Public Broadcasting

Defined to mean publicly-

owned, independent TV and
Radio
Historically, prevalent in all
countries except US until the
80s
Politics, Broadcasting and the
CBC
 Identity Defined
 Canadian Political Culture and Canadian
Values
 The Cultural Industries and Canadian
identity
 Origins of broadcast regulation
 The CBC Story
 Arguments for and against the CBC
The Search for Identity
 Early history of media associates cultural
industries with Nationalism
 Most regimes have strongly nationalistic or
nationally oriented and local media
content and systems
 Through the media, like education,
citizens build self, social and political
identities
Identity
 In group or out group
 Defines me versus them
 Us versus them
 What is the same: sameness, oneness
 What is different: ‘othering’
 Favouritism of one’s own group: ethnocentrism
 Prejudice against other groups: racism
Layers of Identity
Self Identity
Social Identity

Political Identity
Self Identity
 Your life history
 Explains why you do something, who you
want to be, and what to do about advancing
your interests
 May be personal style, personal peer and
family identity ( notion of primary group)
 Commercial systems good at delivering
consumer identity menus
Social Identity
 Associated with the rights,obligations and
sanctions you enjoy in your social roles
 Usual markers are age, sex, race ( immutable
social markers)
 Primordial realms: immediate community of
work or living
 Increasingly involving social causes/missions
 Media are resources in finding social identities:
role assimilation—some systems recognize this
and compel private broadcasters to monitor
guidelines for social portrayal
National Political Identity
 Deutsch:
 A nation must interact more often internally
than externally to remain politically cohesive
 Media flows should promote national ID
 Contribute to the sharing of basic values and
beliefs ( cognitive and rational)
 A Sense of Attachment to Place( emotional)
Media and Political Identity
 Central to political socialization ( learning to be a
citizen)
 Convey information about basic citizen’s rights
and responsibilities
 Transmit /Promote basic national symbols
 Create climate of political trust/alienation:
political and consumer confidence in the
economy, in foreign policy
 Now an arena where political controversy is
channelled: representative presence in media is
key to political enfranchisement
Media and Political Identity 2
 Most systems regulate election
broadcasting due to the importance to
political choice and identity building
 Only public broadcasting systems make
explicit the role in political identity
Nationalist Politics
 Nationalism/Chauvinism Defined
 Nationalism: devotion to one’s nation;
 Synonym: patriotism
 The doctrine that national interests are more
important than international interests
 The desire for or advocacy of national independence
or autonomy
 Chauvinism: excessive, narrow or jingoistic
patriotism
 Militant, unreasoning and unqualified devotion to
one’s country
 Fanatical devotion with contempt for others
Nationalism 2
 Focuses on the special/different/ history
 Tendency to seek ‘true’ ‘Aryan’ character: true
‘American’ or true ‘Canadian’ character may be
fascist in orientation ( essentialism is to be
distrusted)
 Nationalism/19th century tied identity to
mobilization of empire and mercantilism–
economic and political expansion
 Tendency to see ID as singular, homogenous,
stable and monolithic undercuts modern
immigrant reality and the political economy of
nationalism
Canadian National Identity
 Political Culture
 Political Communication
Political Culture
 Historical Fragment Theory
 Linguistic: Official History of Quebec and
the Rest of Canada
 Racial: aboriginal and then white; white
euro then other/people of colour
Myths about Canadian Cultural
Identity
 Defined against the US/ British or French
fragments
 Seen as ‘hybridized’, ‘hyphenated’: French
Canadian, English Canadian, Immigrant
Canadian, Aboriginal Canadian
 A Mosaic, not a melting pot
 Seen as ‘regionalized’– Western, Eastern or
central Canadian
 Increasingly seen not as bicultural but
multicultural
Other Defining Markers
 NOT American ( the ‘rant’)
 NOT nationalistic ( no anthem in schools)
 MORE deferential to authority (Garrison versus
Frontier mentality)
 MORE public enterprise culture (rail, universal
health care, education, CBC)
 GO BETWEEN: international peace-keeper,
trusted intermediary, history of land mines treaty:
kinder, gentler peoples
 Not Mono cultural: bilingual and multicultural(
mosaic versus melting pot)
Multiculturalism
 Defined as fact: 50% today claim non British
non-French ancestry; 12% visible minorities
 As Ideology: Multicultural Act, equality rights in
Charter: notion of inclusiveness, unity in
diversity; cultural differences not disparaged:
tolerance valued ( Hate criminalised)
 As Policy: Human Rights legislation, affirmative
action or equity rights in employment in public
agencies: funding of ethnic cultural practices;
celebrating diversity
 As Critical Discourse: criticised as bandaid
measure which keeps white majority dominant (
Dimensions of Cohesive Identity
 Sense of belongingness-isolation
 Inclusiveness-exclusiveness
 Participation-non-participation
 Recognition-rejection
 Legitimacy-illegitimacy
Theoretical Problem
 Assimilation or Diversity?
 Unity in Diversity?
 Community of Communities?
 What provides the ‘glue’ for a disparate
peoples? What provides to ‘code’ or
‘protocol’ for peaceful co-existence?
 The Media both reflect and produce this
‘glue’
Canadian Popular Culture
 National popular culture increasingly
mediated through a global one
 ‘ Mondo Canuck’: Rant
“Travelling Canadians”
 7-10% of students out of province
 Born out of province” 33% in ‘have’
provinces
 Other ‘connections’:
 Readership/media consumption
‘Canadian Values’
 Levels of attachment to Canada increasing
 Highest level of belonging in world values study
 Economic and cultural security the biggest predictors
of positive sense of belonging
 Except in Quebec:
 Strongest sense of belonging:
 Family (95%)
 Canada (81%)
 Community (74%)
 Ethnic Group (55%)
Values cont’d
Where belong first:
- Country
- Pride: unchanged in 15 years
- Cosmopolitan ID increasing: local decreasing
- Canadians support (70%) principles of
multiculturalism, even higher majority
supports Hate legislation
Canadian identity Cont’d
- Strongest in older, less secure anglophones
who mourn a past Canada
- Weaker among secure,younger and agile
portions of society
- Views on government interact with identity
- Elites attach more value to economic-
material factors in ‘conditional’ identity than do
general public ( checkbook nationalists)
Perceptions of National Identity
- World Values study
- Book entitled How Canadian Connect(1998)
- There is a distinct Canadian identity
- 47% agree
- 40% disagree– there is no majority view of an
“imagined Canadian community”
- Paradoxically, 83% agree Canadian culture is
something we can take pride in
Cultural Industries and Canadian
Identity
- Strong sense of awareness, pride and
attachment to: authors, popular musicians, local
news ,CBC radio etc
- Low awareness and cultural preference for
Canadian TV drama
- 2/3 of french viewing is to Canadian shows
- 1/3 of english viewing is to Canadian
- 12% of all entertainment
- 15 of top 20 shows all American
- English canada is the only TV market in the world where
local citizens do not prefer local product
Canadian vs. US TV Practices
 Watch 30% less TV
 5 times more likely to watch a public/non-
commercial broadcaster
 Higher tolerance for complex info
 Watch more news: less infotainment
 West wing/Law and Order:SVU high end US shows
 Watch Canadian first in
 News
 Sports
 Comedy
 Greater Participation: phone ins etc.
Broadcasting
- The preeminent cultural industry as
measured by leisure time ( 21 hours a
week– most after work)
- Now about 2 billion annually in revenues
- TV has become the most trusted news
source surpassing the newspaper
- By age of 12, children have spent more
time with TV than with school
The Broadcasting System
- - mixed: with public and private elements
- Competitive
- Highly regulated by the CRTC
- Which licenses and monitors
- Classic case of social responsibility model
The Broadcasting Act (1991)
- The Canadian Broadcasting System will
serve to safeguard enrich and strengthen
the cultural, political social and economic
fabric of Canada
- Each element will contribute to the creation
and presentation of Canadian programs
- Each.. Make Maximum use and no less than
predominant use of Canadian creative
resources
Rationale for Intervention
- Doctrine of national sovereignty(spectrum)
- Natural Monopoly ( spectrum)
- Market Failure
- History of spectrum chaos
- Other case of Market Failure
- Diseconomies of scale in certain productions
- 40% time spent with drama
- Average drama $1.2 mill US per
- US market recovers cost and can sell into Canada at
1/10th/1/20rth the cost
Canadian Content Quota
- Requires 60% overall and 50% CANCON in
prime time
- Quota is a Make Jobs program:
- Its definitions revolved around citizenship of the
writer, producer, technical crews etc. shooting the
series
- The Quota is not a qualitative one: requiring
distinctively creative stories
- That is why you get clones ( Peter Benchley’s
Amazon) qualifying for CanCon
Other Regulations
- Restrict foreign ownership
- Disallow spending on ads in US border media
- Simultaneous Substitution Rule to protect ad
revenues of private broadcasters
- ALL TO INCREASE ACCESS TO
CANADIAN ‘CHOICES’/ PRODUCT ON
SHELF SPACE
Development of the System
- 20 years ago, no viable private network
- Now 2 which have bought out newspapers
- Now viable TV production industry
- Now top 10 companies: Alliance Atlantis is
in top 20 worldwide
- Canada 2nd largest TV exporter after US
Track Record of TV in CANCON
- Internationally recognized news, sports
- Animation/sci fi and special effects
- Kids
- Documentaries and Docudrama
- Popular MOWs ( Anne of Avonlea,
Sheldon Kennedy Story)
Track Record Cont’d
- Still no Home Run series internationally (
CSI)
- Still no star system
- Domestically: DaVinci’s, Bob and Margaret
among the best
- But less than 12% of drama we watch is
Canadian ( versus 66% in most other
countries)
Do we Need the CBC?
- You Decide
Turn the tables and question
private broadcasters
- Strong in local news
- Resellers of US programs
- 5% of Global’s prime time audience is to Canadian
shows (eg. BCTV)
- Schedules set in New York by US networks
- Spend 400 m annually on US programming, 50 on
Canadian drama
- But eligible for over 500 million in subsidy and
protections
The Economic Problem
- Underdeveloped Ad Market
- TV ad revenues are 66% the size of their US
counterparts on a per capita basis
- Why? Overspill of US ads
- Underdevelopment of sectors of ads which are in
the public realm in Canada (health, education etc)
Economic Problem 2
- Global can go to Hollywood and buy rights to air
Friends in Canada, and pay 100 K or less per
episode
- But costs to produce a FRIENDS here would be
2 million per episode ( 10 to 20 times more)
- Why? Economies of scale in the US: US product
recovers most of its costs in the home market,
can afford to sell below cost in foreign countries
- Cheaper to import license than make
Economic Problem 3
- Increasingly concentrated in ownership
- Why protect BCE/CTV?
- System of deregulation and competition has
produced a more American, less unique
entertainment market
The CBC Story
- Created in 1932 by unanimous Act of
Parliament ( all parties)
- 5 provinces endorsed
- Became dominant news source WW2
- Still the largest single employer of
journalists in this country
- As measured by levels of trust, ratings on
quality on national news stories in polls
CBC Cultural Legacy: French
- -two solitudes in one institution
- Radio Canada integral to rise of Quebec
nationalism
- Subject of separatist witchhunts:
allegations of bias from Trudeau to
Chretien
CBC Legacy: English
- Rise of English nationalism: royalist
- Created national hockey culture
- Golden age 30s to 60s
- Commitment to “life of the Mind”
- Rise of political satire
CBC Trend setting Style
- Town halls
- No ads in news (less than 5% of TV content is
non-commercial)
- Pioneered “double enders”
- Broke: tainted blood controversy, Rwanda, only
network to cover 96 provincial election
- Stuffy? White bread? Against, what? Say, Tony
Parsons?
- Superb coverage of September 11: viewership
of news now on par with CTV in Toronto markets
Political Pressures on CBC
- This Hour Has 7 days
- Hot seat, first shock TV
- Valor and Horror
- Terry Milewski and APEC controversy
- Constant political scrutiny of editorial tampering
- Office of ombudsman: is political pressure more
transparent than in private sector?
- CBC, like private media, part of making power,
reality and history
- Newsworld: Counterspin and other innovations
“Successes”
- News
- This Hour has 22 minutes
- Hockey Night in Canada
- Canada: A People’s History
- Over 90% of programs are Canadian
- Has a 45% share of audiences looking for
Canadian drama in prime time
- CBC radio fans are most loyal
CBC Failures: Or Failing the
CBC?
- 1/3 government cutbacks since 95
- Local and regional news most cut
- Now among the lowest funded of public
broadcasters in the world ( except for PBS)
- Increasingly reliant on commercial revenue
- Half of all TV revenues
- Causes turn to sports, other low cost genres like
informational programming
- Now a “subsidized commercial broadcaster”
CBC Sins: Or Sins Against the
CBC
- Too culturally homogenous
- Not relevant for young audiences
- Online
- Drop the Beat/ Edgemont
- DNTO
- Counterspin
- Regional: deracinated
CBC And Democracy
- State and not a Public Broadcaster
- Appointments should be by Parliament
and not the PM
- Need Citizens’ advisory councils
- Need partnerships: campus radio,
community cable channels and ETV
- More responsive and open and innovative
Why Keep the CBC
- Only counterweight to media oligopolies
- An important democratic tool: an independent
news agency in competition with CanWest and
Vancouver Sun
- Just as important as education/other areas of
social policy
- Market cannot do what the CBC does, and CBC
should not do what the market can provide
- CBC most aggressive in internet interactive
portals: five years ahead of CTV/CanWest
Global
The People and the CBC
- Share is now around 6%: half that of CTV
- But reach is 80%
- Widespread reach across
age,gender,class and racial lines– but
latter not as good as could be
- Usage or time spent with CBC: 53%
spend an hour a week; 63% a half an hour
Public Opinion and the CBC
- The majority support keeping the CBC, even if
they do not watch it: for its ‘public good value’
- the struggle for democratic CBC continues
- Strongly influenced by:
- Libertarian versus social responsibility views of media
- Relative fear of covert political or economic
censorship as threat to media and democracy
- What should be the role of a “people’s network”?
Last Word from the Mandate Review
Committee ( that’s me)
- Canadian programming should be based on a profound
curiousity about things Canadian, as well as the rest of
the world. An understanding of the world, however,
starts with an understanding of ourselves, of those near
and dear to us, of our neighbours and compatriots. A
vast country like ours desperately needs a medium of
communication like CBC radio and television to enrich its
citizens– not only as individuals but also as members of
a community, a region, a province, a country. ( Mandate
Review Committee, Making Our Voices Heard, 1996: 43)
- What idea is missing?
The Cultural
Sovereignty/Imperialism Thesis
 assumes that a continuous flow of cultural
products from the US will “cultivate”
American views
 British study of students found high school
students believed they should be ‘read
their rights’ if arrested for marijuana
possession
 but Britain has no Constitution
Problems with the Imperialism
Thesis
 pretty primitive stimulus response model
 in essence, predicated on a passive mass
audience concept
 held that traditional cultures would fall
under modernization
 great ‘global village’ would emerge

 BUT
Problems 2
 it is found, in most countries OUTSIDE OF
ENGLISH CANADA, despite a marked popularity
of American popular TV and films, there is a
“cultural affinity’ for local, indigenous product
 that is, given a choice, European or Latin
American, or South Asian audiences prefer local
entertainment
 new centres of TV production surfacing: Britain,
Brazil, Calcutta
The Dilemma of the Democratic
Model
 Public, non-commercial broadcasting is
democratic if:
 it is accountable to Parliament
 it seeks to serve all of the people some of the time
 it allows the public to have a say in basic practices and
priorities in the provision of programming
 Eamon in Channels of Influence (1994) maintains:
 audience research should play a special role in a public
broadcasting organization
 the public, rather than the state or market, must be enabled
to determine the kind of services public tax money should
provide
Dilemma con’td
 Majid Tehranian:
 empowerment means the creation of
communicators rather than audiences cum
consumers or subjects; it demands, full, active
conmunicative citizenship (Eamon, xi)
Eamon's Tests of Reliable Public
Influence
 inputmust be regular
 those who participate must be representative

 each vote must count the same

 the matters under consideration must be

consequential and not trivial (Eamon, 6)
 Advisory councils or other representative
bodies are not sufficient
The Policy Problem
 the Canadian broadcasting system is based upon a
series of assumptions or contestable hypotheses
 contestable hypotheses:
 people want commercial mass entertainment
 given a choice, the people choose American cultural
products
 American domination of products has eroded Canadian
identity
 A Canadian star identity is now emerging...
 Canadian communication scholars know little about
how Canadian national identity is constructed in
meaning