Canada and Global Economics
...thin other groups. These people integrated into the societies and maintained links with of their homeland forming a transnational group with worldwide communities, and often creating Glocal media organizations (Attallah & Shade, 283). The television has become a key tool for Glocal media. Toronto based CFMT is an example of a company that has met the needs of the multicultural population. Canada's First Multicultural Television, started by Italian born Dan Iannuzzi was the first network to meet the needs of the rising ethnic communities in Canada (Childe). Many of CFMT’s programs have become a hit and recently have begun to be broadcast overseas. The broadcasting of local media overseas reaps a large effect on the Canadian economy, because of its ability to boost revenues of media organizations, and increase the awareness of the ethnic cultural program in hand. An example of Canadian ethnic television broadcasters exporting their programming to other parts of the world is the weekly Z-TV program “Kusum” produced by a group of East Indian diasporics in Vancouver. Canada currently maintains a vast global communication infrastructure, thus dominating other strong media moguls, such as the American, and Japanese, and other countries that do not have established ethnic media corporations, such as Kenya’s lack of South Asian content to meet the demands of the community. To add to the ideology of Glocal media, one can refer also to the Radio Broadcasting sector of communication technology. In many poor and highly illiterate countries, broadcast media is sometime the only medium of information. Therefore, in many of the poorest countries where local signals cannot be reached, people listen to international broadcasts made especially for the groups, in many cases in their native language (LaRose, Straubhaar, 532). International radio is often on short-wave (“broadcasts that can carry across oceans by bouncing off the earth’s atmosphere”) frequency’s and often displays views of “Public Diplomacy” (LaRose, Straubhaar, 532). Protection of Culture Nearly every country in the world is grappling with the question of how to maintain a cultural identity at a time when “global culture" is disappearing at an astonishing rate (Sheila Copps). In Canada this is one of the CRTC’s largest predicaments. Some believe that the Americans have almost preformed a disappearing act of Canadian culture. Canadians can receive American television and radio frequencies freely, and thus, have begun to embrace the media of their neighbors. The United States is one of the top producers of communication media content, and with such television powerhouses such as ABC, NBC, and CBS, its hard for Canadians not to fall victim to bait that are U.S. based sitcoms. With all this current American content readily available to Canadians, Canada is still seen a world leader for its ability to preserve its cultural heritage. Also, Canada is known as a role model for other countries who admire the Canadian cultural framework, which in-fact is believed by many that it is an indication that the CRTC are “doing something right” (Sheila Copps). At the head of the Canadian identity is the CBC. The CBC continues to fulfill its unique role as the biggest cultural institution in the country. The Broadcasting Act is perhaps the strongest single force for culture in Canada. The Act was designed to “safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada”, and has succeeded in doing so (Copps). Unlike other media organizations, it encourages the development of Canadian free-expressi...