Media of Canada - History

History

Canadian Reginald Aubrey Fessenden, the "Father of Radio Broadcasting", was the first person ever to broadcast a voice by radio waves that were heard by another person. On December 23, 1900, from a site on Cobb Island in the middle of the Potomac River near Washington, D.C., Fessenden said "one - two - three - four, is it snowing where you are Mr. Thiessen? If it is, would you telegraph back to me?" Mr. Thiessen, one mile away, confirmed, and radio broadcasting was born.

Fessenden presented radio's first program on Christmas Eve 1906. With the assistance of his wife Helen, her friend and an assistant, he broadcast from Boston. Wireless operators on ships in the harbour heard the inventor play "O Holy Night" on his violin and Helen and her friend sing Christmas carols.

The history of Canadian media performers goes back to the first days of radio. In the 1940s an association was formed called the Radio Artists of Toronto Society - RATS. Radio performers in Montreal, Winnipeg and Vancouver also organized to fight for artists' rights, working conditions and better fees. In 1943, the Association of Canadian Radio Artists (ACRA) was formed as a loose national coalition of actors' groups. Over the years, ACRA evolved to become the Association of Canadian Radio and Television Artists, the Canadian Council of Authors and Artists, the Association of Canadian Television and Radio Artists and, in 1984, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.

The Canadian Broadcasting Act, historically and in its modern conception, is based on the fact that since the start of the 20th century, it was important for broadcasters to ensure that information flowed freely and reflected the diversity of Canadian points of view, as opposed to the classic approach, which gives media owners more freedom to express their views. "The Canadian broadcasting system as we know it today would probably not exist if we had allowed the marketplace to regulate ownership rights."