TORONTO – The Documentary Organization of Canada has asked the Sasketchewan government to reconsider its decision to shutter the provincial educational broadcaster SCN.
In a letter dated March 30th, the group said that it was “extremely disappointed” with the decision which it says "affects not only Saskatchewan but also the independent production community across the country”.
“In an era of multiple channels and large conglomerates, SCN stood out as the only channel actually representing the Saskatchewan public to itself”, the letter reads. “Its unique regional voice provides Saskatchewan citizens access to their culture and history while bringing Saskatchewan culture to the rest of Canada and to a world audience thereby enriching our national heritage. This intersection of local culture with a larger national one allows citizens to perceive their identities as part of a larger community.”
DOC also questioned the decision to use BBM Nielsen data to gauge the channel’s viewership, noting that BBM’s primary purpose is to track mass audience ratings for the purpose of ad-sales, therefore capturing large urban audiences, not small local ones.
“A provincial public broadcaster has a different public than CTV or Global”, the letter continues. “SCN was never intended to be a large commercial broadcaster and nor should it be considered as one. As can be seen by the SCN annual report, and the growing public concern, SCN has a larger audience than suggested by BBM.”
DOC also criticized the government for not consulting Saskatchewan residents on the decision to dismantle the almost 20-year old public educational broadcaster.
DOC is a national, non-profit association representing over 800 directors, producers and craftspeople in the Canadian documentary community.
