A Political Economy of Canadian Broadcasting
A Political Economy of Canadian Broadcasting
Public Good versus Private Profit
A Political Economy of Canadian Broadcasting takes readers from the days of the telegraph to the current digital age, examining the role of public broadcasting in anglophone Canada in the wider context of regulation, private capital, and foreign programming. This comprehensive history spans over a hundred years, from the 1920s to the present, encompassing the establishment of CBC Radio/Radio-Canada, the emergence of television broadcasting, updates to the Broadcasting Act, the mandate of the CRTC, and the most recent discussion of what a service dedicated to Canadian culture might mean amid today’s panoply of streaming options.
Situated in Canada’s broader economic history, David Skinner’s account ably demonstrates how broadcast regulation has been derived from a set of historical relationships between the Canadian state and private capital, and that this has tended to sideline its social goals. The book concludes with suggestions for enhancing the public elements of the broadcasting system and encouraging the creation of programming that reflects Canadians to themselves.
Coming on the heels of the first major reform to Canada’s broadcast legislation in three decades, A Political Economy of Canadian Broadcasting makes a timely contribution to media studies and highlights the key position of public broadcasting in Canada’s media system.
A Political Economy of Canadian Broadcasting is key reading for policy makers and scholars of communications, political science, and Canadian studies.
David Skinner’s scholarship is impeccable. His research presents a seamless fusion of ideas and perspectives from a very wide range of disciplines, brought to bear on the Canadian broadcasting policy context. As we face the current moment of technological and cultural upheaval with the rise of global digital media and online streaming services, it is an especially compelling and influential book.
What distinguishes A Political Economy of Canadian Broadcasting in its field is its emphasis on the institutional structure of regulation and the impact this has had on the content available in the Canadian media system. The book draws a direct line from the telegraph to the digital age, placing mass media in Canada’s wider economic context.
David Skinner is an associate professor in the Department of Communication and Media Studies at York University. He has been involved with the media reform movement in Canada for over twenty-five years. He has published numerous articles and book chapters in the field, and has co-edited two books on the subject, Alternative Media in Canada and Converging Media, Diverging Politics.
Introduction
1 The Development Context of Canadian Communications Policy: The Economy, the State, and the Regulatory Tradition
2 Market, State, Culture: From Telegraphs to Broadcasting
3 The CRBC and the Making of the National Radio Broadcasting System
4 The CBC and the Entrenchment of Canadian Broadcasting
5 Television and Early Postwar Canadian Broadcasting Policy
6 The Emergence of the Dual System
7 The Capitalization of Canadian Communication and Culture
8 The Rise of the Transactional Audience
9 Plus ça change
Conclusion
Notes; Works Cited; Index
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