Canada's Cultural Media Policy and Newfoundland Music on the Radio
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University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 5-2007 Canada’s Cultural Media Policy and Newfoundland Music on the Radio: Local Identities and Global Implications Sara Beth Keough University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Geography Commons Recommended Citation Keough, Sara Beth, "Canada’s Cultural Media Policy and Newfoundland Music on the Radio: Local Identities and Global Implications. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2007. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/208 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Sara Beth Keough entitled "Canada’s Cultural Media Policy and Newfoundland Music on the Radio: Local Identities and Global Implications." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Geography. Thomas L. Bell, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Lydia M. Pulsipher, John B. Rehder, Leslie C. Gay, Jr. Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Sara Beth Keough entitled “Canada’s Cultural Media Policy and Newfoundland Music on the Radio: Local Identities and Global Implications.” I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Geography. Dr. Thomas L. Bell Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Dr. Lydia M. Pulsipher Dr. John B. Rehder Dr. Leslie C. Gay, Jr. Accepted for the Council: Dr. Carolyn Hodges Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records.) Canada’s Cultural Media Policy and Newfoundland Music on the Radio: Local Identities and Global Implications A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree University of Tennessee, Knoxville Sara Beth Keough May 2007 Copyright © 2007 by Sara Beth Keough All rights reserved. ii Acknowledgements To begin, I would like to sincerely thank my dissertation committee: Dr. Tom Bell, Dr. Lydia Pulsipher, Dr. John Rehder, and Dr. Leslie Gay. The support and attention I received from you made this experience so rewarding. I learned so much from your comments and suggestions. Dr. Bell, I couldn’t have asked for a better advising experience from you. Thank you for all the extra time and effort you spent reading my journal articles and my grant applications, writing letters of recommendation, and having me over for Peggy’s wonderful holiday meals. I would also like to thank the agencies and organizations that provided funding for this project: The Government of Canada and the Canadian Embassy in the United States, the Association of American Geographers, the Cultural Geography Specialty Group, the Society of Women Geographers, the W.K. McClure Foundation for the Study of World Affairs, and the McCroskey Foundation. A big Thank You also goes to the Memorial University of Newfoundland, specifically the departments of Folklore, Geography, the Center for Newfoundland and Labrador Studies, the Center for the Study of Music, Media, and Place, and the Folklore and Language Archives. I am forever grateful for your unfailing help and support during my time in Newfoundland. There are some individuals in Newfoundland that went above and beyond the call of duty in helping me out. Philip Hiscock, this topic came alive through conversations and email correspondences with you. Thank you for taking time for me and helping me develop my ideas. Beverly Diamond, thank you for all your support, and also for helping me develop my ideas. It is an honor to know you. Jo Shawyer, your encouragement and enthusiasm for my project meant so much. Other people helped in more ways than I can iii mention: Chris Sharpe, Sarah Moore, Alison Copeland and the MUN Geography graduate students that welcomed me into their office in the summers, Peter Narvaez, Neil Rosenberg, Keith Storey, Judith Klassen, Holly Everett, Glen Tilley, Glen Colten, Don Buell, Shirley Maher and her family, Elke Dettmer, Carole Anne and Ken Coffey, Richard Beaton, Mont Keough and family, and my dear friend in Ferryland, Rhonda O’Keefe Arsenault. And thank you to all the radio station personnel, listeners and musicians who agreed to participate in my study. You all made my Newfoundland experience positively unforgettable. I would also like to thank Tony Lawson and the rest of the WDVX station personnel for introducing me to the world of radio and showing me the ropes. I will always be a faithful listener, regardless of where life takes me. Another group of folks in Ottawa made my research possible, and I am indebted to them for their kindness and consideration. Thanks to all the folks at the CRTC who gave me office space and helped me better understand Canadian radio: Nick Ketchum, Mike Amodeo, Annie Duquette, Peter Foster, Jane Britton, Naneo Kachi, Yolanda McMillan and Lorraine Pigeon. I would not have gotten to this point in my career without consistently excellent advising from my three advisors: Dr. John Garrigus at Jacksonville University, Dr. Bonham C. Richardson at Virginia Tech, and Dr. Thomas L. Bell at the University of Tennessee. I am honored to have worked under such excellent scholars. Many people helped and supported me each in their own ways. While I cannot name everyone here, I especially want to mention Ray Oldakowski, Marcelle Bessmen, Doughlas Hazzard, Sally Horn, Carol Harden, Bruce Ralston, Soren Larsen, Billy Terry, iv John Moore, Joe Scarpaci, Lisa Kennedy, Lynn Resler, Bill Carstensen, Bob Morrill, Paul Knox, John Browder, Ed Schwartz, Eddie Watson, and Michelle Brym. To Russell, Jean, Robert and Eric Shock: thank you for making me part of your family. Your generosity is too great to expand upon, but will always be remembered. To the entire Sauerkraut Band, thank you for being some of the best friends I’ve ever had, and for knowing all my faults and liking me anyway. Leaving you all is the hardest part of leaving the area. I also want to acknowledge the two graduate students at the University of Tennessee, Matt Durnin and Elizabeth Trail, who helped process my data. I would not have finished on time without their help and dedication to a project that wasn’t even theirs. Thank you! Also, a thank you goes out to my high school English teachers, Louis Lanthier and Greg Pratt, who so patiently worked to hone my writing skills. Your efforts have paid off! Finally, my most sincere thanks goes to my family. Grandma (and Grampa), thank you for all the letters and cookies, and for keeping better track of my life than I can! Mom and Dad, thanks for always believing I could do it, and for never letting me doubt for a minute that you were proud of me. Matt (and Bladen), thanks for all your support, and for putting up with all the work and papers I brought home (and will continue to bring home) with me on breaks. Matt, thanks for framing my favorite map! Wynde Kate, thank you for all your support, for being the wonderful person that you are, for being, hands down, my best friend, and for screaming the loudest over the phone when I told you I was now a doctor. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to Gordon, who had to deal most immediately with both the stress and the joy of my PhD experience, who took v scouting trips to Newfoundland with me and helped me develop my ideas, and who is the best entertainment director in the world! vi Abstract As our access to information increases with the aid of communication technologies, there is concern about cultural homogenization. Ironically, however, in the face of globalization in the media, the local often becomes increasingly important. This study explores how Canada’s cultural policy toward the media, known as the Canadian Content regulations, has both local and global implications. I examine how Canadian Content regulations apply to radio, and how these radio regulations influence broadcasting in the St. John’s, Newfoundland radio market. Interviews with radio station personnel (e.g. DJs, program directors, music librarians) and radio listeners show that radio stations in St. John’s emphasize local (Newfoundland) music in the face of more popular Canadian and American music. In addition, this emphasis on local content ensures the survival of these stations in light of new radio broadcasting technologies such as the Internet and satellite radio. Furthermore, the act of broadcasting local music on the radio in St. John's has allowed radio listening to become incorporated into listeners' Newfoundland cultural traditions. In this way, the radio becomes a medium through which station personnel and listeners present their culture by showcasing music and actively preserve their culture through the broadcast of music that speaks of times past, or current issues facing Newfoundlanders. Finally, when talking about their experience listening to Newfoundland music on the radio, several themes emerged: connection between Newfoundlanders and their identity and culture, connections with other Newfoundlanders in Newfoundland, connections to Newfoundland as a place, and connections with Newfoundlanders living off the island.