Dr. Lorna Roth is Distinguished Professor Emerita and former Chairperson of the Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University in Montréal. She is author of Something New in the Air: The Story of First Peoples Television Broadcasting in Canada (McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005) and is currently working on her second book entitled: Colour Balance: Race, Technologies, and “Intelligent Design” She has a long-standing interest in minorities in public and private media sectors, and has written extensively about the (de)construction of indigeneity, cultural and racial diversity in the media, as well as identity persistence. Her current work examines historical and evolving ways in which race (skin colour), and culturally-inflected design decisions are linked together in visual technologies and products that have a sense of flesh tone as central to their representation. Address: Montréal, Québec, Canada
... and the Myths of Canadian Culture Renee Hulan 30 The White Man&am... more ... and the Myths of Canadian Culture Renee Hulan 30 The White Man's Gonna Getcha The ... 118 Other members of the Inukshuk project team at Baker Lake, 1981: Harry Sutherland, trainer ... At APTN, my interviews with Abe Tagalik, Dan David, Jennifer David, Pat Tourigny, Jerry ...
In 1991, the federal government passed the Broadcasting Act, in which multiculturalism, multiraci... more In 1991, the federal government passed the Broadcasting Act, in which multiculturalism, multiracialism, and aboriginal broadcasting were enshrined as collective communication rights within Canada’s broadcasting infrastructure. It is composed of public, private, and community-based network sources; Section 3 of the act reads: … through its programming and the employment opportunities arising out of its operation, [it should] serve the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and aspirations of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society. (Broadcasting Act 1991, S. 3 [d] [iii])
This article conceptually frames First Peoples television development in Canada into historical p... more This article conceptually frames First Peoples television development in Canada into historical periods divided on the basis of distinct cultural representational practices, improved technological infrastructures and corresponding expansions of target audiences. After characterizing each period, the focus turns to the most current phase - the licensing and launching of a new channel with mandatory carriage by cable operators - the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), which went on air 1 September 1999. The only aboriginal television service in the world that is national in distribution, APTN carries six hours a day of original indigenous content (repeated three times), broadcasts in multiple languages and maintains the status of a fully independent broadcasting undertaking alongside Canada's two other national public services. Noting the controversy and significance of the bold and inclusive decision on the part of the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission to license APTN, questions are then raised about the relationship between the technical location of the channel at the very high end of the Canadian broadcasting spectrum and the social position of sociocultural, political and economic marginalization of First Peoples in Canadian society. The extent to which First Peoples new visibility and audibility will build bridges of understanding or ignite existing negative stereotypes in cross-cultural audiences is yet to be determined, but the fact that APTN is now an integral member of Canada's national broadcasting infrastructure is internationally significant.
: This paper closely examines the phone-in community radio service of Kahnawake as it emerged and... more : This paper closely examines the phone-in community radio service of Kahnawake as it emerged and evolved during and after the Kanehsatake and Kahnawake/governments' confrontation in the summer of 1990. Reflecting on an incident in which a community group in LaSalle attempted to appropriate the Kahnawake airwaves for their own political ends, the paper raises questions about constituency-group control, ownership, and cross-cultural sharing of First Nations community radio airtime and cultural content. Résumé: Cet article examine en profondeur le service de ligne ouverte offert par la radio communautaire de Kahnawake tel qu'il a évolué pendant et après la confrontation entre les différents palliers gouvernementaux d'un bord et Kanehsatake / Kahnawake de l'autre durant l'été 1990. Analysant une tentative de la part d'un groupe communautaire de LaSalle de s'approprier les ondes à Kahnawake pour ses propres fins politiques, nous soulevons des questions en rapport avec le contrôle, le partage et le droit de propriété qu'auraient différents groupes d'intérêt et / ou culturels.
: As a symbolic demonstration of the Government of Canada&amp... more : As a symbolic demonstration of the Government of Canada's attitude toward minorities' communication rights, the Multiculturalism Act (1988) and the Broadcasting Policy Reflecting Canada's Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (1985) are paradigms of state intervention which encourage the public production, programming, and protection of certain forms of ethnicity. After critically outlining the content and historical struggle around these two policies, this paper focuses on how multiculturalism and ethnic broadcasting privilege ethnocultural and racial "diversity'' as an integral aspect of Canadian society. "Colour-balanced'' media requires the actual implementation, supervision, and monitoring by the CRTC of section 3(1)(d)(iii) of the Canadian Broadcasting Act by people whose minds are open to the recognition, in practice, of equality rights for minority ommunicators in Canada. Résumé: La Loi sur le multiculturalisme canadien (1988) et La Politique sur la radiodiffusion reflétant la diversité linguistique et culturelle du Canada (1985) démontrent de manière symbolique le point de vue du gouvernement canadien sur les droits de communication des minorités. Ce sont des paradigmes d'intervention de l'état qui encouragent la production, la programmation et la protection publiques de certaines formes d'ethnicité. Cet article présente d'abord de manière critique le contenu de ces deux politiques et la lutte historique sous-tendant celles-ci. L'article se penche ensuite sur la manière dont le multiculturalisme et la radiodiffusion ethnique mettent en valeur la "diversité" ethnoculturelle et raciale comme aspect intégral de la société canadienne. Le CRTC met à exécution la section 3(1)(d)(iii) de la Loi sur la radiodiffusion canadienne et surveille son application pour s'assurer que les médias sont représentatifs des diverses ethnies du Canada. Les administrateurs du CRTC ont les esprits ouverts et reconnaissent, en pratique, les droits à l'égalité des communicateurs minoritaires au Canada.
Until recently, due to a light-skin bias embedded in colour film stock emulsions and digital came... more Until recently, due to a light-skin bias embedded in colour film stock emulsions and digital camera design, the rendering of non-Caucasian skin tones was highly deficient and required the development of compensatory practices and technology improvements to redress its shortcomings. Using the emblematic “Shirley” norm reference card as a central metaphor reflecting the changing state of race relations/aesthetics, this essay analytically traces several colour adjustment processes in the visual representation industries and identifies some prototypical changes in the field. It is to be read as a historical background to the development of and rationale for the creation and insertion of flesh-tone, colour-balance computer chips within imaging technologies. It introduces the original concept of “cognitive equity”, which is proposed as an intelligent strategy for creating and promoting equity by inscribing a wider dynamic range of skin tones into all image technologies, products, and emergent practices in the visual industries.
The development of Canadian First Peoples’ media policies, discourses, and practices is an import... more The development of Canadian First Peoples’ media policies, discourses, and practices is an important subject to examine toward the end of the twentieth century as aboriginal self-government comes closer to a negotiated consensus than ever before. First, there has been a restructuring of the Canadian broadcasting system to include aboriginal broadcasting as an integral element. Second, First Peoples’ broadcasting lobbies have influenced the development of new mediating structures in Canada suc..
... and the Myths of Canadian Culture Renee Hulan 30 The White Man&am... more ... and the Myths of Canadian Culture Renee Hulan 30 The White Man's Gonna Getcha The ... 118 Other members of the Inukshuk project team at Baker Lake, 1981: Harry Sutherland, trainer ... At APTN, my interviews with Abe Tagalik, Dan David, Jennifer David, Pat Tourigny, Jerry ...
In 1991, the federal government passed the Broadcasting Act, in which multiculturalism, multiraci... more In 1991, the federal government passed the Broadcasting Act, in which multiculturalism, multiracialism, and aboriginal broadcasting were enshrined as collective communication rights within Canada’s broadcasting infrastructure. It is composed of public, private, and community-based network sources; Section 3 of the act reads: … through its programming and the employment opportunities arising out of its operation, [it should] serve the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and aspirations of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society. (Broadcasting Act 1991, S. 3 [d] [iii])
This article conceptually frames First Peoples television development in Canada into historical p... more This article conceptually frames First Peoples television development in Canada into historical periods divided on the basis of distinct cultural representational practices, improved technological infrastructures and corresponding expansions of target audiences. After characterizing each period, the focus turns to the most current phase - the licensing and launching of a new channel with mandatory carriage by cable operators - the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), which went on air 1 September 1999. The only aboriginal television service in the world that is national in distribution, APTN carries six hours a day of original indigenous content (repeated three times), broadcasts in multiple languages and maintains the status of a fully independent broadcasting undertaking alongside Canada's two other national public services. Noting the controversy and significance of the bold and inclusive decision on the part of the Canadian Radio-Television Telecommunications Commission to license APTN, questions are then raised about the relationship between the technical location of the channel at the very high end of the Canadian broadcasting spectrum and the social position of sociocultural, political and economic marginalization of First Peoples in Canadian society. The extent to which First Peoples new visibility and audibility will build bridges of understanding or ignite existing negative stereotypes in cross-cultural audiences is yet to be determined, but the fact that APTN is now an integral member of Canada's national broadcasting infrastructure is internationally significant.
: This paper closely examines the phone-in community radio service of Kahnawake as it emerged and... more : This paper closely examines the phone-in community radio service of Kahnawake as it emerged and evolved during and after the Kanehsatake and Kahnawake/governments' confrontation in the summer of 1990. Reflecting on an incident in which a community group in LaSalle attempted to appropriate the Kahnawake airwaves for their own political ends, the paper raises questions about constituency-group control, ownership, and cross-cultural sharing of First Nations community radio airtime and cultural content. Résumé: Cet article examine en profondeur le service de ligne ouverte offert par la radio communautaire de Kahnawake tel qu'il a évolué pendant et après la confrontation entre les différents palliers gouvernementaux d'un bord et Kanehsatake / Kahnawake de l'autre durant l'été 1990. Analysant une tentative de la part d'un groupe communautaire de LaSalle de s'approprier les ondes à Kahnawake pour ses propres fins politiques, nous soulevons des questions en rapport avec le contrôle, le partage et le droit de propriété qu'auraient différents groupes d'intérêt et / ou culturels.
: As a symbolic demonstration of the Government of Canada&amp... more : As a symbolic demonstration of the Government of Canada's attitude toward minorities' communication rights, the Multiculturalism Act (1988) and the Broadcasting Policy Reflecting Canada's Linguistic and Cultural Diversity (1985) are paradigms of state intervention which encourage the public production, programming, and protection of certain forms of ethnicity. After critically outlining the content and historical struggle around these two policies, this paper focuses on how multiculturalism and ethnic broadcasting privilege ethnocultural and racial "diversity'' as an integral aspect of Canadian society. "Colour-balanced'' media requires the actual implementation, supervision, and monitoring by the CRTC of section 3(1)(d)(iii) of the Canadian Broadcasting Act by people whose minds are open to the recognition, in practice, of equality rights for minority ommunicators in Canada. Résumé: La Loi sur le multiculturalisme canadien (1988) et La Politique sur la radiodiffusion reflétant la diversité linguistique et culturelle du Canada (1985) démontrent de manière symbolique le point de vue du gouvernement canadien sur les droits de communication des minorités. Ce sont des paradigmes d'intervention de l'état qui encouragent la production, la programmation et la protection publiques de certaines formes d'ethnicité. Cet article présente d'abord de manière critique le contenu de ces deux politiques et la lutte historique sous-tendant celles-ci. L'article se penche ensuite sur la manière dont le multiculturalisme et la radiodiffusion ethnique mettent en valeur la "diversité" ethnoculturelle et raciale comme aspect intégral de la société canadienne. Le CRTC met à exécution la section 3(1)(d)(iii) de la Loi sur la radiodiffusion canadienne et surveille son application pour s'assurer que les médias sont représentatifs des diverses ethnies du Canada. Les administrateurs du CRTC ont les esprits ouverts et reconnaissent, en pratique, les droits à l'égalité des communicateurs minoritaires au Canada.
Until recently, due to a light-skin bias embedded in colour film stock emulsions and digital came... more Until recently, due to a light-skin bias embedded in colour film stock emulsions and digital camera design, the rendering of non-Caucasian skin tones was highly deficient and required the development of compensatory practices and technology improvements to redress its shortcomings. Using the emblematic “Shirley” norm reference card as a central metaphor reflecting the changing state of race relations/aesthetics, this essay analytically traces several colour adjustment processes in the visual representation industries and identifies some prototypical changes in the field. It is to be read as a historical background to the development of and rationale for the creation and insertion of flesh-tone, colour-balance computer chips within imaging technologies. It introduces the original concept of “cognitive equity”, which is proposed as an intelligent strategy for creating and promoting equity by inscribing a wider dynamic range of skin tones into all image technologies, products, and emergent practices in the visual industries.
The development of Canadian First Peoples’ media policies, discourses, and practices is an import... more The development of Canadian First Peoples’ media policies, discourses, and practices is an important subject to examine toward the end of the twentieth century as aboriginal self-government comes closer to a negotiated consensus than ever before. First, there has been a restructuring of the Canadian broadcasting system to include aboriginal broadcasting as an integral element. Second, First Peoples’ broadcasting lobbies have influenced the development of new mediating structures in Canada suc..
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