Concentrated Disappointment

This page would have been celebrating if yesterday's CRTC ruling on concentration of media ownership had been what the CBC and a number of other sources had reported. However, upon further review, the Commission has opted to keep the status quo in place, which may yet see this page subject to an offer he can't refuse from Bell Globemedia or CanWest Global.

For those of you scoring at home, CRTC stands for Canadian Regulators Too Chicken. Restricting media conglomerates to ownership in two of the three conventional media (i.e. radio, television and newspapers) won't do anything to stop the erosion of media diversity. CanWest can still own both newspaers in Vancouver. Bell Globemedia can still have plug your basic cable service with its grab-bag of channels.

Mind you, a good chuckle can be had from the editorial page of today's Globe and Mail, which features a spirited renuncication of a ruling that's anything but spirited. Now, back to waiting for my cheque from the Aspers...