CanWest Global executive David Asper rode into the heartland of the West Friday with a reassuring message about media convergence and local newspaper coverage.
In a speech to the Calgary Chamber of Commerce, Asper vowed his family will create an agenda of national issues “that we think will bring a voice to the West.” Asper is chairman of the publishing committee of the board of directors at Winnipeg-based CanWest Global Communications Corp., which owns Southam Inc. newspapers including the Calgary Herald, as well as a 50-per-cent interest in the National Post and 19 television licences including Global TV in Calgary.
Some issues Asper believes should be on the agenda include a Triple-E Senate, free votes in Parliament, constitutionally protected property rights, and a taxpayers’ bill of rights.
He noted CanWest’s critics are mistaken if they believe all the Aspers support the federal Liberals based on his father Izzy’s leadership of the Manitoba Liberal party in the 1970s. “It might surprise those critics to know that we have political diversity within our family” he said, adding the family has also provided significant financial support to the provincial Progressive Conservative and federal Alliance parties, while he sits on the board of the Fraser Institute.
Meanwhile, Asper said CanWest has undertaken a tremendous challenge in the past 18 months as it acquired Southam and grew into a multimedia company with 10,000 employees.
“As you can imagine, all of this has imposed monstrous pressure on our organization,” he noted.
CanWest is currently involved in license renewal hearings before the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, which is considering imposing regulations on companies that own same-market TV stations and newspapers. Asper said audience numbers in both media markets have become fragmented and advertisers are looking for a more cost-effective way of getting out their message.
“Rather than standing on the sidelines fatalistically, we decide a multi-media based reaggregation of audiences and readership was the best way to approach the problem.”
He vowed his family won’t shy away from having an active voice in their newspaper holdings, adding he was amazed at the media feeding frenzy which erupted after he wrote a column advocating more balance in the coverage of the so-called “Shawinigate” affair.
He noted newspaper proprietors have traditionally influenced and participated in the content of their papers.
“There’s nothing wrong with this, and I’m proud we’re going to carry on that tradition.”
