Mass media in Canada

It has been suggested that this article be merged with Media of Canada. (Discuss) Proposed since April 2024.

Part of a series on the
Culture of Canada
History
Canadians Ethnicity Folklore Free expression Identity Immigration Holidays Languages Multiculturalism Symbols Royal Protectionism Women Values
Topics
Architecture Art Comics Quebec Crime Cuisine Festivals Humour Law Literature Media Cinema Television Radio Newspapers Internet Video games Music Peacekeeping Politics Religion Sports Theatre
Research
Bibliography Historiography Historians Surveys
Canada portal
v t e

The term mass media refers to any means or technology used to communicate a message to large groups of people. Popular forms of mass media include television, the Internet, and newspapers.^[1] Mass media are specifically intended to reach larger audiences. The term is often divided into two broad categories: that of electronic mass media and that of print mass media. Electronic mass media require their audiences to interact with electronics in order to receive the message. They attempt to recreate or represent a message through moving pictures and/or sound.^[2] Four common examples of electronic media used in Canadian society are television, radio, films, and the Internet. Print mass media, on the other hand, refers to any media that is distributed to audiences in a printed form, on paper.^[3] Examples of this include newspapers, printed books, and magazines.

The mass media model in Canada is different from the mass media model of the United States as well as the rest of the world. According to John A. Irving,^[who?] mass media functions differently in Canadian society because of a lack of collective identity; this is in reference to Canada's languages (and related cultures) as well as its proximity to the United States. Irving states that such cultural dualism means that only some of the population responds to the mass media in English, while the other portion remain uninfluenced by English-based media. In terms of the proximity to the United States, he explains that "most of the difficulties that threaten the mass media in Canada are the direct outcome of American economic and cultural imperialism."^[4] Because of the United States' overwhelming influence on Canadian mass media, Canada has not been able to form its own identity in the media. These two factors have slowed down the process of the creation of a Canadian community. Mass media help in forming a community through communication. When a large group of people is in communication with one another through media, an identifiable culture is formed. Individuals in dialectic experience a sense of membership and collective identity.^[5]

Nowadays, certain forms of mass media in Canada are thriving, while others are on the decline. This can be observed through an analysis of the effectiveness of various forms of electronic and print media in Canadian society.