Public Media in Canada

1. Public Media in Canada Group 11 is: Adella Angela Hanna Jasleen Michaela

2. All in 70 minutes Good morning beautiful people! You're listening to on J4K FM

3. Publically funded • Government involvement or entrenchment • For the public good • Accessible to a majority of the population What is public media?

4. Privately funded – more funding options • Large media conglomerates • Can potentially be partisan or niche • Not bound to work in the public interest Public vs. private media

5. Government in power has funding control • Tax payer money being spent • Private media and owners Ethics

6. The Broadcasting Act says the CBC is to inform, enlighten, and entertain • Be predominantly and distinctly Canadian • Reflect Canada and its regions • Contribute to the flow of cultural expression • Be in English and French and be available throughout Canada • Contribute to the shared national consciousness and identity Mandate of the CBC

7. Radio first appeared in Canada in 1920 – in three years, 3/4 households owned one • Huge growth here • American stations and programs dominated • Fears of Americanisation Early radio in Canada

8. 1928 Royal Commission to advise on the control, organization and financing • Recommended creating a public broadcasting company Organization takes shape

9. In 1932, the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission is established • In 1936, it became the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, like it is today • Supervise the private stations and “foster a national spirit” • Limited funds meant limited programming The CBC is born

10. Television becomes a possibility in the late 1940s • The CBC prepares a 15-year plan • In 1952, the first two CBC television stations began broadcasting • 66 per cent able to access television by 1955 • Like radio, huge growth The approach to TV

11. Fowler Commission establishes the CRTC in 1957 • The 1968 Broadcasting Act entrenched CBC as the national service provider of media • Important in identity entrenchment in Canada Legislative framework

12. Satellite technology in the 1970s • This is an important development for those who couldn’t previously access services Advancing technology

13. 1980 Royal Commission on Newspapers • Since then, the CRTC has attempted to fix this • Concerns over the fair representation of all view points An examination of private media

14. Many national news services • 2/3 budget provided by the government, the rest from advertising • $1.5 billion on average is funded - $30 per Canadian per year What is the CBC today?

15. CBC French programs have a 3x larger audience than English • Funding is always a challenge • Private media is always a challenge Problems facing the CBC today

16. Private media does not offer content in Aboriginal languages, not as much French • But, more financial resources • Coverage is based on financial aspects • The two mediums provide options for consumers Comparisons to private media

17. NPR: The Funding Model “We are unbought and unbossed. The Listeners own us.” – Michel Martin, host of Tell Me More, quoting congresswoman Shirley Chisholm

18. Where do the dollars come from? Source: NPR.com

19. There are about 900 member stations that carry NPR’s content • NPR does not own any stations; member stations own NPR • They are independent, locally owned and operated broadcasters • About two-thirds of stations are licensed to, or are affiliated with, colleges or universities • Partners with NPR in newsgathering • Member stations pay fees for the individual NPR programs they choose to broadcast. • These fees and dues make up the largest source of operating revenue for NPR. Member Stations Source: NPR.com

20. Source: NPR.com

21. AMC American Apparel Apple Capitol Records Chrysler Group ESPN Fox Searchlight General Mills HarperCollins HBO Netflix PBS Rosetta Stone Starbucks Corporation Visa Walt Disney Records Weight Watchers Source: 2010 NPR Annual Report Corporations that Support Member Stations

22. Source: NPR.com

23. Audience Growth from 1998 to 2009 Source: 2010 NPR Annual Report

24. The economic climate still affects not for profit organizations • Two different notions of what constitutes the public interest: The Market Model versus The Civic Model Source:Wade Rowland. Saving the CBC (2013) The (Apparent) Freedom to Report

25. Jeffrey Dvorkin, Lecturer and Journalism Program Director, University of Toronto

26. “If it Bleeds, it Leads.”

27. Let me offer you an example…

28. What city in the United States has the fastest growing classical music audience?

31. “The CBC may have a bigger house proportionally, but NPR has a bigger backyard.” – Jeffrey Dvorkin, former NPR ombudsman

34. CBC faced with a $115 million budget reduction from the government • Partnership between CBC and VIA Rail lets passengers watch a variety of Canadian programming on demand • On Radio-Canada International (RCI), the number of languages they broadcast in was reduced from seven to five • Sold Bold, one of their specialty channels. • Reduced the square footage of their newsrooms Source: CBC Annual Report, 2012-2013 An Evolving Financial Strategy

35. Advertising revenue decreased by $42.9 million compared to 2011–2012. • The Corporation will face $200 million in financial pressures over the next three years. 600 analogue transmitters were shut down. And yet… • The CBC feels the need to “create and nurture Canadian digital spaces” • To enhance the reach of their content, CBC renewed existing agreements with Netflix, Air Transat, Telus, Rogers On Demand, Rogers Wireless, Vidéotron, France Télévisions, Bell, Samsung and Xbox • Obtained a licence from the CRTC for Trésor, an upcoming new French-language specialty channel • In 2013, CBCMusic.ca portal expanded from 40 to 50 channels, and CBC Music mobile apps for Android and Blackberry 10 were introduced. Source: CBC Annual and Quarter Financial Reports, 2012-2013, 2013-2014 The Need for Digital Spaces

36. How does the economic climate change the way journalists feel about their job? Voice of Caitlin Crockard, CBC Producer, All In A Day

37. “In the future we need to be more nimble when it comes to playing around with new ways to let people hear and see us.” – Caitlin Crockard “No single national voice reflects all of Canada.” Maybe the CBC needs to be decentralized into smaller blocks, with one English service for the West and another for the East. Source: Roland Renner. “Options for the CBC: Alternative roles for the national public broadcaster.” (2013)

38. More sensational, hard news stories to appeal to a younger audience • If it bleeds, it leads • CBC has also changed some of their music selection to play occasional pop songs • Becoming increasingly similar to private radio A broad outlook on CBC radio content

39. Sarah MacFadyen, former CBC Radio Broadcaster, now teaches radio at Carleton University

40. “CBC television news has ceased to be serious. The truth is if you watch The National, three out of four days starts with some awful, horrible accident. It’s become un-serious, the opposite of serious.” – Eric Koch, former producer of CBC TV Radio: Changing content

41. Public radio exists to keep the public well informed and updated on the news in their local area and around the world. • Ethically, when sensational stories run simply to draw in a broader audience, the good of the public is not always being served. Ethical impacts of changes in content

42. There are hardly any government voices in public radio • Lack of government support has caused funding cuts for CBC Radio • Journalists are now required to do more stories on a tight deadline, which can affect the quality of the stories • Stories are less layered with fewer sources • Model has shifted from “user-informed” to “user-driven” Impact on stories

43. 50% of CBC’s popular music content must Canadian • Only 35% of private radio popular music content must be Canadian • Promotes national identity Canadian content and national identity

45. NPR is a national public broadcaster in the United States. It has roots across the country, much like the CBC does here. • Best known for programming like “All Things Considered” and “This American Life”, which are accessible as podcasts worldwide. What is NPR?

46. NPR started in the 1970s as a radio network by a group of public radio stations, allowing them to share content. • They started earnest expansion into national news right before 9/11, which acted as a good transitioning time because people were hungry for information. How did they start?

47. Everything. • NPR has become a news organization that shares content across the country from local stations, as well as their own programming, and uses this content across platforms. • You can find them on the radio, on npr.org, or on a podcast. • They cover political news in the United States • Had the first online stream of The Great Gatsby soundtrack, and has syndicated radio programs. • They’re listenership has more than doubled since 1999 and they have an operating budget of $183 million. What do they do now?

48. They’re everywhere. • They work with member stations across the country so they have content originating from all of these stations, and share their content with them. • Ninety-five per cent of Americans live within listening range of a station carrying NPR programming. Why are they so successful?

49. Whereas the CBC saw the Canadian public radio boom in the 1970s, the U.S. is in the midst of it. • “Because public radio in the United States grows from the tips of the roots in, rather than from the main trunk out, it comes more slowly”—Dick Gordon Aaaand the Radio BOOM

50. They train everyone on digital media • Every journalist, producer, editor, etc. gets trained on how to put together and think about digital media, allowing them to be ahead of the curve in connecting media. • They were the first mainstream-media organization to enter podcasting and are still succeeding there, with top programs in iTunes. Digital Media