The CBC is dying, but here’s how to save it
The CBC has recently endured a staggering series of cuts, reduced its workforce by 25 per cent, lost significant market share, experienced a number of embarrassing scandals and watched its commercial revenues go into free fall. Both the French and English unions have expressed no confidence in the president and board of directors, calling for their resignation. Morale is at an all-time low and public confidence in the corporation has collapsed.
The new Liberal government has promised to give the CBC more money. That is a good idea. It is one of the worst-financed public broadcasters in the world.
The bigger issue, however, is whether the new government wants to save the CBC. This is not a question of money. It is more fundamentally a question of what the CBC should be.
There is only one way to move forward. The government, through Parliament, must establish a vision for the CBC, so that it can make sensible decisions about how much new money to provide. It should not give the corporation more money until there is a clear understanding about the direction it needs to pursue.
In Britain, the government enters into 10-year contracts with the BBC. They are called the Royal Charters and Agreements. They define what is expected of the corporation and make it possible to decide how much money the BBC should receive over the period of the contract.
The new government in Ottawa needs to do exactly the same thing with the CBC. It needs to develop a charter that will define the role of the corporation, making clear what the CBC should be.
Among other things, the charter needs to address a series of questions that have been unresolved for many years. 1. Does Canada need a CBC? Recently, the emergence of enormous digital media companies has destroyed the financial foundations of Canadian information and entertainment programming, with no commitment to the creation of Canadian content. It may be that for the CBC, as the Financial Times recently noted for the BBC, the “digital age makes it even more vital than before.”
2. Should the CBC emphasize popular programming or elite programming? The corporation is paid for by all Canadians, but many people feel it should focus on the high arts (ballet on TV and classical music) rather than entertainment (drama, comedy and contemporary music). It cannot do both. Attempting to do so pulls the corporation in contradictory directions and muddies its brand.
3. Should the CBC have ads on TV? For decades, CBC radio had no ads and has been very successful. Increasingly, Canadians will not watch television shows with ads, but eliminating advertising would have significant financial implications.
4. What sort of news should the CBC provide? All the major markets in Canada are served by local television news from the private sector. As private television budgets come under increasing pressure, however, they are forced to reduce expensive international and investigative coverage. It might be wise, therefore, for the CBC to leave local news to the privates and focus on national, international and investigative work.
5. Should the CBC be the broadcaster of last resort? The CBC currently serves a number of very small towns, but does not serve major centres that are bigger than some provinces. Deciding who to serve raises fundamental issues of fairness, efficiency and cost.
6. How should CBC be governed? The board and the president are both appointed by the government. This violates basic principles of good governance. With rare exceptions, the people appointed — including almost all of the recent presidents — have no knowledge of media or the management of large corporations
The new government has an opportunity to fix the CBC, but it should proceed in a deliberate manner. The first step should be to draft a charter — like the BBC’s — that establishes a clear vision and the financial resources necessary to accomplish it. This should be done before the terms of the current chairman and president expire in 2017.
Once the charter is created, the government will know what kind of people and how much new money are required to execute it. It can then increase the CBC’s budget and name a president and a chair who will be able to resurrect the corporation. The hour is late. The greatest of our national cultural institutions is dying. The government needs to begin to move now to ensure that we do not lose the CBC, and with it an important part of ourselves.
Ottawa should not give the CBC more money until there is a clear understanding about the direction it needs to pursue