Volume 5, Number 1

January 1992

1991: A YEAR IN REVIEW: CBC and CTV National News Coverage

Karl Marx once said with The Revolution would come the end of history. Probably one of the greatest ironies of history is that the end of The Revolution has been documented by the historians of the modern age: television news. Both CBC and CTV highlighted the former Soviet Union in their 31 December newscasts. Lloyd Robertson opened the program with the following assessment: "At the end of a remarkable year, 1991, the year that saw the Persian Gulf war, Arab-Israeli peace talks and the year that saw the collapse of an empire. Across the former Soviet union tonight, people were celebrating the end of decades of repression, but they were also looking ahead to an uncertain future. As always, troops carried out the changing of the guard outside Lenin's tomb. But Russians in red square were joyous as they welcomed the new year free of the communist state founded by Lenin. At the same time though, a cloud was hanging over their celebrations, a cloud of fear over what's to come, and fear of an economic shock of soaring inflation as 70 years of state-controlled prices end with the old year."

As we have frequently documented in the pages of On Balance, television's attention to events and issues can be flawed by the networks' resources, levels of expertise and the choices they make on the issues and events reported. The Year in Review issue of On Balance provides us as viewers with the opportunity to reflect on the fleeting images of television news and examine trends in coverage. While changes occurred at lightening speed on the international front during the past year, Canadian news focused primarily on national unity and the constitution.

This issue is based on an electronic index of 47,521 CBC and 35,476 CTV words indexed from nightly newscasts during 1991. From this index we have compiled lists of the most frequently mentioned issues, people and places of 1991.

For analytical purposes, the ranking of the individual, place or issue was compared to that of 1990.

NATIONAL UNITY ISSUE OF THE YEAR

While 1990 proved to be a year of change, 1991 followed the patterns set by the previous year.

Constitutional issues have once again topped the agenda for domestic news. From the Spicer Commission to the Beaudoin-Dobbie Committee, television has focused on the issues, personalities, and conflicts of the constitutional process. More than one-quarter of CBC's and CTV's top ten mentions of an issue was the constitution.

Click here to view Table 1: Issue of the Year

Although polls provide only a snapshot of the public's mood at a particular time, it is interesting to compare what the Canadian public thought was the most important issue facing the country with what television reported during the year. Maclean's magazine provides the results of an annual poll which takes the public's pulse at year end. This year showed remarkable similarity between the press and the public's perception of the importance of national unity issues. Television news ranked constitutional issues at the top of the list, and the Maclean's/Decima poll ranked it second to the economy.

Aboriginal Issues Continue in Second Place

Coverage of aboriginal issues remained high during 1991. Both networks placed aboriginal issues second in terms of importance for national news. In 1990, the attention to aboriginal affairs resulted from the Oka crisis. This year, native issues have remained prominent in the news. No doubt this heightened attention has resulted from the focus in the so-called Canada Round of constitutional talks.

Additionally, the election of Ovide Mercredi on 11 June provided an opportunity for the networks to explore and pay attention to aboriginal politics and issues. As Jerry Thompson said on the 10 June "Journal" on the CBC: "Never before had a aboriginal election drawn this kind of national attention." That attention remained strong throughout the rest of the year.

Taxation Increases as Prominent Issue

Ten percent of the respondents to the Maclean's/Decima poll indicated that taxation was the issue they felt to be the most important. On television news, taxation comprised 10 percent of CBC and 13 percent of CTV attention. These figures illustrate how taxation has become entrenched in the national consciousness. Yet this focus is a relatively new phenomenon. 1990, which saw the introduction of the goods and services tax, was the first year that taxation was among the top ten issues of the year.

The recession, cross-border shopping and burdens on the consumer have made taxes a staple television story. For example, on 12 July Lloyd Robertson provided this report on CTV: "Statistics Canada confirmed today that more and more people are flooding across the American border to shop. And experts are warning that what is becoming a tax revolt, is now on its way to becoming a permanent shopping habit. . . . Other recent surveys show that half the cross border shoppers said the goods and service tax helped them decide to go south."

Television and Public Disagree on Importance of Environment

One area where there was a marked incongruity between television and the polls was the environment. For the public, environmental issues seem to have dropped in importance as the Mclean's/Decima poll indicated that only 4 percent of Canadians thought it to be the most important issue. But on television news, the environment has garnered 12 percent of CBC's and 11 percent of CTV's top ten issues. In terms of ranking, it places third on CBC, fifth on CTV, and at the bottom of the Maclean's/Decima poll.

Free Trade Coverage Increases Slightly

Stories and comments about free trade have increased slightly since 1990. On CBC, free trade went from placing tenth to fifth in the top ten issues of the year. For CTV, the increase was less significant, moving up from ninth to eighth place.

Significantly, although in 1991 negotiations were being held on North American Free Trade (NAFTA), on CTV discussion about the 1988 Canada/U.S. Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) received more attention than the North American discussions; for CBC, the Canada/U.S. Agreement received only slightly more attention than NAFTA.

Of statements that provided evaluations about the Canada/U.S. deal, both networks presented almost twice as many negative as positive evaluations.

Whereas the networks presented more criticisms than positive assessments of the economic effects of CAFTA, the networks provided slightly more positive than negative evaluations of the economics of NAFTA.

Many of the favourable assessments of NAFTA originated with government representatives from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. Not only was the Canadian government selling Canadians on the benefits of NAFTA, but the Mexican government also made efforts to assure Canadians about how the deal would be favourable for them.

One trend that emerged from CBC's coverage of NAFTA was the view that Mexico would benefit from the agreement. Evaluations of the effects of the trade agreement on Mexico were almost twice as likely to evoke favourable as unfavourable comments.

While CBC provided positive evaluations of NAFTA in terms of Mexican benefits, both networks reported that costs were going to be incurred by Canadians. Evaluations of Free Trade and Canada were twice as likely on CBC and almost twice as likely on CTV to be unfavourable as favourable.

PROVINCE OF THE YEAR

Click here to view Tables: Province of the Year

BOURASSA PREMIER OF THE YEAR

For the third year in a row, Quebec premier Robert Bourassa has been the most frequently mentioned premier on CBC News. On CTV, the Quebec premier had a slight increase in attention from 1990 and also became the most frequently mentioned premier for that network.

In the past few years, the attention to provincial premiers has resulted from their participation in Meech Lake negotiations. Premiers who did not attend the committee meetings and hearings during 1991 seemed to gain more television scrutiny than those who were there.

Click here to view Tables: Top 1991 premier

B.C. Election Gains National Attention

Television news consistently focuses on election campaigns. Of the provincial election campaigns during 1991, the NDP victories in British Columbia and Saskatchewan provided excitement associated with a change in government. This focus on elections garnered Canada's first woman premier,

Premiers who did not attend the committee meetings and hearings during 1991 seemed to gain more television scrutiny than those who were there.

Rita Johnston, and her successor, Mike Harcourt, with much national attention. Indeed, the focus on British Columbia resulted in Alberta's premier, Don Getty, being excluded from the ten most frequently mentioned provincial politicians on either network. As well, CBC did not mention Nova Scotia's premier, Don Cameron, frequently enough for him to be included in the top ten list.

Scandals Involving B.C.'s Former Premier Given National Attention

However, it was not a provincial election that made former Premier William Vander Zalm the second most frequently mentioned premier on CTV. His forced resignation after an inquiry found that he had broken his own breach of trust guidelines resulted in his receiving 11 percent of CBC's and 20 percent of CTV's focus on provincial premiers.

FEDERAL POLITICIANS

The prime minister's presence on national television continues to increase. In 1990, he received nearly one-third of CBC's and more than one-third of CTV's focus on the ten most frequently mentioned federal politicians. In 1991, this attention on Brian Mulroney increased to 40 percent on CBC and 51 percent on CTV.

Click here to view Tables: Top 1991 Federal Politician

Aside from the usual focus on the federal government leader, this year marked some additional personal stories on Mulroney. Late in the year the

Joe Clark received the most television attention of any Canadian cabinet minister or opposition party member.

media closely scrutinized his selection as a finalist for the position of Secretary-General of the U.N. Interestingly, while the prime minister was being honoured internationally, the networks focused on criticism of his candidacy. For example, on CBC's 10 November "Sunday Report," Joe Schelsinger gave a somewhat tongue-in-cheek analysis of Mulroney's role: "Mulroney was to have been the chief executive officer of U.N. Inc. What qualified him for the job was not only that he would have been the first national leader in the post, but that he's also one of the big seven. And then, there was his experience in running a fractious country and pushing through unpopular measures. . . . They all knew that this is only the beginning of a long, complicated process. They had time. But Mulroney didn't. In Ottawa, things go faster, no diplomatic dawdling here, just confrontation and snapishness."

Similarly, on the 26 October "CTV News," Sandie Rinaldo opened the program with a story on the prime minister and the U.N. job: "Brian Mulroney may be saying `no' publicly, but privately, it's a different story. Aides to the prime minister say he's still considering a run for the job of United Nations Secretary-General. Despite his statement that he wants to be dropped from consideration, Mulroney's name is still on the list for a job that pays more than $200,000 a year. It's also a job that goes to someone who plays hard to get, and doesn't push too much for it."

Joe Clark: Network's Cabinet Minister of the Year

Joe Clark received the most television attention of any Canadian cabinet minister or opposition party member. Both networks spent almost one-fifth of their attention to the top ten national politicians on Clark. This volume of attention resulted from his being responsible for two major portfolios during the year. Early in 1991, the Gulf War made Clark's role as Secretary of State for External Affairs higher-profile. Later, when he became the minister responsible for Constitutional Affairs, the national unity debate again contributed to making Clark the most frequently discussed cabinet minister.

INTERNATIONAL LEADERS/OFFICIALS IN THE NEWS

Click here to view Tables: International Leaders/Officials in the News

TELEVISION ATTENTION TO TOP 25 CANADIAN CITIES

Click here to view Figure: Television Attention to Top 25 Canadian Cities

COUNTRIES IN THE NEWS

Click here to view Tables: Countries in the News

CONFLICT CONCEPTS MOST DISCUSSED IN 1991

Click here to view Tables: Conflict Concepts Most Discussed in 1991

Click here to view Table: Canadian TV's Use of Foreign Networks

METHODOLOGY

The lists were complied to take into account topics which might not be identified with a single word search. Some issues consist of many ways to identify them, such as the environment or aboriginal affairs. As a result, all the synonyms for the issue with more than one identifier were tabulated within the general category.

In terms of context, all occurrences of places and especially proper names were examined in the transcripts. For example, names like Bush, Baker and Wells had to be examined to ensure that they were not mistaken by regular nouns. Similarly, common Canadian names such as Bouchard, Martin and Clark had to be examined to ensure they were not confused with other sources in the news.

Further information or details on the coding design and methods may be obtained by contacting the National Media Archive.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.