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The Sessions

The Sessions

Irene Berkowitz

About Our Host

Irene Berkowitz - Senior Policy Fellow at The Creative School, author of the 2021 book on legacy media, Mediaucracy: Why Canada hasn't made global TV hits and how it can and lead author on the 2019 study of new media, Watchtime Canada: How YouTube connects creators and consumers. (external link)  

Irene teaches in the MA program at The Creative School and MBA program at Ted Rogers School of Management. Prior to media research work, she was an award winning writer/producer, and TV development executive.

Where is the Canadian media industry now, how did we arrive at this moment, and where are we going? Guests Charles Falzon, founding chair of the CMPA, and Reynolds Mastin, the current CEO and President of the CMPA, give us their hot takes on Canada’s newly proposed media legislation, The Online Streaming Act, now in its second reading in the House of Commons. We chat about what they like about Bill C-11, changes that they think need to happen to future proof the Canadian media industry, and why audiences need to be empowered to redefine successful Canadian content. Along the way we cover diversity, terms of trade, discoverability, producer accessed platform agnostic funding, and market performance.

“The Sessions” is a co-production between The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and Playback (external link) , a publication of Brunico Communications.

The internet is the center of the digital age. The Online Streaming Act kicks the can to the CRTC for huge decisions, but is the CRTC prepared to implement the bill with regulation and policy? 

Guests Konrad von Finckenstein and Peter Menzies, former CRTC Chair and Vice Chair, give us their hot takes on Bill C-11. We discuss new changes to the act and what those changes mean for the CRTC and the industry at large. They call for the scope of the bill to focus on big players such as online streamers and for the protection of user generated content. Along the way, we cover the structural changes that need to happen to implement producer-accessed platform agnostic funding systems, the extent to which discoverability of CanCon should be regulated and the difference between protecting Canadian content and incentivising its creation. With their insider knowledge we examine the barriers that stand in the way of positive change and the government’s struggle to grapple with the changing landscape of Canadian media that the internet presents.

“The Sessions” is a co-production between The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and Playback (external link) , a publication of Brunico Communications.


The Sessions: Valerie Creighton on Changes at the CMF Ahead of Bill C-11 on Apple Podcasts https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ndSBVc2lA7RSJGAfOvYr4?si=q_AVJVZITfKB-qoQnxpofw&nd=1 
The Sessions - Valerie Creighton on Changes at the CMF Ahead of Bill C-11

Big announcements are coming. Valerie Creighton, President and CEO of the Canadian Media Fund, tells us how the CMF is getting future-ready in wake of Bill C-11. 

Teasing a global content fund and other big changes to the CMF later this spring, we get Creighton’s hot take on The Online Streaming Act. Creighton identifies what producers are most concerned about: Urgency for change and addressing the global market. We discuss what the CMF will do to support creators from equity-deserving groups, how to bring streamers into the CMF, and if user generated content from platforms like, YouTube and TikTok, can fit into the CMF going forward.

Looking forward we examine how incentivizing and codifying diversity into legislation can help Canadian content reach global audiences. We revisit the possibility of producer accessed, platform agnostic funding systems, unhooking from linear broadcasters and how the CMF will address the data desert identified in the 2021 Spark Courage report. 

“The Sessions” is a co-production between The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and Playback (external link) , a publication of Brunico Communications.

Listen to The Audience is Way Ahead: Diversity, Representation and the Online Streaming Act on Apple Podcasts Listen to The Audience is Way Ahead: Diversity, Representation and the Online Streaming Act on Spotify Listen to The Audience is Way Ahead: Diversity, Representation and the Online Streaming Act on Google Podcasts

Joan Jenkinson, Executive Director of the Black Screen Offices; and Jesse Wente, Co-Executive Director of the Indigenous Screen Offices talk about diversity and representation in Canadian media and how it will be impacted by The Online Streaming Act.

Joan and Jesse comment on the impact of Bill C-11 on diversity and representation in Canadian media; the important distinction between these two terms; and how systemic issues inhibit change.They also talk about how Bill C-11 creates new opportunities for creating diverse content, increases equality and inclusion among Canadian creators; and how the streamers have welcomed diverse projects. They explore how a focus on diverse creators and audiences benefits the whole of Canada; increases the potential for developing hit Canadian content for international audiences; and comment on the problematic notion of “colour-blind” storytelling. They round things out with their excitement about the potential of the current moment.  

“The Sessions” is a co-production between The Creative School at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) and Playback (external link) , a publication of Brunico Communications.