Tracing broadcast diversity and its manifestations in the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV proceedings by Sylvia Blake M.A., Communication and Culture, Ryerson University and York University, 2011 B.A. (Hons.), Political Studies, Queen’s University 2009 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology © Sylvia Blake 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Sylvia Blake Degree: Doctor of Philosophy in Communication Title: Tracing broadcast diversity and its manifestations in the CRTC’s Let’s Talk TV proceedings Examining Committee: Chair: Dal Yong Jin Professor Alison Beale Senior Supervisor Professor Catherine Murray Supervisor Professor and Associate Dean, Undergraduate Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Zoë Druick Supervisor Professor Sarah Ganter Internal Examiner Assistant Professor Marc Raboy External Examiner Professor Emeritus Department of Art History and Communication Studies McGill University Date Defended/Approved: 05 June, 2018 ii Abstract Nurturing diversity is a key objective in Canadian public policy; however, “diversity” is polysemous, contested, flexible, and usually defined in an institutional context. The challenge of defining and ordering diversity objectives is particularly pronounced in broadcasting, wherein the CRTC is tasked with organizing a multitude of economic and social objectives put forward by a broad range of stakeholders. This dissertation unpacks the complex and contested notion of diversity, with a focus on the CRTC’s largest and most topically broad broadcast policy review of the decade: the 2013-2016 Let’s Talk TV (LTTV) proceedings. Chapters 3 and 4 historically trace and connect the dots between the development of the diversity principle in international and national policy debates. They investigate how “diversity” is understood as a Western value, how it has been used and contested in international (particularly UNESCO) policy, and how Canada has understood and instrumentalized it in pursuit of specific political and economic objectives. Chapter 5 draws from these insights to offer a nine-part analytical model delineating the ways diversity has been understood as a broadcasting policy objective. Chapters 6-8 employ this analytical model to assess the role of diversity objectives in the CRTC’s LTTV proceedings, with a focus on the way the federal regulator operated under Stephen Harper’s Conservative political regime. This dissertation finds that the absorption of “diversity” into Canada’s capitalist and nation-building projects risks purging it of its radical-democratic critique, leading to a politics of recognition that does not necessarily encompass claims for redistribution and hence provides limited latitude for promoting real social change. In broadcasting specifically, it demonstrates the politicized nature of the LTTV proceedings and the extent to which the CRTC under the Harper regime framed “diversity” objectives through the lens of consumer choice, often at the expense of social justice-oriented policy objectives. It concludes with a call for policymakers to realign Canadian broadcasting policy objectives to foreground the social good, and offers suggestions for future research providing practical ways to modify existing policy processes and deeply embedded values anchored in “consumerist” or “free-market” ideologies. Keywords: diversity policy; CRTC; Let’s Talk TV; Canada; UNESCO; discursive institutionalism iii Dedication To Adam, My most prolific cheerleader, commiserator, co-ponderer, and breakfast provider. I could not have done this without your love and support. Thank you for being you, and for everything you do. iv Acknowledgements I am deeply grateful to the multitude of people who helped turn this research from a dream into a dissertation. First and foremost, my deepest thanks to my senior supervisor, Dr. Alison Beale, for her support and guidance over the last several years, and especially for her extra support during my final months of writing and submission. Thank you also to my wonderful committee members, Dr. Catherine Murray and Dr. Zoë Druick, who always took time out of their exceptionally hectic schedules to provide valuable advice, feedback, and moral support. Writing a dissertation can be a long and lonely task for those not surrounded by wonderful people. I therefore wish to extend a special heart-felt thanks to my friends and colleagues at SFU’s School of Communication, who provided much-needed perspective—and the occasional wine evening—to help make the writing process smoother. Thank you especially to Nawal, Anis, Byron, May, Amanda and Danielle, whose friendship and regular check-ins helped lift the burden even on long days spent chained to a desk at home. Thank you to everyone in my extended academic family who made themselves available to talk through ideas and challenges, especially my friends and colleagues at the IAMCR and Dr. Rob McMahon of the Faculty of Extension at the University of Alberta and the First Mile Connectivity Consortium. Finally, a special thank you also to my wonderful husband, Adam, whose unwavering patience and support made this dissertation possible. I promise to be a more stimulating conversation partner from now on. This research was made possible by the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the CanWest Global Graduate Fellowship, the Rogers Communications Inc. Graduate Scholarship, and the Cable Television Pioneer Graduate Scholarship. I would also like to thank SFU’s School of Communication and the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology for ongoing research and travel support. v Table of Contents Approval .......................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................... iii Dedication ...................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... v Table of Contents ........................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................. xi List of Figures................................................................................................................ xii List of Acronyms ............................................................................................................ xiii Chapter 1. Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 1.1. Why study diversity in Canadian broadcasting? ..................................................... 2 1.2. Theorizing diversity ................................................................................................ 4 1.3. The approach of this dissertation ........................................................................... 6 1.3.1. Liberalism and neoliberalism ......................................................................... 7 1.3.2. Structure of this dissertation .......................................................................... 8 1.4. Research contributions ........................................................................................ 10 Chapter 2. Research design and methodology ...................................................... 12 2.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 12 2.2. The new institutionalisms ..................................................................................... 12 2.3. Discursive institutionalism .................................................................................... 14 2.3.1. Key attributes: the role of ideas ................................................................... 14 2.3.2. Coordinative and communicative discourse ................................................. 15 2.3.3. Discursive institutionalism and power .......................................................... 17 2.3.4. Broadcast diversity as a discursive institution .............................................. 18 2.3.5. Critiques of discursive institutionalism ......................................................... 19 2.4. Research Methods .............................................................................................. 21 2.4.1. Process Tracing ........................................................................................... 21 2.4.2. Document analysis ...................................................................................... 22 2.5. Reflection on scope ............................................................................................. 24 Chapter 3. The institutionalization of diversity in global policy discourse .......... 25 3.1. The relationship between Canadian cultural policy and the international canon on cultural diversity ...........................................................................................................