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A Structural Analysis of the Re-Design of Cbc News, 2009-2011

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A Structural Analysis of the Re-Design of Cbc News, 2009-2011 “KNOW MORE, KNOW NOW”: A STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS OF THE RE-DESIGN OF CBC NEWS, 2009-2011 Stephany Tlalka A Thesis in The Department of Journalism Presented in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts (Journalism) at Concordia University Montreal, Quebec, Canada April 2012 © Stephany Tlalka, 2012 CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY School of Graduate Studies This is to certify that the thesis prepared By: Stephany Tlalka Entitled: “Know more, know now” a structural analysis of the re-design of CBC News, 2009-2011 and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of __________ complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the final examining committee: Dr. James McLean Chair Dr. Chantal Francoeur Examiner Dr. Greg Nielsen Examiner Dr. Mike Gasher Supervisor Approved by ________________________________________________ Chair of Department or Graduate Program Director ________________________________________________ Dean of Faculty Date ________________________________________________ iii ABSTRACT “Know more, know now”: a structural analysis of the re-design of CBC News, 2009-2011 Stephany Tlalka This thesis addresses the manner in which the re-design of CBC's English news service in 2009 is shaped by the broadcaster's interrelations with the journalistic, political, and economic fields. It draws on Pierre Bourdieu's concept of field theory to analyze how changes to the CBC's structure of journalistic production alters the distribution of capitals (cultural, economic, symbolic) the broadcaster possesses, and subsequently, the strategies the CBC employs to pursue its particular stakes as a public broadcaster in the journalistic field. This thesis claims that the latest round of CBC News re-structuring, into a “content company” or integrated news operation, reflects the CBC's new strategy as a public broadcaster to offer on-demand content and be interactive with audiences, as encapsulated in the re-design motto, “know more, know now” (CBC, 2009h). Further, this articulation of the CBC's renewed role functions to disavow the increased political and economic pressures on the broadcaster to be financially efficient with mandated funds and generate revenues to fund expanding operations. Thus, the CBC's articulation of its new public broadcasting role during the 2009 re-design demonstrates how the CBC refracts demands from external fields into its 'prism of interests' by balancing mandated objectives with external demands (Emirbayer & Johnson, 2008, p. 19). The first part draws on three moments of structural transformation at the CBC iv since its inception in order to illustrate how the CBC, from the outset, has participated in multiple fields and its structural changes reflect that throughout its history. The second part maps out the structural changes to news production in the 2009 re-design by drawing on CBC, government, and related documents in order to show how official articulations of the re-design function to disavow political and economic pressures the broadcaster is attempting to refract into its mandate. The final part employs a case study to analyze how the “content company” news structure operates during a large-scale Canadian news event, the death of Jack Layton, including how interactive and on-demand elements are incorporated into news production. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This work would not have been possible without the benign guidance of a particular professor at the University of King's College, Dr. Gordon McOuat, who first encouraged me in early 2007 to explore journalism as a realm of scholarly study and not just as a practice of inquiry. If it wasn't for his openness to accepting students at all hours of the day, and the intimate class sizes of the program itself, I would have never mustered the courage to consider journalism as an academic endeavour and would not have sought out Concordia's journalism studies program either. I owe much to Dr. Mike Gasher. As my thesis supervisor, Dr. Gasher first suggested the CBC News re-design as a dissertation topic after he read a research paper I had written for his Political Economy of Journalism course, in the first year of the MA program. Despite the newness of the program, Dr. Gasher allowed me to roam freely beyond its boundaries—and beyond a few deadlines—in order to cobble together a constellation of government reports, strategic documents, and even Twitter feeds with field theory and political economy. When the terrain seemed unstable, especially when pouring over decades of Canadian broadcasting history, Dr. Gasher was able to steer me in the direction of concision. He allowed me the space to formulate my own ideas, but used his veto powers to save me from my own curiosity, and from a Factiva database full of CBC articles. I am sure that he has wondered what I have been doing, quietly over in the maritimes for the past few months, and I hope this thesis makes him proud. I must thank Dr. Chantal Francoeur, who offered to lend her wisdom to this vi project and helped me craft a case study. Dr. Francoeur also pointed me in the direction of some internal CBC files she had gained access to through her PhD dissertation, which inspired me to consider other CBC documents, beyond official reports and press releases, in my analysis. I thank Dr. Greg Nielsen for lending his interest and experience in Pierre Bourdieu to this project. As I was writing, I often thought about a piece of advice he had given me, to “think through Bourdieu” in my analysis. His comments encouraged me to continue studying field theory and the journalistic field. I must thank a number of people to whom this project owes its current form. The bulk of my thoughts on Bourdieu were formed over conversations with my partner, Jesse Hiltz, who lobbied for theoretical rigour throughout my thesis as well as study breaks to collect my sanity. I thank my friend, Kate MacKeigan, for reading and editing the bulk of this thesis, with an inquisitiveness and thoroughness that helped me greatly in the final months. Finally, I would like to thank my grandfathers, Frank Tlalka and A. Ivan Hall, whose unconditional support allowed me to approach this project with a clear mind. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS I – Methodology: exploring the CBC through field theory and political economy..............1 A - Methodology.............................................................................................................6 B -Literature Review......................................................................................................10 II - The CRBC/CBC and the Journalistic, Political, and Economic Fields: 1928-present....44 A - The CBC as an intervention into the broadcasting/journalistic field.........................45 B -The establishment of public broadcasting in the 1930s..............................................46 C - The addition of television services in the 1950s........................................................59 D - 1980s, 1990s recessions.............................................................................................69 E - Chapter conclusion.....................................................................................................83 III - “Know more, know now”: The re-design of CBC News.................................................86 A- The CBC as prestigious cultural producer..................................................................88 B- The CBC and the art dealer: interested disinterestedness and symbolic capital.........92 C- The CBC mandate as interested disinterestedness......................................................100 D- Administrative strategies: the CBC “content company” as strategy...........................101 E- The CBC and its audiences..........................................................................................128 F- The CBC and its journalists.........................................................................................140 G- Chapter conclusion......................................................................................................157 IV - Case Study: CBC Multi-platform Coverage of Jack Layton's Death, 23 August 2011..162 A- One story, three platforms: the distinct use of platforms in Layton coverage............166 B- Making the news more personally relevant: interactivity and how CBC News reaches new publics, creates conversations……………............................................177 C- Chapter conclusion…………………………………………………………….........197 V – Conclusion.........................……………………………………………………………..200 References………………………………………………………………………...................209 Appendices………………………………………………………………………..................222 1 CHAPTER 1: METHODOLOGY AND LITERATURE REVIEW Objectives This thesis investigates the institutional logic behind the current structural changes to the CBC's news operations in light of the 2008 recession and wider changes to the news industry. This investigation is not limited to an organizational analysis, but takes into account interrelations that shape how the CBC operates, including internal relations (radio, televisions, and online journalists; particular programming changes) and external relations (government relations, economic pressures). This project takes up the thesis put forward by Bourdieu (2005) that just as the journalistic field's autonomy is decreasing due to increased economic and political demands, its “influence” and “pervasiveness” within other fields
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