Ah, television — life seemed simpler a few decades ago when there were only three channels to choose from. The CBC, created to keep Canadians informed, CFRN (CTV) offering us a different, local perspective and then the French channel. When cable television arrived, it offered us American TV.
It showed us the world of consumerism, beyond our own borders, awing, almost overwhelming us with choice. With satellite TV and the expansion of cable TV, we now have hundreds of channels to choose from and we can watch a syndicated program whenever we want. There may be little choice in what’s on and too much of our American cousins’ opinions, but hey, it is called ‘the idiot box’ for a reason.
We did lose something, however, with the expansion of television. With the ever-increasing costs of production, local stations soon became centralized. Now, most of Canada’s news is filtered and homogenized through Toronto, as are the American stations through New York or Los Angeles. We have become a captive market for advertisers, where commercials now make up the majority of minutes in a one-hour time slot. We are no longer being informed but rather entertained. And now, what little local news we do receive is under threat.
Maybe this is a sign of market capitalism and we should welcome this change. Maybe a new, leaner and better station might come along, or not. Is this a chance we are willing to take? Though one can easily be critical of local television, it still serves a purpose to the community — it keeps us informed of local events and more importantly, local news.
Local news is important because it enables us to be a democracy. How can we vote if we do not know the local issues or who the candidates are? Could we trust Toronto to tell us about the important issues facing Western Canada? Or have we become satisfied with being led by others, following like sheep as long as we are happily entertained and fed.
Knowledge is power and the more knowledge we have about issues and situations, the better we are able to make decisions that benefit ourselves. We actually have the chance to positively shape our communities and our lives. But this is a power that we are losing. The opposite of knowledge is not ignorance but tyranny. Without adequate knowledge, others will dictate to us what we will have.
We must protect those few sources of relevant information available to us. This may become an increased cost on our cable bill, or maybe we could cut out a few of those irrelevant, repeated channels from the United States, offsetting the need for such price increases. Maybe, we could even see more Canadian choices from our cable/satellite providers rather than the limited choices we have now. If we take some time to protect local television, we may be able to demand better, more critical news that we need to become better-informed citizens. One can ever be naïvely hopeful. If we do not make these efforts, however, we are doomed to be governed by corporate America.
John Kennair is an international business consultant who lives in St. Albert.
