OTTAWA - Everything seemed to be going swimmingly when Heritage Minister James Moore appeared a week ago on the set of one of Quebec's most popular television programs, until he got slapped with a ticket by the culture cops.
His infraction during the filming of talk show "Tout le Monde en Parle" was failing to properly identify several provincial icons such as stage-and-film producer Robert Lepage or beloved mid-century folk artist Felix Leclerc in an end-of-segment quiz.
No matter that the British Columbian explained government policies and decisions in effortless French, or that he smoothly asked singer Stephanie Lapointe seated beside him to sign a copy of her CD. The minister was lambasted in the Quebec media.
Moore, who watches TV on his iPod and reads his news on sites such as dailybeast.com, took it all in stride.
The 32-year-old says he'd like people to break free of their traditional concepts of what defines arts and culture in this country, starting with the folks around Parliament Hill.
"In a lot of ways, if I'm honest, I think there's a bit of a gap of comprehension of the new reality of media and broadcasting and information and technology, based on age -- there's a bit of that going on across departments and even within the House of Commons," Moore said.
"If we want to know where media's going, if we want to know about technology and where it's going and how people consume their arts and drama and information, people need to be talking to a 15-year-old and understanding how their kids are consuming information because that's the future of where the industry and sustainability is going and it's an exciting, incredible opportunity where Canada can lead the way."
Not only has Moore been faced with the intense skepticism of the Quebec media and arts community, following last fall's cuts to arts programs, but he has also come into the portfolio at a time of upheaval for the entire media industry.
The CBC and its competitors in the private sector are struggling to deal with a drastic drop in advertising revenues because of the recession. All the broadcasters are clamouring at the same time for a little love from Moore and the Conservative government, and MPs are hearing from constituents who are upset about local TV station closures.
Moore, a former BC radio host, acknowledged that the government is considering what it can do for broadcasters, including troubled Canwest Global Communications Inc.
But he'd also like the broadcasters to take a hard look at the horizon and reflect on what's broken with their business plans going into the future. That exercise is going on right now under the auspices of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
"The business model that depends on bringing in signals from the Untied States ... stamping Canadian advertising on top of American advertising and expecting that people will sit on their couches through two minutes and two seconds of advertising is just not a reality anymore with PVRs, with Apple TV and with TiVo and other things."
Earlier this month, Moore pushed ahead with some of his own "modernization" ideas, and created the new Canada Media Fund, a merger of the previous Canadian Television and New Media Funds. Broadcasters whose programs can bridge different mediums will be favoured for government assistance.
As far as the CBC goes, Moore hopes the national broadcaster will refocus on its core mandate of providing Canadian programming. He doesn't think much of the broadcaster airing episodes of American game shows, nor does he see usefulness in the CBC trying to compete with the privates.
"The CBC's role is not just about market share, it's not about being seen as a taxpayer-subsidized competitor to private broadcasters," Moore said. "It's about being where there are market failures, it's about being a platform for Canadian content in all regions of the country in both official languages to support Canadian content."
