Despite recently pulling out of three national associations, Quebecor apparently has no plans to pull its Bowes Newspaper division out of the Canadian Community Newspaper Association (CCNA) or any regional community newspaper associations.
In an apparent move to review its relationship with media associations, Quebecor has announced it will pull out of three national associations: its Sun Media division will pull out of the Canadian Newspaper Association (CNA) and its cable division Le Group Videotron will pull out of the Cable Television Standards Council (CTSC) and the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA).
Videotron spokesman Jean-Paul Galarneau told Canadian Press that the cable company is also negotiating to reduce its fees with CPAC, the parliamentary channel.
In a conversation with Sun MediaÔÇÖs Chief Operating Officer William Dempsey, CCNA First Vice President Jim Cumming, Fort Frances (ON) Times, learned that Sun Media has not discussed membership in CCNA or or any regional community newspaper associations and has no plans to do so.
Bowes Publishers Limited, which is a division of Sun Media, owns 127 community newspapers in Canada, 69 of which are members of CCNA.
Cumming said Dempsey stated that regional ad sales, regional training and national projects such as ComBase make CCNA an attractive association.
ÔÇ£This just proves that we must be vigilant in engaging the larger media corporations and providing them with services that they can find value in,ÔÇØ said Cumming.
The CNA is a non-profit trade and lobby organization for daily newspapers. The CTSC is an independent organization established by the Canadian cable television industry to administer Standards, Codes and Guidelines for the industry. The CCTA is a professional association of cable companies.
Reports in the National Post estimate Quebecor will save about $400,000 annually in membership fees by leaving the CAN, about $100,000 annually in membership fees by leaving the CTSC and about $1 million annually in membership fees by leaving the CCTA.