Source : Grande Prairie Herald Tribune

CBC not worth another $250M a year to mind its ‘grassroots’

Editorial

No one will deny that that CBC, especially the television operations of the national broadcaster, hasn’t been an important part of their lives – not if they’re anywhere over 20 years old.

CBC has defined Canada and Canadians – who and what we are – for half a century, from the first time grainy black-and-white images flickered onto oval-screen TV consoles fed by rooftop aerials back in the early 1950s to today’s high-definition, bright-coloured, instantaneous programming that spans the globe.

The legacy is enormous, from kids’ programs to Saturday-night hockey to ballet to music to breaking news to satire to thought-provoking panel discussions to home-grown quiz shows.

Much of those 50 years of programming will surface anew this month as part of a massive anniversary celebration on the tube. And you can’t blame the public broadcaster for patting itself on the back.

It is truly deserving of Canadians’ acclaim, commendation and respect.

But more power to the CBC, as in more money? As in $250 million more a year? Specifically so it can “look after its backyard, its grassroots” in the view of the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting advocacy group?

No.

Let the CBC continue to do what it has been doing lately, which is providing a broad view of who and what Canada is. As far as local or regional news coverage is concerned, CBC has not been doing an adequate job. We suspect it’s more through choice than a lack of wherewithal.

This isn’t the ’50s or ’60s anymore; this isn’t one- or two-channel television service. Most viewers have cable, if not satellite. And with a multitude of channels to watch and with the focus of Edmonton-based stations such as CFRN, Global and A channel – not to mention Northern Cablevision’s improving community news and events programming on Channel 7 – local and regional coverage, news, weather and sports, is quite adequate without CBC, thank you very much.

The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting poll suggests close to 90 per cent of those surveyed want regional CBC services strengthened. The question is why, when other channels are doing and have done just that? What part of Canada are they living in, other perhaps than the deep reaches of the far north, where that’s deemed necessary?

The poll also showed that people who derive high value from CBC-TV has declined to 64 per cent from 71 per cent in 1995. That may be less CBC doing its job and more competitors doing theirs in competitive markets.

Making the CBC “more accessible and more community oriented” with $250 million more a year from taxpayers is fiscal foolery.

© Grande Prairie Herald Tribune