2012.05.14 | CWA Canada Local 30213 | Canadian Media Guild
Canadian Broadcasting Consultation
Public rises to the challenge of shaping public broadcaster's future
The debilitating funding cuts inflicted on the CBC by the Harper government have galvanized support for the public broadcaster and lent new impetus to campaigns intent on securing its future.
Moreover, the cuts have sparked a remarkable country-wide consultation that bypasses politicians and directly involves Canadians in shaping the CBC's future.
Reimagine CBC, a unique public-engagement initiative run by OpenMedia.ca and Leadnow.ca, continues to gain momentum and followers. The online forum invites Canadians to offer up their ideas to "support, reimagine and rejuvenate the CBC."
Fresh off a successful online/offline live-streamed-video event held in Vancouver last Monday that drew more than 2,000 participants, the next phase of their campaign begins today. Canadians are being called upon to arrange local and regional gatherings across the country from May 14 to 20, at which supporters of public media can provide input on the future of the CBC.
CWA Canada's largest Local, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), which represents thousands of CBC employees, was instrumental in the creation of Reimagine CBC and continues to be involved in the project. Financial support has come in the form of a $150,000 grant from the Communications Workers of America, part of which paid for a half-page ad that ran in the Globe and Mail on April 27.
Reimagine CBC is now partnering with the Toronto Star, which has created The Network, an online "national discussion about the CBC." Other partners include The Mark, The Tyee and rabble.ca.
At stake is the integrity of an institution that has, for 75 years, been a trusted information source and incubator of culture that has given Canada its unique identity in a clamorous electronic universe.
NDP Leader Thomas Mulcair says the Official Opposition is "outraged" over Harper's "reckless cuts" to the CBC. He notes that the public broadcaster, funded to the tune of $1 billion annually (which amounts to $34 per capita) is a "powerful engine for the … cultural industry (that) adds more than $85 billion annually to our economy."
Steve Anderson, executive director of OpenMedia, reports that news of the funding cuts prompted several thousand more people to sign the online petition (now at 36,300) to the finance minister. "Our Facebook followers have nearly doubled. We've also seen a spike in new ideas at ReimagineCBC.ca, which suggests that engagement has both broadened and deepened."
Jamie Biggar, executive director of Leadnow, says that, after the budget was announced, "we had 2,000 people sign up to poster across the country. That's an enormous number of people signing up for a really high-barrier action, way above what we expected."
While there is no affiliation between management of the Crown corporation and Reimagine CBC, the public broadcaster has indicated it will take into consideration anything that emerges from the public brainstorming as part of its own internal planning process.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, which kicked off its "Stop the CBC Smackdown" campaign in 2011 with two satirical (and hilarious) videos, continues with its petition that is approaching 50,000 signatures.
Friends was able to garner enough post-budget financial support from Canadians to twice run a full-page ad in the Globe and Mail which revealed that the CBC is "being singled out for disproportionate, draconian damage."
The mainstream media and cyberspace have been awash in editorials, commentaries, letters and postings about the issue of funding the public broadcaster and its future, thanks in large part to these two campaigns.
One letter to the editor that stands out was written by Anthony G. Pavick and published in The Daily News in Kamloops BC. "How CBC brought an American to Canada" is an eloquent testimonial to the valuable role the public broadcaster has played in keeping Canadians connected as well as presenting a compelling face to the world.