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overview
This
page looks at public sector broadcasting in Canada.
the
organisation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
like the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC),
dates back to the first third of last century when public
broadcasting in the British Empire was modelled on the
new British Broadcasting Commission (BBC).
The CBC was founded in 1936, as the Canadian Broadcasting
Commission, for the purpose of "fostering national
spirit and interpreting national citizenship".
studies
Marc Raboy's Missed Opportunities: The Story of
Canada's Broadcasting Policy (Toronto: McGill-Queens
Uni Press 1990) presents a picture of uncertain mission,
bureaucratic capture, political interference and ongoing
crisis at Canada's national broadcaster. Sounds familiar?
There is a more detailed treatment in When Television
Was Young: PrimeTime Canada 1952-67 (Toronto: Uni
of Toronto Press 1990) by Paul Rutherford, complemented
by Ross
Eaman's Channels of Influence:
CBC Audience Research and the Canadian Public (Toronto:
Uni of Toronto Press 1994).
For the early
days see Frank Peers' lucid The
Politics of Canadian Broadcasting 1920-1951 (Toronto:
Uni of Toronto Press 1969), A History of the Canadian
Radio League 1930-1936 (Ann Arbor: UMI 1964) by John
O'Brien and The Struggle for National Broadcasting
in Canada (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart 1965)
by E. Austin Weir.
Knowlton Nash's The Microphone Wars: A History of Triumph
& Betrayal at the CBC (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart
1995) and Wayne Skene's Fade to Black: A Requiem for
the CBC (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre 1993) are conventional
laments about public broadcasting in crisis, useful as
points of reference for criticisms of the Australian ABC
and SBS networks.
other state networks
There are separate profiles on
ABC and SBS - Australia
BBC - United Kingdom
TVNZ & RNZ - New Zealand
MCS - Singapore
PBS - USA
 next
page (CBC chronology)
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