typified as criminals or anti-socials (Gidengil, 2008). If it is not the misrepresentation of minorities in the Canadian newspaper, then they are not represented in any way. In countries where multiculturalism is legitimate, racism can still be practiced by media houses like in the case of Canadian newspapers. The misrepresentation of the minority by the Canadian media has caused the minorities to develop inferiority complexes. The marginality of the minority in the Canadian media has deepened the feeling of invisibility by the minority in Canada and thus tampering with their sense of belonging. Most of the Canadian newspapers belongs to the few rich who also controls the newspaper reports for their interests and to maximize profits. Paradoxically some newspaper firms have discovered a potential advertisement market in the minority groups. The number of Newspapers published in French has increased over the recent few years after the discovery of this new market (Ungerleider, 2006).
The Canadian federal law has proved ineffective in controlling newspapers monopoly due to lack of substantial ground to challenge the move. Lack of enough evidence to block concentrated ownership of newspaper firms has rendered the federal ant-combine laws helpless in preventing future damage. For example, in Vancouver CanWest Firm owns two and the only dailies, one of the two national newspaper prints and twelve community newspapers. This monopoly of the newspaper industry has led to manipulation of newspaper reports by the owners of these firms. Newspaper reports from many Canadian newspapers have been showing favor to one political side to the disadvantage of other. This bias is fueled by the fact that Newspaper industry must expand and maximize profit for its shares to secure a place in the stock exchange market. Lack of laws to regulate Newspaper industry in Canada has made information and media to be treated as goods and services in the market. Newspaper firms in Canada have capitalized in expanding their profit margin at the expense of the quality of journalism (Wu, 2004). The concentration of media ownership is highest in Canada compared to other countries in the western world.
Canada being a multicultural society, there should be a fair representation of people's ideas in the media rather than monopolizing in the opinions of few selected individuals. News reported in the Canadian media should be highly regarded instead of representing the opinions of selected minority while leaving the rest of society poorly represented (Sarikakis, 2007). The step by the Canadian government to control ownership in the media industry will help in preventing news and information from being treated as a commodity of trade. Apart from the danger of abuse of political powers by leaders, newspaper monopoly also poses a threat to the quality of information provided. Canadian journalists have told the government to subside the independent newspapers firms while at the same time putting stronger barriers on concentration ownership in the media industry to promote information diversity (Hayes, Ross, Gasher, Gutstein, Dunn, & Hackett, 2007). The government institutions that are responsible for regulating the concentrated ownership of media in Canada has proven to be incompetent in putting a limitation on the number of media companies; an individual can own in the media market. This has negatively affected the quality of journalism in the Canadian newspaper media firms.
Most of the Newspaper chains in Canada belongs to those who are loyal to the ruling political party. This has limited the freedom of journalist because they are forced to publish newspaper articles that criticize opposition party while praising the ruling party. Royalty of the owners of newspaper firms to the ruling party has diminished the power of government to stop concentrated ownership of media in Canada (Skinner, & Gasher, 2005). Independent journalists and communities have a greater role to play to ensure that concentrated ownership of media in Canada is brought to an end. Canadian journalists are worried that, concentrated ownership of media may result in the full control of information by people in power like in the case of Italy where prime minister control a majority of the media companies. Concentrated ownership of media may result in spreading of untruth information that influence the perception of people towards the government other groups of people in the Canadian society (Hayes, Ross, Gasher, Gutstein, Dunn, & Hackett, 2007)..
The pattern of ownership and the rights that accompany ownership of media is very important in determining the type of information provided by the media to the society. The Canadian Radio –Television and Telecommunication Commission (CRTC) govern the ownership of media in Canada excluding the newspapers and internet (Skinner, & Gasher, 2005). The ownership of media firms in Canada has sparked debate concerning the power of the CRTC and Competition Bureau commission in regula...