Canadian television should serve the cultural needs of all Canadian citizens. Bart Beaty and Rebecca Sullivan offer suggestions for the future of an ever-evolving medium.
What’s on TV? Canadian Television Today explores the current challenges and issues facing the English-language television industry in Canada. Television in Canada has long been one of the principal conduits of national identity. But has it kept pace with the rapidly changing landscape of Canadian culture?
After presenting an overview of the main issues and debates surrounding the Canadian small screen, Beaty and Sullivan offer their suggestions for the future of the medium. They argue that in today’s globalized world, Canadian television should be a more fitting reflection of Canada’s multicultural society, embracing a broader range of languages, cultures, and viewing strategies.
Visualizing the potential reach of a revitalized industry, Beaty and Sullivan illustrate the promise and possibility of Canadian television that serves the cultural needs of all its citizens.
About the Authors:
Bart Beaty is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. He has written and published extensively on cultural studies and issues in communication theory.
Rebecca Sullivan is an Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Calgary. She has written and published extensively on cultural studies and issues in communication theory.
Praise for Canadian Television Today:
Canadian Television Today is an ambitious and far-reaching discussion about the state of Canadian television programming. Covering a broad range of cultural, aesthetic, technical, regulatory, and economic issues, Beaty and Sullivan have co-authored a welcome addition to a fairly narrow canon of investigation . . . Presented in a clear, accessible style, Canadian Television Today raises important questions not only about broadcasting but also about wider cultural issues facing all Canadians.
—David Tucker, University of Toronto Quarterly
A provocative, highly polemical and entertaining essay that will no doubt open up all kinds of debate.
—Zoe Druick, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University
Table of Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
introduction: Canadian Television Today
The Field of Canadian Television Studies
Nation/State/Culture
Multiculturalism Meets Globalization
Television and its Audiences
Redirecting the Flow
Chapter One: Regulation
The Producers
The Broadcasters
The Cable Industry
The Viwers
The CRTC: Servant to Which Master?
Alternative Airways: Community Television and European Broadcasting in Context
Conclusion
Chapter Two: Programming
Primetime Scheduling and Simultaneous Substitution
Entertainment Programming: What Makes a Story Canadian?
Returning to the Local: Information Programming
Conclusion
Chapter Three: Technology
Television and Telecommunications
The Digital Video Recorder
The DVD Player
Peer–to–Peer Network File–Sharing
High Definition Television: The Technological McGuffin
Conclusion
Conclusion
Works Cited
Index
