This book traces the development of the broadcasting system in Canada from the inception of television in 1952 to the passing of the Broadcast Act of 1968, focusing on the policy decisions made by governments and broadcasting authorities and the circumstances under which they were made. Several public investigations of the system and its performance took place during television's first sixteen years in Canada and their aims and outcomes form an important part of the story. The book deals with the relationships between the CBC, the private broadcasters, government, and the regulatory authority, and also with events that affected the perceptions of politicians and the public - the French network strike in 1959, the Preview Commentary affair of the same year, and the controversies surrounding the CBC program 'This Hour Has Seven Days' in 1965-6. Among those who figure prominently are A. Davidson Dunton and Alphonse Ouimet of the CBC; T.J. Allard and Don Jamieson of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters; Robert Fowler, chairman of two public inquiries into broadcasting; Andrew Stewart, chairman of the Board of Broadcast Governors; and Graham Spry, organizer of the Canadian Broadcasting League. The government officials involved include Prime Ministers Louis St Laurent, John Diefenbaker, and Lester B. Pearson, and ministers J.J. McCann, Goerge Nowlan, Jack Pickersgill, Maurice Lamontagne, and Judy LaMarsh. Frank Peers has unearthed a remarkable quantity of new material - from government documents, CBC records, interviews with key figures, and the records and manuscripts of a number of principals - and woven it into a fascinating and authoritative account of the state's involvement in broadcasting during these troubled and changeful years.

Still the focus of major political controversy today, the essential issues in Canadian broadcasting emerged thirty years ago. This fascinating book traces both the development of radio from its beginnings in 1920 to the inception of television in 1952, and the formation of public policy throughout these years. The course of the development was far from smooth. Professor Peers describes the contending forces, the politicians, pressure groups, newspapers, and business interests that joined in the fray. The inner story of the power struggles involved is told here thoroughly for the first time, and the significance of these struggles for the development of the system is placed in perspective.