How a Strong CBC Can Help Our Private Broadcasters
New research on the impact of national public broadcasters has the potential to inject a fresh theme into the ongoing discussions in this country around what to do about the struggling CBC/Radio-Canada. The first of two recent studies draws on a wide range of data from 14 countries world-wide, and was pulled together for the BBC by U.K.-based Inflection Point research group. It was designed to test competing theories about public service broadcasting frequently heard in debates over the relevance of these services, here in Canada, and around the world. One is that public broadcasters,...
Read MoreMore Than Meets the Eye: defining “quality” in public service television
©2012 Wade Rowland What do we mean when we talk about “quality” in television? Is there such a thing as a “good” television, or radio programming, in the sense of its having transcendent moral and aesthetic value? Is it possible for a program to be “good” even if its audience dislikes it, or is indifferent to it? Or are these kinds of value judgements entirely subjective? Is it the case that if you like a program, it’s ipso facto “good?” If a program draws a large and enthusiastic audience, surely that rules out the possibility that it the program might be bad. These are...
Read MoreAbout Wade Rowland
Ranked among Canada’s leading literary journalists, Wade Davies Rowland has written more than a dozen books on subjects ranging from television journalism, organized crime, and international environmental law to his current concerns, which include communications technology, the philosophy of science, and technology and human values. Full author bio.