Column like I see 'em - Does Canada still care about the CBC? Survey says!鈥�
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- Published on Friday, February 14, 2020
By Eoin Devereux
Neepawa Banner & Press
Are you familiar with the expression, 鈥淥ne man鈥檚 trash is another man鈥檚 treasure鈥�? Well, let鈥檚 talk about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
But first, allow me to be fully transparent here; originally, this editorial had a much different, darker tone to it. In that op-ed, titled 鈥淏runo Gerussi is dead and Wayne and Shuster were never funny鈥�, I basically eviscerated the television wing of the public broadcaster and questioned its actual value in the modern media world.
The basis of my argument focused upon the simple truth that fewer and fewer Canadians are watching their programs. According to newswire.ca, the CBC鈥檚 dinner-hour news broadcast registered an average national viewership of just 329,000 viewers. CTV National News, meanwhile, had more than triple that number, with 993,000 tuning in. As well, in the latest Numeris ratings report (Jan. 20 to 26), there was only one CBC show to be found within the top 30 most watched shows of the week on Canadian English language networks. That would be Murdoch Mysteries, which was all the way up there in 26th place.These figures are damning. How can you really call yourself Canada鈥檚 public broadcaster when the Canadian public doesn鈥檛 actually watch your broadcasts?
But in my zest to decimate the CBC, I forgot to examine the subject with genuine impartiality. So, in an effort to be legitimately fair and balanced, I decided to ask around and get some different perspectives on the value of the CBC. The responses were mixed. Some I spoke with trumpeted the network鈥檚 efforts to inform, enlighten and entertain Canadians of all ages, races and creeds. They lauded a variety of programming that is governed by the principles of diversity and reflect the truths of contemporary Canada鈥� Others thought it was a tool of the liberal propaganda machine. Both nuanced and informed arguments in their own 鈥渟pecial鈥� way, I鈥檓 sure.
This discourse left me no closer to an answer on the value of CBC-TV than when I began. So, I believe there is only one way that we can come to a definitive answer as to how we feel about it鈥� A cheesy, discount game show!
We can do it in the style of the 2004 CBC program, The Greatest Canadian. It was there where we, as a nation, assembled together and voted Tommy Douglas as the greatest Canadian in our illustrious history鈥on Cherry was seventh. Hopefully this was a non-binding vote.
We can get Gerry Dee to serve as the host. He proved he could do the job by hosting Family Feud Canada and I鈥檓 sure he鈥檒l be available, since he鈥檚 the only Canadian celebrity we seem to have that can鈥檛 find real work in America.
George Stroumboulopoulos can take the pro side of the argument, citing the virtues and values of the CBC, while Dwayne 鈥淭he Rock鈥� Johnson can champion the opposing argument. Johnson鈥檚 half Canadian, so that covers our Cancon requirements. Plus, who wouldn鈥檛 want to hear the Rock call Strombo a 鈥渃andy ass鈥�?
We鈥檒l need to find a place for Ryan Reynolds in this whole thing, to help bring in the youth demographic. Cap it all off with a reunion of the original cast from Degrassi Junior High for the Gen-Xers, like myself, and I think we have ourselves a Canadian television spectacle for the ages. Obviously, we will have to broadcast the whole thing on CTV, so that people will actually tune in and watch it.
Alright, I admit the last few paragraphs were overly flippant on the subject, but sarcasm and derision are my default responses to most subjects. But, truth be told, I鈥檓 already tired of the conversation around the future of the CBC and we as a nation haven鈥檛 even truly started that conversation. People are legitimately worked up about the public broadcaster and feel as though they鈥檙e not being heard on the matter. We have to ask the question: Is CBC television integral to shaping our national identity or is it a $1.2 billion bill that fewer of us are still willing to subsidize? Trash or treasure?
Disclaimer: Column like I see 鈥榚m is a monthy opinion column for the Neepawa Banner & Press. The views expressed in the article are the writer鈥檚 personal views and are not to be taken as being the view of the Neepawa Banner & Press.
