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Finding Scholarship grants with regard to High School Students is a post from: The Glaring Facts

1. Uses Canada and Canadian issues to structure its story on the music industry; Platinum, the company, resembles Canada in its make-up and struggles with a bigger, richer competitor
2. Demonstrates options open to Canadian culture; co-operation with cross-border influences (Jessica); resistance (Ophelia); hybrid (action boy); also shows how English Canada so often overlooks our successful Canadian culture found in Quebec.
3. Canada has myths that we can use to tell identifiably Canadian stories, and to address Canadian concerns; at the cultural level, the need to have a Jessica to make money to sustain our own culture—echoed in our readings, and in Bruce McDonald’s own story as a director who makes TV shows and commercials to support himself, in order to make independent Canadian films.
4. Canadian myths include: nation’s founding, multiculturalism, federalism, language disputes, religion, our relationship to the US and global marketplace—all are used to frame this contemporary story. But where do our myths come from? What is the role of popular culture in their formation?
5. Peter Harcourt: “one of the most extraordinary features of writing about Canada is its recurring nostalgia for a rural past that has never actually existed. There is a yearning for the pastoral, which seems incongruously inappropriate both for the severity of our climate and the harshness of our terrain.

Do you want to see the full lecture notes from my professor? Click here!

Platinum, Canadian Stereotypes Examined is a post from: The Glaring Facts

• Uses different types of structures: traditional journalism, satire, editorial, documentary
• Goes from light-hearted approach to real and serious approaches to public affairs – because of this regarded as unique – not the norm
• Creates an unsettling affect on the viewer – makes us more alert and aware, more active and engaged –> Reveals the processes behind the news
• Intention of the show: for us to be more politically aware and engaged and hopefully more politically active
• We saw letters from viewers, audience, comments, and man on the street interviews
• All of this reflects a 1960s consciousness/rebelliousness
• Show uses juxtaposition, editorial and satire

Wojeck – Toronto as a space through which national identity and citizenship can be imagined and managed

• Very important because so popular and also because it was so innovative and original and tackled issues of importance in a gritty way
• Based on real coroner in Toronto – the real man had a talk show on City TV -> Storylines often taken from headlines
• Critics often talk about Direct Cinema approach (type of documentary), part of this use of hand held cameras, use of awkward framing, use of improvisation, location shooting, and generally realistic gritty feel –> Doesn’t adhere to standard narrative formula
• References to Canada and setting –> Different attitude towards the cop genre –> Style, Character, Narrative
• Use of handheld cameras, awkward shooting improvisation, location shootingà“Inspired by true events” –> NFB Documentary Style –> ETHICAL – to educate viewers, use TV as a social tool and guide audience to ethical debates that were going on

King of Kensington

• Shaped by multicultural policy and national unity crisis
• English Canada’s first successful sitcom
• Kensington mecca of multiculturalism in TO –> Show had multicultural characters – rare for TV at the time –> Reflected the country back to itself
• Turn towards relevance àFramed issues of Canadian politics
• Shaped by discourses surrounding it, shaped by political and multicultural discourses

Little Mosque on the Prairie

• Follows a culture clash narrative –> Location is not very multicultural – small prairie town with only one mosque
• Tackling post 9/11 issues – media worried that sitcom was a bad idea and worried it would promote negative stereotypes
• Complication of simply Us vs. Them conflict –> Works to demystify Muslim culture
• Incorporates themes of community –> General bridge over differences

Road to Avonlea

• Produced in partnership between Sullivan Entertainment and Disney
• Aired on the CBC in Canada and on the Disney Family Channel in the US
• One of the most successful television series ever produced in Canada – huge success… attempt to continue the success of Anne of Green Gables
• Discussed as a distinctly Canadian story and a national treasure – based on books by Lucy Maude Montgomery
• Took place in PEI – overtly and authentically Canadian
• Avonlea is shown as a middle class protestant family characterized by innocent values
• On Disney – it was not played as Canadian – downplayed the Canadian aspects and framed it instead as a wholesome family show that treasures the values of the past
• Road to Avonlea attracts a large viewership in part because it confirms the desires of an audience that expects the historical moment to be uniformly conservative, sexually repressive and morally monolithic
• Innocence in Disney’s world becomes the ideological vehicle, through which history is both rewritten and purged of its seamy side thereby producing a series of identifications that relentlessly define America as white a middle class –> Road to Avonlea strives to eliminate any religious or cultural tension

Night Heat

• Night Heat is an example of this Industrial television
• An industrial mode of production leads to an industrial type of commodity that leads to this lack of signifiers
• Attempt to reproduce American forms (generic genres)
• Night Heat took slack for becoming American TV – people were upset by this shift in Canadian TV
• Criticized for being violent (like American shows) – using violence to entertain (especially violence towards women)
• While Night Heat utilizes strategies of concealment of place, it also conforms to notions of placelessness both in terms of the locations used and in relation to issues of perspective
• Night Heat presents the city at night as a symbol of urban chaos, where men at work to quell disorder and execute justice. It is a place of action where the presence of people on the city streets signals suspicion and prompts pursuit
• Night Heat’s use of the aesthetics of placelessness and its focus on standardized city spaces appears to be the culmination of the impact of globalization

ENG (Electronic News Gathering)

• Looks at journalists and the different ethical debates that arise around news gathering
• Conforms to mainstream esthetics of television
• Obvious influence of melodrama – dramatic music like in soap operas during contemplation of decisions, emotional discussions, etc
• Documentary realism also present – Leach identifies a particularly Canadian quality about the way the program brings together documentary tradition – a combining of documentary and fiction (a very Canadian strategy) – we see in the clip the live filming mixed in with the dramatic storyline
• Social responsibility is also connected Canadian television – the ethical demands of the news gathering – asks the questions: what role does journalism have in current events, how involved should journalists get?

Traders

• Good example of show that balances economic pressures and social concerns
• Adopts US style and adapts them to Canadian television –> Uses mobile camera style (just like NYPD Blues)
• Situates issues around business in a specifically Canadian context – uses Canadian institutions, laws, dates, etc
• Traders raised ethical questions about the profession

The Boys of St. Vincent

• Docu-drama: inspired by real events, but fictionalized account of sexual abuse
• Violates central genre characteristics
• These violation contribute to particular style and ideological stance
• Not possible on American TV
• Genres operate differently in different national contexts
• Unlike US telefeatures Boys does not have a hero –> The coolness of tone with respect to both of the film’s main characters may also be attributable to the film’s documentary quality
• Boys is nothing if not a thorough critique of middle-class, patriarchic capitalism in its most brutalizing form, and interestingly Smith shows that both the boys and the priests are all victims of this system, that in fact this kind of behaviour is institutionalized and even traditional
• Heroic narratives typically reassure our societal values – we are left with a sense of “everything is okay”
• In leaving this film open, it doesn’t provide that sense of uplift in the end – but in stead asks us to continue to question the institutions that are involved in the problem

Degrassi High

• The show had qualities of authenticity:
• Non-professional actors – ordinary kids drawn from the neighbourhood, a diverse cast to reflect the diversity of Riverdale (TO neighourhood)
• Repertory approach – focused on a group of kids instead of one or two stars – it was about a bunch of stories about a bunch of kids – one kid could be a star in one episode and then not even be in another
• Within the ensemble – there were more than fifty kids involved in the Degrassi ensemble
• This has changed as the series has developed –> The style of acting
• They were unpolished in their approaches – they were honest in their approaches because they were ultimately just playing themselves
• While it sometimes looks stilted, that is what has been hailed as realistic –> Location shooting
• The actual school, actual streets, real homes – it contributes to the idea that it had a gritty aesthetic that evokes a sense of authenticity –> Rejects a stylized orientation in favour of a more gritty approach

Straight Up

• Praised for treatment of youth culture
• Daring program that provided a “more authentic” picture of youth culture – better than Degrassi
• It set itself up against Degrassi and avoided some of the Degrassi tactics
• Featured on the cover of most TV magazines – very well publicized as raw, shocking and powerful
• Used documentary techniques – handheld camera, jumpy scenes, riding around in the cars
• Breaks to cinematic once in a while – use of brightness and colour, use of dissolves between images – use of dissonant sound
• Not an issue-oriented series – not topical, did not take up timely social issues like Degrassi – no educational tone – no clear moral messages like Degrassi –> Rejects the Degrassi formula
• Seeks to capture the mood of the characters to get inside their heads
• Shows what it feels like to be a teen – confused, angry –> This show is about expressing that emotional state

Canadian Television Screenings is a post from: The Glaring Facts

Yet another slight copycat from American sitcoms. It’s an interesting show, however. It’s in a rural setting most of the time and pretty much away from urban influence. I think this show has good standing as a season in progress because of its relationship to Canadians. Corner gas also makes good use of Canadian stereotypes that are the heart of the Canadian identity, sadly.

Also, Americans watching this show digest all sorts of assumptions about Canadians, especially that “eh?”. This comedy is somewhat a copycat of other American comedy such as Seinfeld through the use of dry humour. Much like Seinfeld, this show is about nothing. This show doesn’t has any logical coherence to it. It’s popular because of its random connections with alcohol and grocery shopping.

Canadians identify well with this show because of the connotations and Canadian references constantly played back and forth. Also, the title of the show is as random as the narration and dialogue. In this way, Corner Gas can mimic other successful comedy shows, I guess.

Corner Gas is a post from: The Glaring Facts

Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)

Foreign content in Canadian television is deeply rooted in the Canadian culture. The media industry continues to grow as technological advances increase.Because of the impact technology has on the media industry, the steady increase in individual choice becomes reminiscent of technological advancements.As technology increases, foreign content increases and the likelihood for consumer demand for specialty channels escalates. Consequently, consumer demand for Canadian content gradually declines in appeal due to competition from various other networks and their affiliations with other stations in producing highly demanded screenings of drama, science-fiction, sports events, and so on. The rate at which information disseminates has doubled since previous decades, hence, contributing to more “cultural choice” (Macleans, 42) as stated by Steve Maich of Macleans magazine. Canada’s media industry, through the watchful eye of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), remains a battlefield for both foreign and Canadian content broadcasters. The CRTC ensures that the public receives enough Canadian content as opposed to foreign content, and it is under their jurisdiction to control Canada’s airwaves. To properly analyze this impact, it is important to describe what defines Canadian content, foreign content, and what controls Canada’s airwaves–the CRTC.

In Canada, television is a competitive media. Typically, Canadian content is:

currently defined in terms of the weighted sum of the citizenship of those performing key functions in program production and the percentage of expenditures on services provided by Canadians…Sports events, for example, qualify as Canadian if the broadcaster is produced by Canadians and broadcast by Canadians. If the sports event occurs abroad either a team involved must represent a Canadian city or Canadian athletes must participate (Acheson & Maule, 285).

CRTC Policies Overview

Acheson and Maule take an economic viewpoint when defining Canadian content. They believe that Canadian content derives from Canadians who have taken the responsibility of investment and expending resources. In order for broadcasters to satisfy an idealistic view of Canadian content television, they must satisfy CRTC regulations: For instance, the CRTC, on their website, states:

The CRTC will certify programs as Canadian if they meet the following criteria:

• the producer is Canadian;
• key creative personnel are Canadian;
• 75% of service costs and post-production lab costs are paid to Canadians.

Air-time for Canadian programs

• private television stations and networks (e.g. CTV, Global, TVA) and ethnic TV stations must achieve a yearly Canadian content level of:
  • 60% overall, measured during the day — i.e. 6AM and midnight;
  • 50%, measured during the evening broadcast period — i.e. between 6PM and midnight (www.crtc.gc.ca)

CRTC approval

The CRTC exercises specific regulatory procedures Canadian and foreign content broadcasters must satisfy in order to qualify as Canadian material. Moreover, they must also satisfy a point system in which the CRTC rates Canadian content. Obviously, the higher the ratings th better and the longer the hours of that specific broadcast episode, the greater the points. The Province–a British Columbia newspaper–stated that, “The CRTC requires from broadcasters a certain number of hours of Canadian programming of various types as a condition of license” (The Province, A27). However, the differences in content reflect different regulations the CRTC exercises. Acheson and Maule state that classifying different types of programs are sometimes difficult and require extensive analyses and that classification is not merely black or white but shades of grey (286).  Canadian content is heavily supervised by the CRTC, which basically promotes Canadian culture; however, foreign content grows increasingly difficult to regulate and maintain as a result of technological advancements.

The Impact of Foreign TV on Canadian Broadcasting

As foreign content becomes readily available so does the prospective notion of the CRTC and their attempts to fend of illegal satellite systems increase. Hoskins and McFadyen state that:

Canadian television programmes have always faced strong competition from US programmes because of Canada’s geographical location, its largely common language, its mixed public/private broadcasting system, and the early spread of cable (173).

Considering Canada’s close relation with the US, the greater portion of foreign content comes from the USA. As much as the CRTC wants to exercise

Next Generation of Technological Advancements for CRTC to Consider

control over Canada’s airwaves, foreign ownership grows which clearly funds foreign content. St. John’s The Telegram published an article in their newspaper concerning Canadian content and discovered that Canadian content was in peril. In 2004, The Telegram stated that the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, the Communications, Energy and Paperworks Union, and the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists, “relaxing foreign ownership rules for the broadcast, cable and telecommunications industry could allow Canadian content to be washed away” (The Telegram B3). Moreover, foreign content broadcasters must adhere to the CRTC regulatory procedures as paraphrased by Acheson and Maule, “the CRTC has formally provided that the program’s producers can apply to obtain Canadian status” (286). If two broadcasters are working together on a program and one of them is Canadian, they satisfy the co-venture procedure whereby the Canadian partner must exercise, “no less than an equal measure of decision-making responsibility with other co-venture partners on all creative elements of the production” (Acheson & Maule 287) . In 2002, the Canadian Press NewsWire reported that “private television stations spent 60% of their revenues in the programming and production of Canadian and foreign content” (A4). Despite the policies of CRTC members to exercise on foreign content broadcasters, the Canadian Press NewsWire, situated in Toronto reported that:

the number of Canadians subscribing to digital TV service at the end of September 2004 totaled 4,450,600. That’s an increase in 24 per cent over June 2003 (A4).

The Canadian Press NewsWire also reported that:

the report [from the CRTC] showed that 46 per cent of viewers were on digital cable while 52 per cent got their TV through (DTH) satellite systems” (A4)

Evidently, I believe the growth of technological advancements remains advantageous to foreign content broadcasters and the unlimited choices viewers have is increasingly growing with the availability of other material besides Canadian content.

What is the CRTC? What do they do?

The CRTC, since 1928, have enacted much control over the past two decades. In their website, it was founded on the basis that they would create “policies to keep pace with changing technology” (Crtc.gc.ca). After the establishment of The Broadcasting Act in 1991, Lorimer and Gasher, authors of Mass communication in Canada, stated that “[The CRTC] administers the policies and provisions enunciated in The Broadcasting Act” (39). The CRTC basically monitors all forms of communications mediums such as television and radio. They regulate which broadcaster can go on air and which cannot. Their prime objective is to regulate foreign content as well as “ensure that all Canadians have access to a wide variety of high quality Canadian programming” (Crtc.gc.ca). The CRTC exercises regulatory procedures which encapsulates a majority of media-related influences. Since the last decade, the CRTC has been heavily criticized for, as an editorial from The Vancouver Sun noted, “[assuming] a role too close to censorship” (C6). This comes after the CRTC quickly acted upon their power to censor a Montreal radio station CHOI-FM. Despite the CRTC and their ability to control, foreign content continues to seep through into Canada’s airwaves. Vancouver’s The Province, in 2002, published an article concerning the CRTC and their management of foreign ownership rules, in which they reported “Foreign ownership restrictions on broadcasters and telecommunications firms pose no barriers to their growth and do not need to be changed” (A27). I believe that this is a very wrong statement because of the changing views and intersts of the global economy. Today, the CRTC remains firm in their decisions regarding foreign ownership, private broadcasting of foreign content, and foreign content procedures for their respective broadcasters. However, what concerns the CRTC regards its lack of ability to follow its pace with technological advancements. Steve Maich, of Macleans magazine states:

The CRTC knew there was no way to stop satellite radio–already five million Americans were signed up to receive the broadcasts for a monthly fee, and it was estimated that about 100,000 Canadians were illegally receiving the cross-border signals (Macleans 42)

Steve Maich argues that technological advancements have deterred the CRTC from their role in maintaining Canadian programming. Maich argues that,

The CRTC clings to its imaginary world of media protectionism, willfully blind to the reality that in a world where choice is unlimited, quality is the only protection for Canadian art. (Macleans 42)

Yet, despite growing technological advancements, Hoskins and McFadyen state that the CRTC exercise “another strategy [...] to entice broadcasters to exhibit Canadian programming by protecting them from competition” (77). Today, the CRTC takes gradual steps in keeping pace with technological advancements, yet the rate at which foreign content is produced through other mediums of communication grow; therefore, enhancing the likelihood that foreign content will increase, and thereby affecting Canadian television.

Conclusion

Foreign content, disseminated through the various outlets in the Canadian media industry, has had a substantial impact on Canadian culture. Foreign content broadcasters of television have also made an impact in Canadian television. Fully analyzing the Canadian television requires one to thoroughly examine Canadian content. Canadian content is regulated by the CRTC whose intentions are to promote Canadian programmes. This promotional tactic is done through content annual production and through a point system which objectifies the CRTC and their influence in broadcasting. Yet, the CRTC cannot exercise their influence beyond their current capacity. They cannot slow down the pace of technological advancements, which, as Maich states increasing “cultural choice” (Macleans 42). With regard to foreign content, the CRTC implement strategic procedures which influence foreign content broadcasters to attain Canadian status and follow co-venture policies, as stated above. Foreign content broadcasters are empowered to use the utilities of technology to rebound their airwaves sometimes illegally or sometimes privately. Moreover, due to the similarities in Canadian and American culture, sometimes foreign content becomes indistinguishable. Comparatively, as the US are Canada’s closes ally in countless affairs, the majority of foreign content arises from the US. However, the growth of technology has slowed down the CRTC and their influential potential in that the CRTC cannot monitor all outlets as easily as they had done in 1928, it is a battlefield for Canadian and foreign content broadcasters.

Foreign Influence in Canadian Television is a post from: The Glaring Facts

Canadian newspaper conglomerates appear intimidating to their employees and stress a single way for editors to publish information which reinforces how powerful conglomerates are. Similarly, newspaper conglomerates emphasize the need for economical and political benefits disregarding potentially misleading articles. The central concern regarding the power wielded by a newspaper giant is scarcely imaginable. Democratically, newspapers governed by a single source can have narrow interpretations. However, the transfer of information must come from various independent news medias to effectively continue a democratic state. For independent mediums to function properly, media domination must cease. The Davey Committee, opponents of newspaper monopolies, claimed that conglomerates suffered from a lack of press freedom and proposed corporate power abuse possibilities. After the Davey Committee, another arose called the Kent Commission. The Commission dealt with the quality of journalism and its link to newspaper monopolies. The participants were primarily concerned with the power of a newspaper conglomerates and the interference it may have upon the social duty of the press. Despite attempts to regulate the growing strength of newspaper monopolies, the ideas presented by both committees provide several possible angles for countless debates to come.

Not in the Newsroom… Free Expression and Media Concentration in Canada: The Case of CanWest Global

Considering the power of newspaper conglomerates, a typical example of such a display of power is evident in the CanWest Corporations case represented by two important arguments. One key argument is in regard to the importance of free speech and journalism ethics. The opposing argument is the greedy control possessed by corporate giants. CanWest, like any other newspaper conglomerate, owns: twenty-seven daily newspapers, 126 smaller publications, Global television network, fourteen big-city daily newspapers and countless others. The primary threat to governmental conduct is information edited to suit CanWest’s needs; for instance, if a journalist wrote something about the government that may appear offensive to CanWest’s reputation will be truncated or edited. Anything that would threaten CanWest would be dealt with instantly. However, CanWest has argued against these claims of inconsistencies with regard to the health of its business. Moreover, CanWest Corporations stated plainly that they do have power over their employees and would use any means necessary to reinforce them. On a positive note, freedom of speech has been recognized as an important case against newspaper conglomerates.

Newsworkers Unite: Convergence and Corporate Control

The first appearance of newspaper chain ownership came with the rise of ambitious publishers. Tracing the history to the roots of cross-ownership, these publishers developed into an enterprise that slowly grew accepting of newspaper ownership fundamentals. The 1960s showed a rise of chain ownership in both Canada and America, developing a symbiotic relation between the two neighboring countries. Ever since the rise of chain ownership the Davey Committee fought the resistance. However, owners of newspaper chains justified the centralized papers they owned by claiming that they were mutually aiding society’s knowledge and further emphasized that these gaps were caused by the lack of understanding. As a result the chains argued to the strength and centralized paper they owned. After the fall of the Davey Committee, the Kent Commission waged another resistance. The early developments of newspaper conglomerates began with the profiteering venture associated with chain ownerships. The rise of newspaper conglomerates dominated local papers and had therefore lost many of its desirable elements separating it from others. The idealistic venture from individually and locally owned newspapers to chains or then to conglomerates marks the turning point from quality to profit.

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Canadian Newspaper Ownership and Convergence is a post from: The Glaring Facts

I work at a call center called NuCOMM International. It is bent on trying to rule the world by means of servicing huge clients such as “Comcast” and “Cogeco” and “Brighthouse” and The Devil. This workplace is marked by rows and rows of endless paths and zigzags of aisles leading to cubicles that make you want to commit suicide. This is how it serves The Devil. Beyond these aisles, clear distinctions are made between which obese person has a particular cubicle and someone who has another one. Obesity runs rampant and uncontrolled in this workplace, so if someone is ever to understand this culture, they are easily integrated if they are obese rather than if they are slim. Sadly, obesity is a workplace Canadianism here. Not that obesity isn’t enough of a problem already, snacking on Lays and other despicable brands such as CocaCola too is a problem since it supports Zionist extremism. These brand names are also a workplace Canadianism in that it supports the expansion of other empires.

Canadians are great at helping others and these brands allow them the ability to assist better. Before this starts to turn into a rant about a Jewish Trust Fund (a fund that seems to have an unlimited amount of money…), let’s get back to the ideas of workplace Canadianisms. This workplace is marked by a lot of signs of Canadian attributes. For example, there are a lot of pictures of money and beavers. I haven’t got a clue why beavers and money describe NuCOMM International the best, but I guess it works as a Canadianism here. Also, the Canadian flag is all over the place. It is supposed to mark a moment of remembrance, especially during Rememberance Day, of course. Also, there seems to be this precarious association between business and trophies. For NuCOMM, their trophies are in the form of frames because NuCOMM is cheap. These trophies have a lot of Canadian leafs.

Furthermore, there are pictures of the Toronto Maple Leafs. People constantly wear the Leafs hats and jerseys. Because I hate the Leafs, I always wear Ottawa hats and make them furious of me. The rivalry is really unnecessary between these two hockey teams. Ottawa is the capital city, Toronto isn’t! Why are Torontonians crying about it like children who just came out of a mental daycare institution? And, if you’re a Toronto fan, remember that Toronto’s last Stanley Cup victory was in 1967—it’s been like 40 years now and they still haven’t won. At the end of the day, the Ottawa Senator jersey looks much better.

Workplace Canadianisms is a post from: The Glaring Facts

One thing that I’ve always never understood is Canadian Idol. It ceases to make any logical sense.

Why is there such hype for this capitalist exploitation of talent?

From my understanding, Canada is desperate for recognition and this is the best way it can do it. Through the imitation of America’s cultural industry, Canada really loses its place in authenticity. Television is a medium that is shallow in its representation of character and identity. Once this televisual apparatus denigrates the identities of individuals through programs like Canadian Idol, there’s a strange two-dimensional look to their character.

Canadian Idol seeks to turn performers into fast quick-cut collages of humour and ridicule. For example, when the performer takes the ridicule of bad jokes from beyond the stage and expresses it like an idiot on national television, the comedy of his/her rejection is clearly evident. We all laugh at them when they cry. It’s what the program is designed to do.  There’s really nothing entertaining about this particular broadcast. Moreover, is talent really on the way to being consumed and commodified? Canadian Idol appears to be the heart of talent in all of Canada.

Canadians are relentless in their pursuit of acceptance from Canadian idol judges. I know there are some really horrible singers and they ought to be ridiculed for even showing up on Canadian Idol, but couldn’t they just get rid of them before the audition? But I guess there’s got to be some entertainment involved. It certainly isn’t worth it if the people singing and dancing are ridiculed, is that what Canada is left to do with its time? Couldn’t Canadian popular culture make changes to its systems of influence and target other more poignant popular culture icons and traits to further their influence around the world?

Canadian Idol is a post from: The Glaring Facts

Media Bias, What It Really Looks Like

Sun News Network Briefing

I had read plenty about the news channel about to descend upon Canada’s television sets. Dubbed the Sun News Network, it aims to provide a “new” voice to the national media landscape. Many had decried the station before it came to air; there was even a Facebook petition to prevent the CRTC from allowing it to air. Critics of “Fox News North” instantly pointed toward the biased tendencies that the network was sure to exhibit. It would reinforce the same conservative rhetoric approved by the present Harper government, they say. Looking at the introductory teaser (see below) certainly justifies these complaints, and I can sense the preaching-to-the-choir bias that will surely rear its ugly head. However, that’s no reason to halt its broadcast.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwN0gOXWxnM[/youtube]

I doubt I’ll be a fan of Sun News anytime soon. However, what the criticism of bias fails to address is this: there is bias in all media. Be it CBC, CTV, CNN or, yes, Sun News, leaning toward a certain ideology is the expectation, regardless of how slight the lean is. Of course, the slant is hard to make out once you’re in agreement.

The Issue of News Media Bias

This brings us to another issue of the discourse of politics. The brand new network could incite a different angle on various issues, even if that angle is meant to infuriate liberal-minded individuals like me. The act of frustration toward Sun News indicates the attention it seeks. And just as detractors can give it attention, they can also do the opposite. It’s been said often that if you do not like what is on the screen, just pick up the remote and change channels. Sounds simple, no?

My next point comes from a technological standpoint; as people move toward the online world, basic cable makes less sense. More people are turning to the Internet to obtain their information. In the same manner as print and music, media giants such as Sun News owner Quebecor must learn to repurpose television to keep up with current standards.

Therefore, I say to Quebecor: go ahead, put the Sun News Network on air. Just don’t expect me to be unhealthily immersed in it.

In Defense of Sun News Network (Sort Of) is a post from: The Glaring Facts

• Canadians were watching American TV before Canadian TV existed
• Other American media perceived as “not as dangerous” as television
• To address concerns the government created the Massey Commission (Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters, and Sciences)
• Said American TV served commercial interests, not our “national needs”
• Canadian TV was to be public and a ‘valuable tool for national unity, education and entertainment’
• 1952 – 1960: Dominance of the CBC
• Canadian TV and American TV began with different backgrounds (US had money in radio and Hollywood, Canada had the CBC)
• CBC television was the first Canadian TV – focus on news, documentary, and public affairs; sports programming; children’s programming (all three are still strengths of the CBC and Canadian TV today)
• CBC originally intended to have sole TV broadcast in Canada, but cost too high
• First private TV were private rebroadcast of CBC signals
• Lack of production companies in Canada meant most of Canadian was made by CBC employees
• Because of this CBC shows all had same style: clear, deliberate, expository with an emphasis on the didactic and documentary
• John Diefenbaker took away CBC right to deny private broadcasting opportunities by creating the BBG (Board of Broadcast Generals)
• First private network was CTV – friendly with the Conservative party

1961 – 1968: From BBG to CRTC

• Canadian programs often produced at a financial loss (small ad revenue)
• Not the case for American programs because of huge advertising revenue
• Solution: Canadian networks buy US shows for fraction of production cost and have a net gain
• Traditionally that net gain is reinvested into the production of Canadian content
• Tendency to create least expensive Canadian content and to air them at least lucrative times (not during primetime)
• CTV eventually surpassed CBC
• CTV Can-con: CTV News, Canada AM, W5, Wide World of Sports, Olympics, Romper Room – same areas of expertise as the CBC
• 1968 = end of BBG and intro to CRTC
• CRTC has the ability to: license individual stations, networks, cable companies, specialty channels, and satellite operators
• Big CRTC decisions: 1.    1970 imposition of Cancon quotas –> 2.    Created framework for development of cable TV
• Canadian Content: Solution or Problem
• Canadians prefer American TV – so by restricting their access are we making it more desirable?
• Cancon usually quick and cheap
• Canada has low promo budget and no star system

1968 – 1983: Consolidation

• Consumers wanted more American TV – lead to development of Canadian specialty channels
• Very few large-scale cable operators
• CRTC introduced ‘managed choice’: services it deemed appropriate were distributed by cable operators:1) To satisfy operators want for new services; 2) In hopes of meeting consumer demands
• First Canadian specialty channels: movie channels; First Choice, Alberta Superchannel, Ontario Superchannel, Star Channel, TVEC
• 1970’s brought new private broadcaster: Canwest Global

1983 – 1993: Rise of Independent Production

• 1983 Telefilm Canada created to fund Cancon production
• New companies included: Alliance Atlantis Communications, Nelvana, Cinar and Corus Entertainment
• Canadian production companies did co-productions because of the cost
• Canada is among the worlds leading co-producers
• Production companies also recuperate costs through tax credits by adhering to MAPL
• 80s and 90s, specialty channels continued to grow
• Late 2000, CRTC licensed 200+ specialty digital channels
• Satellite TV and the internet make it easy and affordable to get hundreds of channels, leaves traditional networks and providers worried about not keeping up

1993 – 2001: The Impact of Digital Technology

• Digital technology is transmitted over air, via the Internet, via microwave, and by DBS (Direct Broadcast Signal)
• CRTC created DTH (Direct to Home) policy that would block American satellite signals
• A DBS policy by the CRTC created satellite market saturated by two companies: Bell Expressvu and Starchoice
• 1990s saw convergence and fragmentation trends
• Convergence in Canadian Television
• In all of the major mergers, those who own the means of delivery are acquiring the content and content providers
• Old media do not disappear in the wake of the new
• Convergence: Technology in the Service of Profit
• Many companies with expectation that Internet equals high quality TV soon
• Some believe that the Internet will not dominate because of new TV technology like HDTV
• Some media companies achieve many types of synergies Ex: Rogers bought the Blue jays
• Fragmentation
• Promoted as increasing the personalization of media
• Personal Video Recorders (PVR) like Tivo, Replay TV, will record everything that matches your preferences
• Canadian Content Issues
• Canadian production often note very Canadian (Nikita, Earth Final Conflict)
• Successful Canadian programs come from successful genres: Cop shows, lawyer shows, and mysteries
• Not a lot of reality TV because of legal restrictions – only one was Popstars
• What Constitutes Canadian Television
• Often it is sports; the cornerstone of the English schedule: 1) Hockey Night in Canada, 2) The Olympics, 3) TSN
• Music programming: Muchmusic – the nations music station
• Much More Music, Much Loud, Much Vibe, Much USA
• City TV: A New Cultural Sensibility?
• Predicts FashionTV and QueerTV will become specialty channels (they did)
• City TV exports to Brazil and Finland

Conclusion

• Increasingly powerful global companies does not mean the loss of ‘local’

Canadian Television: An Introduction is a post from: The Glaring Facts