Media Culture in Canada - Assignment Example

?Media Culture in Canada Introduction Canadian culture has art, music, and literature, political and social elements that represent the Canada and Canadians. Canadian’s are influenced by European culture and traditions (British & French). Canadian culture has been influenced by American culture because of migration between these two countries. The National Film Board of Canada, along with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, are two main stream media platforms used to promote Canadian culture by the government. These media platforms protect their Canadian culture through media like Canadian Radio-Television and the Telecommunication Commission. Canada has two primary languages English and French. Canada has a very unique blend of customs and traditions because of migration into its country; therefore, because of the cultural diversity it’s very necessary for the Canadian government to promote its own culture. The Canadian government faces many challenges because of its influx of citizens from European cultures and an extensive migration between America and Canada. Canada struggled immensely to protect its identity in 1920(Media Awareness Network 1). At that time, Canada introduced commercial radio broadcasting but some politicians were concerned about U.S radio programming. This concern introduced the hybrid system of broadcasting. The policy makers split this system into two parts public and private. The reason behind this division was that Canada wanted its own traditions; as time passed the Canadian government made its own broadcasting law. History Media plays one of the most powerful and important roles in building nations. Reginald Aubrey Fessenden was the first radio broadcaster in Canada; he is known as the “Father of Radio Broadcasting”. In 1906, Fessenden broadcasted his first official program. The era of media culture in Canada started in 1906 and noticeable improvements were seen within the next few years. In 1929, the government of Canada took remarkable efforts. The Arid Commission on public broadcasting suggested the establishment of a national radio broadcast network. In Canada, there was an increasing trend of listening to radio broadcast and because they didn’t have any national broadcasting station, they would listen to American radio. This was a major concern for the Canadian government and therefore, they launched their own national broadcasting radio. In 1932, Canadian Radio Broadcasting was founded under the administration of R.B. Bennet’s government. CBC was mainly responsible for innovation in Canadian media culture and all the broadcasting stations were under the control of CBC. CBC, Crown Corporation, was based on the model of the BBC. In 1940, an association was founded and named as Radio Artists of Toronto Society. This society was basically established for the radio performers and they were responsible for securing the rights of radio artists (James Lorimer & Company 24). The Association of Canadian Radio Artists was formed in 1943 and it was a flexible, national alliance of a variety of groups of actors. In 1946, FM radio was introduced in Canada but distinct FM service was launched later in the 1960s. In 1952, the era of television broadcasting was started with the launch of stations one after another in Montreal (CBFT) and then in Toronto. The first privately owned station of CBC was a television station in Sudbury and they owned it in 1953. In 1962, the English language radio network was divided into two different services (i.e. Dominion Network and Trans-Canada Network); Dominion Network was dissolved in 1976. The Trans-Canada Network was simply known as CBC. Over the next few decades, CBC was known to be the second English language FM Radio network and in 1976 its’ name was changed. It was now known as CBC Stereo (The Wendy Michener Symposium 65). According to the Canadian Broadcasting Act, it is mandatory for the broadcasters to ensure that they are broadcasting authentic information that reflects the points of view of the different cultures living in Canada. In the past, a classic approach was observed by the broadcasters, which gave them freedom to encourage their own points of view. Canadian Broadcasting Act This act was established in 1968 and amended in 1991. The role of this act is to maintain the Canadian social, political and economic structures. CBA consists of three categories that govern the policy making and regulations regarding telecommunication, radio and television. This act also defines the procedures and policies for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The role of the act is to maintain checks and balances on the broadcasting system, as well as, stipulations for production and programming; ultimately to encourage the development of Canadian expressions and resources. Cultural diversity, one of the main factors of the act, emphasizes on the diversity in Canadian culture. This should align with the need of the diversity in the Canadian culture by promoting programs on cultural integration and harmony. According to this act, the broadcaster is responsible for his own programs. Canadian Radio-Television and the Telecommunication Commission monitor the issues regarding media violence. CRTC may impose the number of penalties to the broadcaster who fails to follow the broadcasting act. Canadian Broadcasting Standards Council The Canadian Broadcasting Standard Council is a non-government organization. The Canadian Broadcasting Standard Council is created by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters to establish standards for its members and private broadcasters. This council provides services all over Canada in English, French and a third language. The CRTC governs some of the rules and this council regulates these rules. According to the Media Awareness Network, this council has five major and primary objectives: This council assists the broadcast standards which are developed by private broadcaster industry. Inform the public about these standards. Provide forum for public complaints for violation of standards. Recommendation of third party provided to private broadcasters. Inform broadcasters about trends and inform ways to adjust with standards with the changing trends (1). Types of Funding There is one major source of funding in Canadian media, which is Convergent Stream. Multi-platform projects are being supported by Convergent Stream. They basically provide content to television and design different programs. Through these programs they target the desired audiences in an effective manner. After this, the CMF supports the production of TV shows and divides digital media into four sub-categories: variety shows, youth and children shows, documentaries and drama. The content that is provided by Convergent Stream is in accordance with the category they are targeting. (i.e. if the show is youth oriented, then there will be different activities to engage youth and if it is a documentary then the content will be informative and smooth)(CMF-FMC 1). Furthermore, they work on different projects and come up with different content for those who speak different languages in Canada. There is a project called the Performance Envelope Program, it provides a platform to encourage business in Canada that is related to television broadcasting and digital media producers. Licensing Fees Canada is very lenient when it comes to licensing fees for broadcasting only. Before 1952, the law required a licensing fee for receiving any kind of radio transmission but after 1952 this situation changed altogether. During 1952, the amendment was introduced into law, which exempted the licensing fee for broadcast only receivers. This law also empowered the department of transport to oversee all types of licensing fees and allow them to authorize any exemption, which seemed necessary. Consequently, the department of transport decided to wave off licensing fees on all types of home based radio communication. During 1982, the Canadian courts indicated that all types of radio signals are public property which compelled the department of communication to take action and declare that licensing fees will be applicable only in the situations where technical compatibility with the transmitter would be required. Media in Canada Canadian media mainly is comprised of television broadcasting, radio broadcasting, newspapers, publishing, motion pictures and cable television. There is no doubt that Canadian media has successfully met its goals so far by providing different sources of information nationwide but it’s main sources of information and entertainment like television, newspapers and magazines are from the influence of the United States media. Television Broadcasting Television broadcasting is primarily used as a source of revenue. The Canadian television broadcasting is mainly divided into two sub-categories of ownership (i.e. private and public ownership). There are approximately 130 television stations in Canada. Radio Broadcasting There are almost 2000 radio stations in Canada that are operated on both bands (i.e. AM and FM). CBC manages four national radio networks in English and French. Digital Audio Broadcasting has been introduced in Canada recently. There are almost 73 licensed broadcasters for digital audio broadcasting. Newspapers The Newspaper is one of the most popular sources of information. Newspapers are supposed to be profit making and are used to produce revenues. There are two national newspapers of Canada: The Globe and Mail and The National Post. Due to the advancement in technology, Canada has introduced an e-newspaper service. There are websites online, where one can easily get up to date news and information. Influence of Canadian Media in Society: Canadian media has left its deep impact on the Canadian society. We cannot undermine the profound influence the Canadian media has left on the lives of people especially on its youth. However, we cannot ignore the fact that Canadian media has played an effective role in shaping the politics of the country whereas; at the same time this media has left an adverse effect on the minds of minors and the young generation. In Canadian society, media has helped in shaping the social attitudes and behavior of the people on different societal issues. Therefore, it has been observed that with the passage of time, people in Canada are becoming more aware of the social problems and other issues than before. News media has played a significant role in this regard. It has helped people to understand the issues and to develop their interest and public opinion on those issues. Therefore, news media has focused its centre only on those issues which can hold attention and the interest of the general public (Marshall McLuhan). On the other hand, we cannot ignore the bitter fact that Canadian media has played an adverse effect on the vulnerable minds of the young generation through showing intense violence, hatred, racism, uncensored images and other non-acceptable material through visual and print media. As a result, a massive change has been observed in the overall general attitude and behavior of the young generation. Children and youngsters have become more aggressive, frequent use of abusive language, rise of racism and bullying in schools are few of the outcomes of Canadian media’s impact. Such societal problems are growing day by day because of adverse influence of media on the minds of minors. However, we cannot put the blame solely on media for promoting such programs but on the other hand; parents should also play a key role. They should keep an eye on their child’s activities and interests. Parents should keep themselves aware of what programs seems interesting to their child, how much time he/she spend on internet, what websites do they browse, what magazines do they read and how much time they give to these activities. Parents should have their parental control on all these activities. From websites to channels and magazines parents should have their strict parental check on everything that their child watches. In short, it is hard to undermine the role of Canadian media in the society. It has made its impact in both the ways i.e. positively and negatively. However, in the past few years Canadian media has rapidly gained popularity and has successfully influenced the lives of many people. In other words, Canadian media has played an effective role in creating awareness in the minds of people and making them understand of their values and rights. Conclusion In essence, Canadian media is one of the most popular medias across the world. There are several entities that work under CBC and these entities ensure that the media of Canada is free; either it is television, newspapers, magazines, or another source of media. The history of Canadian media culture shows that the Canadian government has made all efforts in order to meet the set goals and objectives. CBC played a vital role by keeping checks and balances on all private and public radio networks. On the other hand, several entities were founded for the securing of rights of artists. Canadian Media Culture Society made sure that the media industry is equipped with the latest technology and tools. The major goal of the Canadian government was to secure their culture and to provide and incorporate their customs into society, as there was a threat to Canadian culture in the early 40s when people were influenced by US culture and British culture. Works Cited: CMF-FMC. Convergent Stream, 2010. Web. 18th December 2011. James Lorimer & Company. “The Mass Media in Canada”. Canada: Lorimer, 1992. Print. Media Awareness Network. “Canadian Broadcasting Act, 2010”. Web. 18th December 2011. Media Awareness Network.Media and Canadian Cultural Policies,2010. Web. 18th December 2011. McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York; Toronto: McGraw-Hill. 1964 The Wendy Michener Symposium. “Canadian Culture at the Crossroads: Film, Television, and the Media in the 1960s”. Canada: ECW Press,1990. Print. Read More