Thursday, June 2, 2016
Queen's University film and media professor Blaine Allan is available on Friday, June 3 to comment on the significance to the Canadian media landscape of the cancelation of CTV's Canada AM after 43 seasons. CTV announced the show's abrupt cancellation earlier today.
Canada AM first aired on Sept. 11, 1972 and has featured some of Canada's broadcasting greats, including Lisa LaFlamme, Sandie Rinaldo, Craig Oliver, Tom Clark and current Member of Parliament Seamus O'Regan.
"The cancellation of Canada AM is likely another example of the type of contraction of the media landscape we have seen from Bell over the past couple of years," says Prof. Allan. "Morning shows like Canada AM develop pretty loyal audience followings, I suspect for Canadian audiences, as well as Canadian cultural producers, for whom the show has been a pretty useful way of plugging product to those loyal audiences, to lose this type of programming is unfortunate. Though there are local and regional programs of this type, I can't think of comparable chat shows that broadcast on a national scale."
Professor Blaine Allan teaches classes in historical approaches to film and Canadian film and television in the Department of Film and Media at Queen's University
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