The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is in danger of ceasing to exist. Unless the government steps up and provides funding for the CBC, that could be a real possibility and Canada will suffer because of it. There are far more positives than negatives that stem from the government providing funding for the CBC, positives that are deeply rooted in Canadian culture and society.
National Post letters editor Paul Russell asked readers if Canada still needs the CBC and, as his article shows, a clear majority of respondents said yes. Canadians care about the CBC, especially the Canadian content it provides, so its easy to image why Canadians want and need the CBC. Without it, there would hardly be any Canadian content on television. In a debate with Andrew Coyne on whether or not Canada still needs the CBC, CBC documentary programming director Mark Starowicz states that Canada needs "an honest player in the media universe to serve the specific needs of Canadians," and brings to light the discrepancy of Canadian content on CBC compared to other Canadian networks. Even with the CRTC rule that 50 per cent of prime time content has to be Canadian, the private networks air Canadian content around American shows so there will be minimal damage to their revenue. The CBC is by far and away the best option for Canadian content, and in order to fulfill the CRTC mandate, they need more money. As John Doyle of The Globe and Mail points out in his article, the CBC cannot meet the Broadcasting Act requirements unless the government provides them with proper funding. Where will Canadians get Canadian content from if the the CBC is no more? If the government doesn't provide funding for the CBC and decides to throw it out the window, expect local and national news, sports, music, and any other Canada-related story to go flying out with it.
The CBC caters to and puts Canadians first, and as Jennifer Blastorah of the Huffington Post says in her article, public broadcasters "exist to serve the public as citizens rather than as constituents or as consumers," and that is exactly what the CBC does. A strong argument for government funding, according to this Globe and Mail article, is that there are public goods that the free market won't deliver, thus causing public institutions, like the CBC, to do the job. Richard Stursberg of the Toronto Star said it best at the top of his article, saying, "The government needs to begin to move now to ensure that we do not lose the CBC, and with it an important part of ourselves."
The best game you can name is the good old hockey game, and for the past 80 years the CBC has been providing Canadians from coast to coast with the best hockey coverage. Hockey Night in Canada is the CBC's most popular program and has been for many years. Sadly, in 2014, the CBC lost their NHL broadcasting rights to Rogers, losing their beloved HNIC along with it. In an Ottawa Sun article, Eric Elliott attributes the CBC's loss of NHL rights to cuts dating as far back as 2012. Rogers has taken a Canadian cultural phenomenon, one of this country's greatest pastimes, and shattered the reputation it had for over 50 years on television, turning it into a run-of-the-mill broadcast that is a shell of it's former self. HNIC on CBC served Canadians and Canada, but that is no more now that Rogers is at the helm. Rogers paid $5.2-billion to have the NHL rights over a 12-year period, so it would seem unlikely the CBC would be able to even match that offer with their annual $1.1-billion budget, but it's no secret that the lack of government funding which led to countless job cuts greatly contributed to the CBC's loss of Hockey Night in Canada, a loss that Canadians across the country feel as well.
There is a case to be made as to why the government should no longer provide funding for the CBC. One argument is the low ratings of the CBC. Stephen Harper told a private radio station in Quebec that the CBC is struggling because of low ratings, as Chinta Puxley of The Canadian Press explains in her piece. Hubert Lacroix, the president and CEO of the CBC took offence to Harper's claim, saying, "It's not about a lack of audience. It's about a broken finance model that doesn't work," and considering the decline in government funding for the CBC, and the substantial amount of job cuts, it's clear that it's more about the lack of funding than it is about low ratings. In the same debate mentioned earlier, Andrew Coyne makes it known that he doesn't think Canada needs the CBC anymore. He says the quality of the CBC is "not very good" and brings up questions of if the CBC is still necessary in the 21st century. While Coyne raises some interesting questions in his argument, he also says, "No doubt Canadians will still want to watch the programs they produce." If Canadians still want to watch the CBC, then its safe to say that they still need it as well, and the government needs to realize that and provide funding for the CBC.
A Canadian constitution that has served Canadians all across Canada for decades and generations needs to survive so it can continue to provide this country with everything Canada has to offer. Without government funding, a staple in Canadian culture and society will cease to exist, and that simply cannot happen. The late Pierre Juneau, a pioneer in Canada's pop music industry as he required radio stations to broadcast more Canadian music and was the founding chairman of the CRTC, said in a 1971 speech, "To obliterate real works of the Canadian imagination is to obliterate ourselves" and that is exactly what is happening with the lack of government funding for the CBC--a real work of the Canadian imagination.
Sources:
National Post letters editor Paul Russell asked readers if Canada still needs the CBC and, as his article shows, a clear majority of respondents said yes. Canadians care about the CBC, especially the Canadian content it provides, so its easy to image why Canadians want and need the CBC. Without it, there would hardly be any Canadian content on television. In a debate with Andrew Coyne on whether or not Canada still needs the CBC, CBC documentary programming director Mark Starowicz states that Canada needs "an honest player in the media universe to serve the specific needs of Canadians," and brings to light the discrepancy of Canadian content on CBC compared to other Canadian networks. Even with the CRTC rule that 50 per cent of prime time content has to be Canadian, the private networks air Canadian content around American shows so there will be minimal damage to their revenue. The CBC is by far and away the best option for Canadian content, and in order to fulfill the CRTC mandate, they need more money. As John Doyle of The Globe and Mail points out in his article, the CBC cannot meet the Broadcasting Act requirements unless the government provides them with proper funding. Where will Canadians get Canadian content from if the the CBC is no more? If the government doesn't provide funding for the CBC and decides to throw it out the window, expect local and national news, sports, music, and any other Canada-related story to go flying out with it.
The CBC caters to and puts Canadians first, and as Jennifer Blastorah of the Huffington Post says in her article, public broadcasters "exist to serve the public as citizens rather than as constituents or as consumers," and that is exactly what the CBC does. A strong argument for government funding, according to this Globe and Mail article, is that there are public goods that the free market won't deliver, thus causing public institutions, like the CBC, to do the job. Richard Stursberg of the Toronto Star said it best at the top of his article, saying, "The government needs to begin to move now to ensure that we do not lose the CBC, and with it an important part of ourselves."
The best game you can name is the good old hockey game, and for the past 80 years the CBC has been providing Canadians from coast to coast with the best hockey coverage. Hockey Night in Canada is the CBC's most popular program and has been for many years. Sadly, in 2014, the CBC lost their NHL broadcasting rights to Rogers, losing their beloved HNIC along with it. In an Ottawa Sun article, Eric Elliott attributes the CBC's loss of NHL rights to cuts dating as far back as 2012. Rogers has taken a Canadian cultural phenomenon, one of this country's greatest pastimes, and shattered the reputation it had for over 50 years on television, turning it into a run-of-the-mill broadcast that is a shell of it's former self. HNIC on CBC served Canadians and Canada, but that is no more now that Rogers is at the helm. Rogers paid $5.2-billion to have the NHL rights over a 12-year period, so it would seem unlikely the CBC would be able to even match that offer with their annual $1.1-billion budget, but it's no secret that the lack of government funding which led to countless job cuts greatly contributed to the CBC's loss of Hockey Night in Canada, a loss that Canadians across the country feel as well.
There is a case to be made as to why the government should no longer provide funding for the CBC. One argument is the low ratings of the CBC. Stephen Harper told a private radio station in Quebec that the CBC is struggling because of low ratings, as Chinta Puxley of The Canadian Press explains in her piece. Hubert Lacroix, the president and CEO of the CBC took offence to Harper's claim, saying, "It's not about a lack of audience. It's about a broken finance model that doesn't work," and considering the decline in government funding for the CBC, and the substantial amount of job cuts, it's clear that it's more about the lack of funding than it is about low ratings. In the same debate mentioned earlier, Andrew Coyne makes it known that he doesn't think Canada needs the CBC anymore. He says the quality of the CBC is "not very good" and brings up questions of if the CBC is still necessary in the 21st century. While Coyne raises some interesting questions in his argument, he also says, "No doubt Canadians will still want to watch the programs they produce." If Canadians still want to watch the CBC, then its safe to say that they still need it as well, and the government needs to realize that and provide funding for the CBC.
A Canadian constitution that has served Canadians all across Canada for decades and generations needs to survive so it can continue to provide this country with everything Canada has to offer. Without government funding, a staple in Canadian culture and society will cease to exist, and that simply cannot happen. The late Pierre Juneau, a pioneer in Canada's pop music industry as he required radio stations to broadcast more Canadian music and was the founding chairman of the CRTC, said in a 1971 speech, "To obliterate real works of the Canadian imagination is to obliterate ourselves" and that is exactly what is happening with the lack of government funding for the CBC--a real work of the Canadian imagination.
Sources:
Russell, P. (2012, April 23). Today's letters: Canada needs the CBC, readers declare. National Post. Retrieved from http://news.nationalpost.com/full-comment/todays-letters-canada-needs-the-cbc-readers-declare
Russell, P. (2012, April 23). Today's letters: Canada needs the CBC, readers declare. National Post. Retrieved from https://www.evernote.com/shard/s7/sh/8768fb6c-ab59-4a2b-b10b-9fd404cfd5bd/3db039164824462b901f86da84bf3dca/
Doyle, J. (2015, November 11). CBC needs funding but money doesn't buy smarts or class. The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/television/john-doyle-cbc-needs-funding-but-money-doesnt-buy-smarts-or-class/article27214251/
Blastorah, J. (2013, May 13). Why Canada Still Needs the CBC. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/jennifer-blastorah/cbc-bill-c-60_b_3262366.html
Elliott, E. (2015, October 17). What does this election mean to the CBC? Everything. Ottawa Sun. Retrieved from http://www.ottawasun.com/2015/10/17/what-does-this-election-mean-to-the-cbc-everything
Coyne, A. (2012, October 4). Does Canada still need the CBC? NO. Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved from https://www.evernote.com/shard/s7/sh/90ac8888-f068-42c0-a63d-b4dfed422562/ba2a2da635d2030bf67df11ae749d274
Puxley, C. (2015, September 29). Audience there but not money: CBC CEO disputes Harper comment over funding. The Canadian Press. Retrieved from http://www.citynews.ca/2015/09/29/audience-there-but-not-money-cbc-ceo-disputes-harper-comment-over-funding/
Stursberg, R. (2015, November 19). The CBC is dying. Here's how to save it. Toronto Star. Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/opinion/commentary/2015/11/19/the-cbc-is-dying-heres-how-to-save-it.html
The CBC: What's it good for, without hockey? (2013, November 29). The Globe and Mail. Retrieved from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/the-cbc-whats-it-good-for-without-hockey/article15684784/
Austen, I. (2012, February 23). Pierre Juneau, Champion of Canada’s Pop Music Industry, Dies at 89. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/arts/music/pierre-juneau-champion-of-canadas-pop-music-industry-dies-at-89.html?_r=0
The Right to See Everything ... Including Ourselves: The Empire Club Addresses. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2015, from http://speeches.empireclub.org/61940/data?n=6
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