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INDEPENDENT VOICES: THIRD SECTOR MEDIA DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN SASKATCHEWAN A Thesis Submitted to the College of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy In the Interdisciplinary Studies Program Co-operative Studies Research Concentration University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon By PATRICIA W. ELLIOTT Copyright Patricia W. Elliott, March, 2015. All rights reserved. PERMISSION TO USE In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Postgraduate degree from the University of Saskatchewan, I agree that the Libraries of this University may make it freely available for inspection. I further agree that permission for copying of this thesis in any manner, in whole or in part, for scholarly purposes may be granted by the professor or professors who supervised my thesis work or, in their absence, by the Head of the Department or the Dean of the College in which my thesis work was done. It is understood that any copying or publication or use of this thesis or parts thereof for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. It is also understood that due recognition shall be given to me and to the University of Saskatchewan in any scholarly use which may be made of any material in my thesis. Requests for permission to copy or to make other use of material in this thesis in whole or part should be addressed to: Director, Centre for the Study of Co-operatives 101 Diefenbaker Centre University of Saskatchewan Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada S7N 5B8 i ABSTRACT This dissertation examines nonprofit, co-operative, and volunteer media enterprises operating outside Saskatchewan’s state and commercial media sectors. Drawing on historical research and contemporary case studies, I take the position that this third sector of media activity has played, and continues to play, a much-needed role in engaging marginalized voices in social discourse, encouraging participation in community-building and local governance, fostering local-global connectedness, and holding power to account when the rights and interests of citizens are jeopardized. The cases studied reveal a surprising level of resiliency among third sector media enterprises; however, the research also finds that the challenges facing third sector media practitioners have deepened considerably in recent decades, testing this resiliency. A rapid withdrawal of media development support from the public sphere has left Saskatchewan’s third sector media at a crossroads. The degree of the problem is largely unknown outside media practitioner circles, even among civil society allies. I argue this relates to the lack of recognition of nonprofit, co-operative, and volunteer media as a distinct third sector, thus obscuring the global impact when hundreds of small undertakings shed staff and reduce operations in multiple locations across Canada. At the same time, there is increasing recognition that such media have the potential to fill a void left by commercial and state media organizations that have retreated from local communities. Accordingly, this dissertation makes the case for a coordinated media development strategy as a component of the social economy. The challenge is to build useful mechanisms of support among civil society allies that do not replicate oppressive donor-client relationships that are all too common in the arena of governmental and private sector support. While never simple, the opportunities and social benefits are considerable when citizens devise the means to participate in the creation of a robust, diverse media ecology. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am deeply grateful to the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives for taking in an interest in third sector media as an area of scholarly inquiry, and for accepting me into their fold as an aspiring Ph.D. candidate. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the patient, wise, and inspiring guidance of my supervisor, Dr. Isobel Findlay, who has encouraged me to think deeply and critically. I offer sincere thanks to my student advisory committee chairs, Dr. Lou Hammond Ketilson and Dr. Michael Gertler, for shepherding a long journey toward its conclusion, and for contributing many valuable ideas and readings along the way. My additional committee members, Dr. Louise Clarke, Dr. Cindy Hanson, and Dr. Linda McMullen, have offered lively discussion and knowledge sharing, and helped me to grow as a scholar. I also greatly appreciated the opportunity to learn from seminar discussions with Dr. Jessica Gordon Nembhard, Dr. Catherine Leviten-Reid, and Maria Basualdo during the course of my studies. Further, the Central European University in Budapest, Hungary, afforded me an opportunity to study media and democratization in an international context. I thank my union, the University of Regina Faculty Association (URFA), and my employer, the University of Regina, for helping accommodate the demands of my studies, as well as my colleagues at the School of Journalism for their support and encouragement. Administrative support received from staff of the Faculty of Graduate Studies and from Karen Neufeldt, administrative assistant at the Centre for the Study of Co-operatives, also deserves mention and thanks. Finally, I have been abundantly blessed with the help and good wishes of family and friends, in particular my husband Don Jedlic and son Ringo Jedlic, without whom I could not succeed in my studies or in life. iii DEDICATION To my parents, Helen and Harvey Elliott iv TABLE OF CONTENTS PERMISSION TO USE i ABSTRACT ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iii DEDICATION iv LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF FIGURES ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS x CHAPTER 1: “OF WHAT USE IS A NEWSPAPER?” MEDIA THEORY FROM BELOW 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Literature 7 1.2.1 Seen From Above, We Look Like Ants 11 1.2.2 From Masses to Audiences 16 1.2.3 Viewed From Below, Ants Can Move Mountains 29 1.2.4 Another Media 35 1.3 Organization 44 CHAPTER 2: BUILDING A FRAMEWORK: UNDERSTANDINGS, QUESTIONS, AND METHODS 45 2.1 Terminology 45 2.1.1 Third Sector Media 45 2.1.2 Media Development 52 2.1.3 Local Governance 61 2.1.4 Local Accountability Journalism 67 2.2 Research Questions 70 2.3 Epistemological Assumptions and Considerations 72 2.4 Theoretical Considerations 74 2.5 Positionality 77 2.6 Methodology 80 2.7 Methods 82 CHAPTER 3: NATIONAL DREAMS AND NEOLIBERAL NIGHTMARES: CANADA’S OFFICIAL MEDIA DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE 92 3.1 Introduction 92 v 3.2 Historical Context 92 3.3 Periodicals Support 94 3.3.1 Postal Subsidization 94 3.3.2 Periodicals Assistance Program / Aid to Publishers 99 3.3.3 Canada Magazine Fund 104 3.3.4 Canada Periodical Fund 112 3.4 Community Access Television 118 3.5 Local Initiatives Program and Opportunities for Youth 129 3.6 The Local Programming Improvement Fund 130 3.7 CBC Northern Broadcasting Service 131 3.8 Northern Native Broadcasting Assistance Program and the Northern Distribution Program 132 3.9 The Native Communications Program 137 3.10 Canada Council 140 3.11 Community Radio Fund of Canada 141 3.12 Conclusion 142 CHAPTER 4: OUT OF THE FRYING PAN: THE SASKATCHEWAN CONTEXT 145 4.1 Introduction 145 4.2 The Living Newspaper 145 4.3 Regional Communication Centre 147 4.4 Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations Communications Program 151 4.5 New Breed 154 4.6 Missinipi Broadcasting 154 4.7 The Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN) 156 4.8 Conclusion 163 CHAPTER 5: PAYING THE PRICE OF LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY JOURNALISM: BRIARPATCH AND THE SASQUATCH 165 5.1 Introduction 165 5.2 Briarpatch Magazine 166 5.2.1 Gaining an Independent Voice 166 5.2.2 Accountability Journalism: Rewards and Risks 185 5.2.3 National Incentivization 189 5.3 The Sasquatch 200 5.4 Themes 207 CHAPTER 6: TUNING IN: PRACTITIONER AND COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVES 217 6.1 Introduction 217 6.2 Creek FM: “Your All Nation Super-Station” 219 vi 6.2.1 Development and Structure 219 6.2.2 Sustainability challenges and strategies 227 6.3 Prairie Dog Magazine: A Worker Co-operative 232 6.3.1 Development and Structure 232 6.3.2 Sustainability Challenges and Strategies 243 6.4 Small-scale media 248 6.5 Community Responses 256 6.6 Themes 269 CHAPTER 7: FROM RESEARCH TO ACTION: A CALL FOR SOCIAL ECONOMY SOLUTIONS 284 7.1 From Agency to Governance 284 7.2 The Problem 286 7.3 The Needs 291 7.4 A Call for Social Economy Solutions 294 7.4.1 Labour 296 7.4.2 Co-operatives 302 7.4.3 Indigenous Governments and Organizations 310 7.4.4 Universities 313 7.5 Moving Forward 318 LIST OF REFERENCES 321 APPENDIX A LETTER OF INVITATION 352 APPENDIX B CONSENT FORM 353 APPENDIX C QUESTION TEMPLATE 355 APPENDIX D SAMPLE ACCESS TO INFORMATION REQUEST 361 APPENDIX E SCN / CITY TV WEB CONTENT, SELECTED DATES 362 APPENDIX F COMMUNITY SUPPORT LETTERS RE. BRIARPATCH MAGAZINE, 1974 TO 1978 364 APPENDIX G CREEK FM PROGRAM SCHEDULE 367 APPENDIX H MAKING THE LINKS ARCHIVED PODCASTS 368 APPENDIX I HIGHWAY ONE CONNECTOR AND CISE FM CONTENT, SELECTED DATES 372 vii LIST OF TABLES Table page Table 2-1. Examples of terminology in use ..........................................................................46 Table 3-1. Postal subsidy programs, 1978 to 2014 ...............................................................99 Table 3-2. Harmonized Postal Rates for a 300-gram magazine ...........................................99 Table 3-3. Programs and timelines .......................................................................................105 Table 3-4. Number of Canada Council versus SALM-approved titles ..................................108 Table 3-5. Number of supported magazines, 2000 to 2014 ...................................................114 Table 3-6. Value of support for magazines ($ millions) ........................................................115 Table 3-7. Canadian Heritage transfers to Indigenous media, 2013-2014 ............................137 Table 4-1. SCN viewership, 2004 to 2009 .............................................................................158 Table 4-2. Saskatchewan government grants to SCN, 2006-2011 ........................................158 Table 5-1.