Canada balances cultural programming between U.S. and domestic: McDonald

An edited excerpt of a speech by Canadian Film and Television Production Association president/CEO Elizabeth McDonald in the U.K., July 19. There is a very famous Canadian philosopher, Wayne Gretzky. Actually, he is a very famous hockey player and the coach (sic) of this year’s Olympic gold medal winning Canadian men’s hockey team. He always exhorts his team to play where the puck will be, not where it has been.As we debate the issues of trade, globalization and diversity, we do need to think ahead. Until now, the television and media corporate interests have been driven by growth strategies. It is not all together clear that these traditional strategies will be as effective in the new knowledge-based economy. Content creators (filmmakers, television producers, writers, etc.) are the future. They tend to work as individuals or as part of tightly knit teams and their success depends on creativity not corporate growth. If the Internet is the future (or where the puck will be), we will be looking at a marketplace that will be based on the ability to market one-to-one rather than to a mass audience. The present economic woes in the technology sector seem to suggest I may be wrong. The reality may be that the corporate interests got ahead of the creative, as short-term bottom line goals took precedence. In the long term, to truly move to a knowledge-based society, we will need to find balance between creative and corporate interests. And, for the creators who should be the mainstay of the future knowledge economy, we must solve the problems associated with intellectual property rights. Creators must retain and be in a position to exploit the benefits of these rights if they are to survive and flourish. This is an area where Canada has lagged behind and we have become a haven for operations like iCraveTV.com and JumpTV, and black and grey market satellite pirates. We are working with government for change. It is also an example of why we must ensure an up-to-date legislative framework that encourages both sides of the innovation agenda – technology and creativity.For Canada, the challenge over the next 10 years will be maintaining and growing a system that is recognizably Canadian while offering the best that the rest of the world has to offer versus having a slightly Canadian and mostly generic menu of programming. In the United Kingdom, you have had the advantage of an audience that has been allowed to develop (once again thanks to geography) a strong preference for its own indigenous programming. In future, you will need to be vigilant to ensure that a majority of your entertainment "shelf space" continues to be reserved for local stories. Will your young people grow up thinking Central Perk and Jennifer Anniston et al are Friends, who live just around the corner? Will they have the choice to look in on the rovers’ return and the antics of Steve and Karen Macdonald, Curley and Emma, Geena and Dev? Thanks to geography, quiet nationalism and the realities of market size, Canada has needed to fight hard to retain a share of its own marketplace. We do this on a daily basis when our viewers have a panoply of programming choice from around the world that is second to none. We must also fight to maintain our national presence in the international world as our regulatory and support systems make Canada a prime target of the U.S. Trade Representative... At the end of the 19th century, Canada’s then prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, suggested that the 20th century would belong to Canada. I believe that his timing was wrong. The truth is that we all have a better chance in the 21st century for a much richer life in a knowledge economy and all that it promises, if it is truly allowed to flourish. That being said, just watch us!

Canada balances cultural programming between U.S. and domestic: McDonald

News | 07/25/2002 4:00 am EDT

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