What to do with Radio Canada and the CBC?

[Architype]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Amen, the bought and paid for and paid some more propaganda wing of the Liberal party of Canada!

In 2021 do we really need a state broadcaster?

Yes, assuming one side is more right than the other, so quite the coincidence isn't it? Conservatives and other opposition parties get plenty of coverage. I presume on your side you don't value Canadian unity too highly? What forces do you think would be a good substitute for that CBC national voice? Why not just destroy any vestiges of that, and just replace it with American Fox, CNN, QAnon, etc.? Aw shucks, let's just become stupid. What could possibly go wrong?

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Amen, the bought and paid for and paid some more propaganda wing of the Liberal party of Canada!

In 2021 do we really need a state broadcaster?

I think there is a semantic nuance between a "state" broadcaster and a "public" broadcaster.

CBC-SRC is a public broadcaster.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by Architype

Yes, assuming one side is more right than the other, so quite the coincidence isn't it? Conservatives and other opposition parties get plenty of coverage. I presume on your side you don't value Canadian unity too highly? What forces do you think would be a good substitute for that CBC national voice? Why not just destroy any vestiges of that, and just replace it with American Fox, CNN, QAnon, etc.? Aw shucks, let's just become stupid. What could possibly go wrong?

This is actually a good point. What would fill the void?

CTV and Global basically fill much of their newscasts with reports they buy for a flat fee from the American networks.

Often when the Maritimes get hit with 70 cm of snow you get a 20-second mention of that with no visuals followed by a two minute report with visuals and a reporter on the scene from New York or Boston where the same storm dumped 30 cm.

[Architype]

Originally Posted by Acajack

This is actually a good point. What would fill the void?

CTV and Global basically fill much of their newscasts with reports they buy for a flat fee from the American networks.

Often when the Maritimes get hit with 70 cm of snow you get a 20-second mention of that with no visuals followed by a two minute report with visuals and a reporter on the scene from New York or Boston where the same storm dumped 30 cm.

Unfortunately it would become like the US, where being mostly limited to corporate network dominance only magnifies political differences, the "us and them" mentality. Assuming there is a correct political view somewhere that exists, they must find a corresponding oppositional voice to it (i.e. Fox) because that's the American way. You get a completely distorted one sided reality based on polarization of viewers and advertising revenue. The fact that our conservatives dislike the CBC so much proves something, where its defunding or dissolution would destroy much of our country's information flow, or even identity. You can make your own conclusions as to what the end result would be.

[isaidso]

CBC has lost all relevance the last 20 years. Budget cuts are partly to blame but the rest is a mess of their own doing.

They're obsessed with the US and UK. They devote an insane amount of air time to those 2 countries then sprinkle in a little news from the other 205+ countries. I used to love the CBC but it's no longer representative of what's going on around the world. It's become a colossal joke and I turned it off completely 1-2 years ago. Hanging on every stupid tweet that Trump makes? What is Kate Middleton wearing? WTF!

5 years ago I would have argued to quadruple their budget and re-build a proper global news agency taken from a Canadian POV but I think they're too far gone. They're obsessed with the US/UK and no amount of money will change that. I'd rather they just go under than have them continue to force feed Canadians that sewage.

[Architype]

^ I listen to CBC to some degree almost every day, and I don't feel your point is true. We've always been obsessed with the US and the UK, they're respectively our goliath raucous half sibling neighbour and our principal founding mother country. We gladly drink the tea as well as the bourbon. CBC has also been concentrating regularly on indigenous (Canadian) issues as well, with an assortment of programming to suit.

[casper]

I think it needs to broken apart. The CBC is to big.

What do we currently have in Canada as quasi-public broadcasting:
- National Film Board (producing content that does not get a lot of air time)
- CBC Original content for TV and radio
- Canadian independent content
- In some provinces an Education TV broadcast service
- The cable companies have some weird local content and multi-cultural channel structure
- Radio Canada International (talks to Canadian's overseas)

It is time to look towards a co-op model for all of this. Perhaps locally controlled stations that own shares in the national CBC system. The local stations can then become locally owned co-ops. There should be a path here where the federal government caps funding at current levels with goal to the system becoming self-sufficient in the future.

Each of the studio facilities should get incorporated into its own entity where the CBC is one of multiple tenants with an emphasis with also leasing on either short term or long term to local independent producers. Some may sell their content to the CBC others may chose to sell to other broadcasters. That provides the facilities for local Canadian content without the CBC having an editorial role in everything.

Here is BC CheckTV in Victoria is our local independent. Not attached to any national network. Locally owned and operated. Maybe we need more of that.

I can see keeping Radio Canadian International.

I am ok with the government funding the creation of infrastructure for local production across the country. But it needs to get out picking what content gets produced.

[acottawa]

Maybe I am looking at the past with rose coloured glasses, but I think CBC was better a few years ago. The local rush hour shows cover hard news less and fill their shows with with filler and opinion pieces (usually just presenting one side of an argument). I think the national news has gotten worse since Mansbridge left. Their TV schedule is a lot of British imports or reruns (and those reruns are also usually on Netflix). They produce almost no lifestyle programming (a staple of most public broadcasters), very little non-fiction programming, no talk shows (another staple of most public broadcasters) and without Rick Mercer, there is very little satire.

[casper]

Originally Posted by isaidso

CBC has lost all relevance the last 20 years. Budget cuts are partly to blame but the rest is a mess of their own doing.

They're obsessed with the US and UK. They devote an insane amount of air time to those 2 countries then sprinkle in a little news from the other 205+ countries. I used to love the CBC but it's no longer representative of what's going on around the world. It's become a colossal joke and I turned it off completely 1-2 years ago. Hanging on every stupid tweet that Trump makes? What is Kate Middleton wearing? WTF!

5 years ago I would have argued to quadruple their budget and re-build a proper global news agency taken from a Canadian POV but I think they're too far gone. They're obsessed with the US/UK and no amount of money will change that. I'd rather they just go under than have them continue to force feed Canadians that sewage.

I would agree with the comment on being overly US/UK focused. I hope the new US president changes that. Trump was simply reality television in heal life. It was to entertaining to pass up.

I think they can still be saved.

[VANRIDERFAN]

Doesn't help that the CBC Head Shed tried to shut down local news at the start of the pandemic.
They should be doing more local from the regions and quit being so Toronto-centric.

[Acajack]

The CBC is the type of thing that if you scrap it, chances are nothing similar will ever come back. The appetite for setting us up with the "trappings of a true nation" such as that went out the window a couple of decades ago.

Though as a caveat I'd add that if Radio-Canada were scrapped the Quebec government would probably step in and take it over. They've been periodically hinting for ages that they'd like to have the French networks under their wing.

[niwell]

I admit that I've actually been listening to CBC radio a lot less since COVID started. It used to be a "before work" staple, but once that stopped being a thing coupled with non-stop COVID coverage I kind of tuned out. Mostly replaced by podcasts and getting my news through written mediums. My wife has started listening again during the day in her office and the COVID stuff seems to have become more reasonable so maybe I'll start again.

Count me in the camp that I highly doubt anything of the same caliber would fill the void if CBC was disbanded. Certainly not in Ontario with the current political climate (this would likely be the case under the previous government too). It's not hard to find faults but far from a state where it's unsavable.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The CBC is the type of thing that if you scrap it, chances are nothing similar will ever come back. The appetite for setting us up with the "trappings of a true nation" such as that went out the window a couple of decades ago.

Though as a caveat I'd add that if Radio-Canada were scrapped the Quebec government would probably step in and take it over. They've been periodically hinting for ages that they'd like to have the French networks under their wing.

I'm actually somewhat surprised that the CBC survived the Harper majority more or less intact, apart from RCI which was in rough shape even before then. The CBC is one of those larger than life bogeymen for true-believer Conservatives that I thought the CPC would take some grand symbolic step like privatizing the English-language TV network or something like that.

But that said, if the (English) CBC were dismantled, I would expect something else to assume its role even if it were much smaller in scope. Perhaps a national version of an educational broadcaster like TVO, or maybe a government-subsidized, viewer-supported network. It might be a shadow of what currently exists but at least it would be something.

[kwoldtimer]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm actually somewhat surprised that the CBC survived the Harper majority more or less intact, apart from RCI which was in rough shape even before then. The CBC is one of those larger than life bogeymen for true-believer Conservatives that I thought the CPC would take some grand symbolic step like privatizing the English-language TV network or something like that.

But that said, if the (English) CBC were dismantled, I would expect something else to assume its role even if it were much smaller in scope. Perhaps a national version of an educational broadcaster like TVO, or maybe a government-subsidized, viewer-supported network. It might be a shadow of what currently exists but at least it would be something.

What, then, would be the point. Why not just address the CBC's problems?

[esquire]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

What, then, would be the point. Why not just address the CBC's problems?

I'm not advocating that, I just think that's how it would play out if a future CPC government shut down the English CBC. The Liberals or NDP would pledge to bring it back, but they'd inevitably end up doing it on the cheap since the startup costs would be so immense, and it would end up being a shadow of what we've had up to now.

Which I suppose goes to Acajack's point that if what we have disappears, it's never coming back. At least not on any scale similar to what we have now.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by niwell

Count me in the camp that I highly doubt anything of the same caliber would fill the void if CBC was disbanded. Certainly not in Ontario with the current political climate (this would likely be the case under the previous government too). It's not hard to find faults but far from a state where it's unsavable.

Considering its tiny budget and limited mandate, I think TVO does a good job. There is nothing as good as the Agenda on CBC anymore.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by esquire

I'm actually somewhat surprised that the CBC survived the Harper majority more or less intact, apart from RCI which was in rough shape even before then. The CBC is one of those larger than life bogeymen for true-believer Conservatives that I thought the CPC would take some grand symbolic step like privatizing the English-language TV network or something like that.

The CBC does a good job of pleasing its current master. When the Tories were in power Rex Murphy and Kevin O’Leary had regular gigs, there was lots of military content.

[hipster duck]

Even before the pandemic, one thing I noticed from the National's coverage was the gradual disappearance of business news.

About 10 years ago, they used to have about 5-10 minutes of nightly reporting from Bay Street, they'd usually have a ticker to show how the major stock indices did that day, or the value of the CAD, and they'd usually have a panel discussion anchored by Amanda Lang with senior economists from the major banks. Now there's practically nothing.

Are people just not interested in business news? Is this a generational thing?

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by Acajack

The CBC is the type of thing that if you scrap it, chances are nothing similar will ever come back. The appetite for setting us up with the "trappings of a true nation" such as that went out the window a couple of decades ago.

Though as a caveat I'd add that if Radio-Canada were scrapped the Quebec government would probably step in and take it over. They've been periodically hinting for ages that they'd like to have the French networks under their wing.

Another version of TVA Nouvelles?
Ps: There’s also La Presse and other things, but for some reason TVA comes to mind first.

[Acajack]

Originally Posted by hipster duck

Even before the pandemic, one thing I noticed from the National's coverage was the gradual disappearance of business news.

About 10 years ago, they used to have about 5-10 minutes of nightly reporting from Bay Street, they'd usually have a ticker to show how the major stock indices did that day, or the value of the CAD, and they'd usually have a panel discussion anchored by Amanda Lang with senior economists from the major banks. Now there's practically nothing.

Are people just not interested in business news? Is this a generational thing?

That's an interesting observation, because the French-language news channels (CBC's RDI, and TVA's LCN) have noticeably ramped up their coverage of business news in recent years.

I wonder why things (in English and French Canada) are going in opposite directions.