MPA 867 (2016) Canadian Cultural Policy Dr. Victor Rabinovitch May 16-20: afternoons June 6-10: mornings e-mail: victor.rabinovitch@queensu.ca Context The creation and distribution of Canadian culture on a commercial scale is influenced significantly by public policies, through decisions of federal, provincial and municipal governments. Policies on culture also reflect the advice voiced by creators, producers, broadcasters, exhibitors and consumers and by taxpayers, importers and exporters. However, this advice is often contradictory and never unanimous. Culture is a simple word with complex meanings. It usually refers to artistic creation, popular expression and entertainment, but it also describes the styles of authority, communication and relationships within organizations. In its broadest sense, culture refers to a combination of languages, arts, group memories, narratives, and values that define a particular society at the level of a region, a nation state, or even a continent. Canadian culture is a field for dynamic policy debates. For the past century, cultural issues have generated controversies affecting the structure of industries, technology adoption, federal-provincial relations and the expression of national identities. Here are some examples of current challenges and conflicts in the fields of arts and culture. 1. Canadian content An article by the Globe & Mail s John Doyle reflects two core challenges: the cost of producing Canadian TV content and our routinely negative comparisons with programming from the USA, at least by English media writers like Doyle. ( Where is Canada s hard-hitting comedy? March 18, 2014, p. L 2) The half-hour comedy is relatively cheap to produce and an undemanding way to fill Canadian-content regulations. That is why, in part, Canadian TV is going in that direction. And yet we lack the savage humour about Canadian news that we so savour about the United States on The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Domestic content becomes even more important when local news is considered. No mega TV station or foreign cable network will report local
issues from Canadian cities. The business challenge and its relationship to public policy was summed up nicely by the Chair of the CRTC at a regulatory hearing. (Opening remarks by Jean-Pierre Blais, Gatineau, January 25, 2016) In recent years, the revenues derived from local television news have fallen short of the associated delivery costs. This trend is putting additional pressure on broadcasters. Need I remind everyone that offering local news and information is a public service obligation imposed on local commercial television stations in return for the privileges of using public airwaves to broadcast programming. 2. Ownership, competition, and choice. Mergers across Canadian (and foreign) media have largely eliminated the distinction between companies that create and package content, and companies that distribute content. The Bell purchase of Astral Media is a powerful example. Here is the view of Ian Greenberg, the former CEO of Astral (Globe & Mail, Oct. 29, 2012, p. B 2.) I really think it takes a larger scale. I could see the winds against an independent company like Astral not being able to compete with global players any more. The debates continue. Is huge size needed to compete in modern media undertakings? Is ownership in the broadcast and distribution market already too concentrated? Will the streaming of content through services such as Netflix and Crave TV undermine existing business models? Will pick and pay mean that minority TV choices are eliminated, and Canadian content squeezed out? Alternatively, have we not figured out how to use public policy to make room for Canadian choices in the digital universe? 3. Transformation of publishing The print form of content creation and distribution has been at the heart of cultural creativity for several centuries and in all societies, including Canada. But publishing in all forms newspapers, magazines, books is under great pressure. In Canada, the bankruptcy of the major publisher, Douglas & McIntyre, and the virtual Americanization of another company, McClelland & Stewart, may signal the end of large-scale independent Canadian book publishing. How will this impact the availability of Canadian fiction and non-fiction? Will larger foreign publishers take up the slack? (And even foreign
publishers are in turmoil, as seen in the Random House purchase of Penguin, while Bertelsmann of Germany actually owns Random House.) What will be the future role and viability of small Canadian publishers? Some additional questions. What will be the impacts on other cultural media that derive their content from Canadian literature? What will be the impacts on writers if there are fewer publishers able to purchase their manuscripts? Will the technology of e-publishing, and the distribution dominance of Amazon, create different opportunities for Canadian literature? What is the future of daily newspapers and news-gathering? How should public policies evolve to face this situation? Course objectives and outline The MPA 867 course identifies conceptual issues in Canadian cultural policies, and responses by public and private bodies. Our focus is on pan-canadian activities by the federal government but there are also references to provincial and municipal initiatives, notably (but not exclusively) in Quebec. Cultural policy is discussed in the broad sense of examining governmental and private actions that enable Canadian voices to tell Canadian stories, strengthening the ties that bind a diverse country. Public policies and programs currently address elements of the entire continuum of cultural expression: creation, production, distribution, promotion, consumption, and preservation. They affect many types of activities, such as performance venues, publications, musical recording, film, video, television, social media, museums and archives. This course discusses applicable laws, agencies and institutions, their operational impacts, and emerging challenges. Students will gain insights into how the tools of policy analysis and decisionmaking are applied in a practical setting. The methodologies learned in core SPS courses will assist our understanding of the social, administrative, and economic dimensions of cultural policies. There will also be some attention to related fields, such as official languages, multiculturalism, regional identity, and social cohesion, but the primary focus will be on public and private choices that make up Canadian cultural expression. In addition to purely policy issues, class discussions will create greater awareness of current cultural activities. References to Canadian films, theatre, music and other media will be welcome.
Organization and agenda The course is divided into three parts. - First, it looks at the Canadian context and challenges that are addressed by cultural policies. Alternative viewpoints, evolving decisions, and current controversies will be discussed. - Second, it looks at the institutions and programs that have been put into place to respond to cultural challenges. On the public side, these include regulatory, funding, taxation, and delivery agencies. On the private side, these include undertakings to produce and market domestic materials on a for-profit model (known as cultural industries ) and on a not-for-profit model (usually in the performing arts). - Third, it identifies current pressures and trends that have significant impacts in Canada and elsewhere. Issues such as technology innovation, trade laws, global distribution systems, and financial capacity affect expectations and government capacity. MPA 867 is delivered in a combined lecture and seminar format. If time permits, a guest participant from the cultural field will be invited to speak to the class from a front lines perspective. Course participants will be expected to contribute to class discussions, based on their reading of select materials and familiarity with current media reports. Opinions backed up with factual references will be valued. While secondary sources on Canadian cultural policy are limited, the literature of primary sources is extensive and of good quality. These include: Parliamentary reports, submissions by interest groups and industry associations, speeches by public officials, decisions rendered by the CRTC, Statistics Canada documents, and the annual reports of companies and agencies. Personal memoirs by wellknown individuals are also a fine source of insights and anecdotes. A listing of sources and day-by-day syllabus will be sent to students before the April 28 and 30 opening class sessions. Assignments and evaluation There will be three assignments that roughly parallel the three parts of this course. These assignments are similar to the type of materials routinely produced by policy staff working in government or private organizations. 1. A briefing note (500 words) on context and top current challenges for cultural policy, based on information from the first two sessions of the course. Due on
Monday, May 16. (Value of 15 per cent of the course grade. Evaluated on the quality of content and the clarity of writing.) 2. A PowerPoint presentation of 20-30 minutes on the mandate, role, and activities of an institution or a major program that is part of Canada s cultural infrastructure. Course participants will select their topics at the end of Session 2 (April 30) from a list that will be distributed. The PowerPoint presentation is to be circulated by email no later than two hours before the class. A final version, with reference sources and any revisions, will be submitted for evaluation the day after the classroom presentation. (Value of 30 per cent of the course grade. Evaluated on the quality of the content, clarity of the oral presentation, and handling of discussion.) 3. A final analytical paper, due on Wednesday, June 22. Maximum of 3,000 to 3,500 words. Topics will be proposed on June 8 or earlier by course participants, for approval by the instructor. (Value of 45 per cent of the course grade.) 4. The fourth part of evaluation will be student contributions to class discussions, including a brief presentation of a recent media story on a cultural issue. (Value of 10 per cent of the course grade.)