The Public Eye : Television and the Politics of Canadian Broadcasting, 1952-1968

This book traces the development of the broadcasting system in Canada from the inception of television in 1952 to the passing of the Broadcast Act of 1968, focusing on the policy decisions made by governments and broadcasting authorities and the circumstances under which they were made. Several public investigations of the system and its performance took place during television's first sixteen years in Canada and their aims and outcomes form an important part of the story. The book deals with the relationships between the CBC, the private broadcasters, government, and the regulatory authority, and also with events that affected the perceptions of politicians and the public - the French network strike in 1959, the Preview Commentary affair of the same year, and the controversies surrounding the CBC program 'This Hour Has Seven Days' in 1965-6. Among those who figure prominently are A. Davidson Dunton and Alphonse Ouimet of the CBC; T.J. Allard and Don Jamieson of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters; Robert Fowler, chairman of two public inquiries into broadcasting; Andrew Stewart, chairman of the Board of Broadcast Governors; and Graham Spry, organizer of the Canadian Broadcasting League. The government officials involved include Prime Ministers Louis St Laurent, John Diefenbaker, and Lester B. Pearson, and ministers J.J. McCann, Goerge Nowlan, Jack Pickersgill, Maurice Lamontagne, and Judy LaMarsh. Frank Peers has unearthed a remarkable quantity of new material – from government documents, CBC records, interviews with key figures, and the records and manuscripts of a number of principals – and woven it into a fascinating and authoritative account of the state's involvement in broadcasting during these troubled and changeful years. Annotation This book traces the development of the broadcasting system in Canada from the inception of television in 1952 to the passing of the Broadcast Act of 1968, focusing on the policy decisions made by governments and broadcasting authorities and the circumstances under which they were made. Several public investigations of the system and its performance took place during television's first sixteen years in Canada and their aims and outcomes form an important part of the story. The book deals with the relationships between the CBC, the private broadcasters, government, and the regulatory authority, and also with events that affected the perceptions of politicians and the public - the French network strike in 1959, the Preview Commentary affair of the same year, and the controversies surrounding the CBC program 'This Hour Has Seven Days' in 1965-6. Among those who figure prominently are A. Davidson Dunton and Alphonse Ouimet of the CBC; T.J. Allard and Don Jamieson of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters; Robert Fowler, chairman of two public inquiries into broadcasting; Andrew Stewart, chairman of the Board of Broadcast Governors; and Graham Spry, organizer of the Canadian Broadcasting League. The government officials involved include Prime Ministers Louis St Laurent, John Diefenbaker, and Lester B. Pearson, and ministers J.J. McCann, Goerge Nowlan, Jack Pickersgill, Maurice Lamontagne, and Judy LaMarsh. Frank Peers has unearthed a remarkable quantity of new material - from government documents, CBC records, interviews with key figures, and the records and manuscripts of a number of principals - and woven it into a fascinating and authoritative account of the state's involvement in broadcasting during these troubled and changeful years Preface 5 Contents 9 Chronology 11 Introduction 13 1. Canadian Television: Beginnings 17 2. A National Service 45 3. The Fowler Commission, 1955–1957 71 4. A Turning Point 108 5. A New Government, A New Bill 131 6. The Broadcasting Act, 1958 168 7. A ‘Sea of Troubles’: The CBC from 1958 to 1963 192 8. The BBC’s ‘Most Productive’ Years: 1958–1963 231 9. Advice to the Perplexed Liberals 278 10. The System in the Mid-Sixties 299 11. From the Fowler Committee to the End of ‘Seven Days’ 321 12. The White Paper and the 1967 Broadcasting Committee 368 13. The Broadcasting Act, 1968 399 14. Evolution of the Broadcasting System in Canada 429 Bibliographical note 457 Appendix 461 Index 465