Never-ending story
The question never really goes away: what is the future of
public broadcasting? Earlier this month, we learned the CBC is folding its
Calgary Newsworld tent and retreating back to Toronto (CBC to Cut Calgary
Newsworld) – although with assurances that hinterland reporting will be
better than ever as a result. Then the email petitions started flooding in
about changes to Radio 2 (Radio
2 Listeners Lose in Radio Revamp). The two moves are but the latest ripples
in an ocean of Canadian debate and hair pulling over the public broadcaster’s purpose
and fate. The House of Commons Heritage Committee recommended in February that
we might all breath easier if there was stable funding. Surprisingly, the
Conservative committee members agreed, perhaps proof that even the
broadcaster’s foes grow weary of uncertainty and endless re-orgs (Stable Funding
Recommended for CBC).
(Photo: ‘Corp-o-Lantern’ by anonymous, posted at insidethecbc.com)
The question never really goes away: what is the future of
public broadcasting? Earlier this month, we learned the CBC is folding its
Calgary Newsworld tent and retreating back to Toronto (CBC to Cut Calgary
Newsworld) – although with assurances that hinterland reporting will be
better than ever as a result. Then the email petitions started flooding in
about changes to Radio 2 (Radio
2 Listeners Lose in Radio Revamp). The two moves are but the latest ripples
in an ocean of Canadian debate and hair pulling over the public broadcaster’s purpose
and fate. The House of Commons Heritage Committee recommended in February that
we might all breath easier if there was stable funding. Surprisingly, the
Conservative committee members agreed, perhaps proof that even the
broadcaster’s foes grow weary of uncertainty and endless re-orgs (Stable Funding
Recommended for CBC).
(Photo: ‘Corp-o-Lantern’ by anonymous, posted at insidethecbc.com)
Patricia W. Elliott is a magazine journalist and assistant professor at the School of Journalism, University of Regina. You can visit her at patriciaelliott.ca.