Abstract
The largely unregulated early years of Canadian radio were vital to development of broadcasting policy. The Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting in 1929 and American broadcasting both changed the direction of Canadian broadcasting, but were mitigated by the early, largely unregulated years. Broadcasters operated initially as small, independent, and local broadcasters, then, national networks developed in stages during the 1920s and 1930s. The late adoption of radio broadcasting policy to build a national network in Canada allowed other practices to take root in the wake of other examples, in particular, American commercial broadcasting. By 1929 when the Aird Report recommended a national network, the potential impact of the report was shaped by the path of early broadcasting and the shifts forced on Canada by American broadcasting and policy. Eventually Canada forged its own course that pulled in both directions, permitting both private commercial networks and public national networks.
Highlights
Canadian broadcasting policy was marked by a few key events
By the time the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting produced its report on September 11, 1929, four radio stations in Montreal and Toronto had arranged to join CBS and NBC as affiliates and the country was divided about the future impact of a Canadian national network
The changes wrought by the regulator in the censure of religious stations and the impact of station reallocation strengthened the case for a public or national broadcasting system
Summary
Canadian broadcasting policy was marked by a few key events. The stage was set by the first Report of the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting commissioned in December 1928, more popularly known at the Aird Commission, followed by the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act of 1932, and the Act to amend the Canadian Broadcast Act in 1936 (Bird, 1988; Peers, 1969; Prang, 1965; Weir, 1965). From 1922 to 1929 before the Aird Report was released, radio was influenced by debate over its content, and its control. The American Radio Act of 1927 and General Order 40 of August 30, 1928 changed Canadian broadcasting in ways that may have made the Aird Report and subsequent legislation more urgent. Local and international interests stepped into the vacuum prior to the establishment of a public or national broadcasting network. Both broadcasters and the audience were accustomed to this commercial environment prior to the establishment of a true national network and it was within this environment that the push for a Canadian broadcasting originated
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