Canadian studies essay
...have for Canadian television, the CBC's Role in Canada it's achievements and future amidst the direction the television industry is headed. With regards to the meat of the essay being the paragraphs in between the thesis and conclusion, Taras ventures to describe " The CBC and the Forces of Change" (Taras 267) which deals with exploring the history of the CBC and its antics up to present day. This section also deals with the elements which the CBC faces such as the purchase of American shows that are known to boost, rather than to make Canadian shows. "Their bread and butter come from buying hit American shows."(Taras 268) He also exposes three main threats to the CBC. “Since the 1980's, the CBC has faced at least three critical challenges: it has been shaken by budget cuts; it has had to cope with the suspicions and wrath of its political masters in Ottawa; an it had been jolted by the explosion of new TV Channels and services and new information technologies." Next David Taras decides to tackle "The Financial Crisis" (Taras 268) in this section he explains the budget cuts of the conservative and liberal prime ministers in the 90's, the change in the CBC's audience i.e. the drop of ratings, the role sports took in bringing back some of the viewers and what compromises that places on the CBC history. In the essay, Taras states "During the deficit-cutting frenzy of the 1990s, virtually every public sector...has been exposed to sweeping cuts and reconstructing."(Taras 268) "Both the Mulroney and Chrétien governments have made drastic cuts to the CBC." (Taras 268) Evidence of the drop of viewers is show next in statistics "the CBC's audience share went from 21.8 percent in 1984-85 to only 12.9 percent in 1994-95." (Taras 269) Later in what appears to be a struggle for rating CBC changes its scheduling to include more sporting programs which attract viewers. "Sports became the cornerstone of the English schedule, expanding to fill up one of every four hours over the course of a week." (Taras 269) Does this come at the expense of CBC's dignity? "Observers also fear that in order to compete for audiences and advertising, CBC programming, has or will gradually become less distinctive."(Taras 269) In further reading Taras covers the "Political Pressures"(Taras 270) which the CBC faces. This section deals with political attacks on the CBC over the portrayal of politicians. This escaladed too much debate between CBC and government officials. "At one point, Diefenbaker claimed that broadcasters were subverting public morality, preaching "the gospel that wrong is right, that decency is dirty, that observing the law of the land is lunacy." (Nash, 1994:393) "The Revolution in New Information Technologies"(Taras 271) deals specifically with new innovations more channels offered, the internet etc... This paragraph goes over varies things related to these subjects talking of current and future technological advances. "Viewers now have the choice between the television version of the department store - networks like CBC that provide a full variety of programming- and an increasing array of boutique shops that appeal to diverse tastes and interests." The final section "Cultural Protectionism and Cultural S...