Telefilm performance satisfies industry, but key improvements needed, says report

New media companies are generally more satisfied than their film and television counterparts in their dealings with Telefilm Canada, a new report reveals. Telefilm’s recently published Client Satisfaction and Needs Identification Study indicates that new media respondents to a March 2002 survey scored the agency higher on overall satisfaction than the other two sectors, but the industry otherwise shared roughly the same opinion of Telefilm’s performance in several key areas. In the study, done by Omnia Communications Inc. and POLLARA Inc., communications issues topped the list of areas where respondents said changes are needed, including staying in touch with industry players and trends, and greater fairness, equity and transparency in Telefilm’s dealings with applicants. Overall, on a scale of 1-10, Telefilm clients gave the agency a 6.95. Broken down, new media respondents gave the agency a 7.29 – the only area, according to officials, where the sector diverged significantly from film and TV counterparts. New media companies and individuals made up 21% of the overall pool of 238 survey respondents. In an appendix to the report, obtained by Canadian NEW MEDIA, only passing references were made in live focus groups to Telefilm’s new media mandate. During focus group testing, new media related participant comments included the following: "They have worked hard to understand the New Media sector and have worked to evolve the sector." "There’s a need for a New Media office in Halifax." "On the new media side, the decision making process seems fair. But there’s a huge inequality on the film side, which favours large companies." "New programs are needed in New Media." As a whole, though, Telefilm’s clients – selected for the survey according to having applied for or received funding aid – had several sharp criticisms for the agency, including the accusation of bias in its funding decisions toward large companies and poor communications with clients. The survey also blasted Telefilm for application procedures deemed too onerous and complicated. For example, many survey respondents felt that Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. receives a disproportionate share of Telefilm funds, and that funding decisions are skewed toward clients who already have a relationship with the body. In contrast to the many criticisms of how Telefilm’s programs are working, however, there was also a clear indication that respondents felt that Telefilm staff are competent and do their jobs well. In a speech at the Banff Television Festival June 12, Telefilm executive director Richard Stursberg told attendees: "Overall you said you were moderately to somewhat satisfied with us as an organization. While this may sound acceptable, it really is not. If we were a commercial organization, you would be abandoning us to our competitors in droves…" To respond to concerns, Stursberg says Telefilm will undergo a massive restructuring to change its decentralized structure. From now on, regional directors will report directly to the executive director and be responsible for national standards in a particular sector for each of the regions, ensuring decisions are based on unified criteria. Ralph Holt has been given responsibility for new media. A new position has also been created – director of media, which will be filled by Elisabeth Friesen. Regional directors will report to her on policy matters. Further, the agency will draw a sharper distinction between operational and policy matters which, it is hoped, will encourage consistency in decisions as well as make Telefilm more sensitive to industry change. Telefilm has also promised a customer service charter outlining clients’ rights after a series of consultations.

Telefilm performance satisfies industry, but key improvements needed, says report

Broadcast | June 26, 2002

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