Lately we have been inundated with TV networks asking us to Save Local Television. But what are the facts? Only a handful of corporations own most of the media in this country. They neglect to tell you that corporate headquarters are in Toronto, or Montreal or Winnipeg. They fail to tell you how much “local” television there is in their broadcast day. It is very little percentage wise.
It is interesting that the leading TV outlets in all cities are the ones that really do deliver more “local” news, information and entertainment. In Vancouver Global TV is and always has been the leader in the community. They host two major telethons, have the largest news department in the city and the most recognized personalities. This is true of only a handful of other Global markets. You see, the easy way is to plug in prepackaged shows or buy American programs. Even though these shows cost money it is nothing compared to carrying a large staff. Not only that, the price of the bought program is spread across several markets.
I truly believe the TV networks brought this on themselves. When a television license is given out in a market such as Vancouver many promises are made. Some will not survive the competition. The CRTC has granted more licenses in some markets than the traffic will bear. Add to this burden the expansion of cable shows and the growth of specialty channels. This is proven in the U.S. where the three major networks do not have the viewer monopoly they once enjoyed.
During this recession advertisers have pulled back from all media, and this has really hurt the profit situation at local television stations. One of the suggestions from CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein is that a local programming fund should be created so all TV stations can draw from it. Sounds too much like the kind of bureaucratic thinking going on in the U.S. right now.
In Canada we love bureaucracy. We have 1 in 4 workers employed by government in some form. The CRTC is one giant bureaucracy that is not necessary. Its interference will only make things worse. The CBC has almost unlimited funds yet it barely functions due to the red tape in every department created by too many bureaucrats. I guess I believe that letting corporations fail is a good thing because better operators will take over and improve things with a fresh start. Giving a losing operation government cash keeps the enterprise alive but hardly creative or competitive.
As an employee of a media outlet, you have to worry that if you are fired you are fired from every one of their outlets. It used to be that you could go down the street and apply. Not anymore. In my opinion, that hinders creativity because every employee wants to toe the line to keep their job, and the process stifles creativity and initiative. For heaven’s sake, don’t come up with an idea, you just might upset the applecart. Be a good boy or girl and play the game. And you wonder why we have so much vanilla media in this country. The first qualification to survive is to be a good little robot. I know many good little robots who keep their jobs by toeing the line and ignoring anything that would improve the product. I would love to see the conglomerates broken up and the sooner the better.
Go ahead and attack me. I would love to hear you defend this mess.