Missed Opportunities: The Story of Canada’s Broadcasting Policy

In Missed Opportunities, Marc Raboy reveals the short-sightedness behind the traditional view of Canadian broadcasting policy as an instrument for promoting a national identity and culture. He argues that Canadian broadcasting policy has served as a political instrument for reinforcing a certain image of Canada against insurgent challenges, such as maintaining the image of Canada as a political entity distinct from the United States and acting against internal threats, most notably from Quebec. It has served as a vehicle for the development of private broadcasting industries and to further the general interests of the Canadian state. Most of the time, Raboy maintains, this policy has been the object of vigorous public dispute. rnrnToward the end of his career, Graham Spry used the phrase “missed opportunities” in reference to Canadian broadcasting. Raboy shows which opportunities have been missed and clarifies the relationship between the evolution of Canadian broadcasting policy over the past sixty years and the changes in Canadian society during the same period.