CRTC renewal process needs public balance: Ottawa. The CRTC announced short-term, cautionary approach to private broadcasters' license renewals can only be successful if the public's voice is given weight against corporate cries that the sky is falling.

Canadians need to know the real financial details, not just the figures released by self-interested media companies. Short-term licenses and a review of broadcasting obligations can only work if the process is fully transparent, says Canada's largest media union.

"We are in an age when regulators such as those in the financial community have proven themselves to be more like sleeping kittens than growling watchdogs. The CRTC must show Canadians that it is serving our national and cultural priorities, not simply the private ownership interests of these mega media conglomerates," says Peter Murdoch, Vice-President Media for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada."

"The unspoken question today, is why the CRTC does not revisit the fee-for-carriage issue that might actually help broadcasters on the revenue side. The Commission appears to be focused exclusively on helping these companies off the hook by letting them slide away from their commitments including service to local communities."