Media Localism by Christopher Ali

Author:Christopher Ali [Ali, Christopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, General, Media Studies, Language Arts & Disciplines, Journalism, Communication Studies
ISBN: 9780252082238
Google: 785avgAACAAJ
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
Published: 2017-02-03T04:10:26+00:00

LINCOLN’S LEGACY

When a report from a parliamentary committee is tabled, the Canadian government is mandated to respond within 150 days. The government’s first response to the Lincoln Report, written by Heritage Minister Sheila Copps (no relation to Michael Copps), came in November 2003 and left much to be desired. As Raboy and Taras (2004) argue, the response “seemed to resist any notion that the system was in need of considerable overhaul” (p. 63). It contained mostly platitudes and vague commitments, while “largely ignor[ing] or put[ting] off to a later date” many of the report’s more substantive recommendations (p. 63). For instance, in spite of the report’s concern with localism, the government’s response was simply the promise to “examine the wider issues the Committee raises” (Canada, 2003b, p. 5). Raboy and Taras (2004) aptly label this a “politics of neglect.”

Despite some initial press coverage, interest in the report waned within a few months. As the broadcast industry magazine Playback commented: “Sank like a cinder block. Gone the way of the dodo. Fell off the radar. These are the phrases that spring to mind when one thinks of the Lincoln Report” (Davidson, 2004). Saved from this fate, the Report was given a second life when it was reintroduced to Parliament in December 2004, mandating a second government response. The second response, this time under a new Liberal Prime Minister, Paul Martin, was written by then-Heritage Minister Liza Frulla and released in 2005. It promised greater intervention and study of the broadcasting system (Canada, 2005). The response even suggested a comprehensive study of local media ecosystems focusing on the information needs of Canadian communities and the range of media platforms that Canadians consult (Canada, 2005). As Frulla wrote: “Canadians have made it clear that local and regional content is important to them. Local news is the most important type of news to Canadians, ranked over national or international news. If the Government is to respond to Canadians’ needs, the focus must shift from the provider to the citizen, by looking at all of the various media that serve Canadians in a given community” (p. 7). Frulla’s response received considerable press attention, much of it critical of the government’s alignment with media moguls (Toronto Star, 2005). Though these critiques are not wrong, the response signals the government’s most progressive pledge to the information needs of Canadians. Unfortunately, it would not have an opportunity to act. Another change of government, this time in 2006, ousted the Liberal party and replaced it with a minority Conservative government, which quickly forgot about the Lincoln Report. The report has thus completed the self-fulfilling prophecy predicted by many of “gathering dust” in the library of parliament (Raboy & Taras, 2004; Raboy, 2006, p. 302).

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