This is the first in-depth analysis of major French- and English-Canadian news companies to show the impact of cross-media ownership on the diversity of new content. Surprisingly, the study lays to rest fears over content convergence of newspaper and television network ownership by Canadian media giants Canwest Global, CTVglobemedia, and Quebecor. Content-sharing between newspaper and television properties of these giant companies did not occur. This leads the authors to examine why, and to assess problems that mass media in Canada will likely face in the coming years, particularly as newsrooms strive to adapt to new media and the online environment. Policy makers, media executives, and journalism students and professors will find this study invaluable.

Journalism in Crisis addresses the concerns of scholars, activists, and journalists committed to Canadian journalism as a democratic institution and as a set of democratic practices. The authors look within Canada and abroad for solutions for balancing the Canadian media ecology. Public policies have been central to the creation and shaping of Canada’s media system and, rather than wait for new technologies or economic models, the contributors offer concrete recommendations for how public policies can foster journalism that can support democratic life in twenty-first century Canada. Their work, which includes new theoretical perspectives and valuable discussions of journalism practices in public, private, and community media, should be read by professional and citizen journalists, academics, media activists, policy makers and media audiences concerned about the future of democratic journalism in Canada.

Now in its third edition, In the News is the standard Canadian textbook on media relations, used across the country. The authors provide an introduction to media relations, grounded in both communications theory and hands-on, day-to-day experience. Whether you need to promote your issues to the nation or reach small, targeted groups, this book is your step-by-step guide. In the News is perfect for communications students; media relations practitioners in the private, public and voluntary sectors; and anyone who wants to break a story.

The Palgrave Handbook of Gender, Sexuality, and Canadian Politics offers the first and only handbook in the field of Canadian politics that uses 'gender' (which it interprets broadly, as inclusive of sex, sexualities, and other intersecting identities) as its category of analysis. Its premise is that political actors’ identities frame how Canadian politics is thought, told, and done; in turn, Canadian politics, as a set of ideas, state institutions and decision-making processes, and civil society mobilizations, does and redoes gender. Following the standard structure of mainstream introductory Canadian politics textbooks, this handbook is divided into four sections (ideologies, institutions, civil society, and public policy) each of which contains several chapters on topics commonly taught in Canadian politics classes. The originality of the handbook lies in its approach: each chapter reviews the basics of a given topic from the perspective of gendered/sexualized and other intersectional identities. Such an approach makes the handbook the only one of its kind in Canadian Politics.

In parliamentary systems like Canada, voters directly contribute to the election outcome only in their own riding. However, the focus of election campaigns is often national, emphasizing the leader rather than the local candidate, and national rather than regional polls. This suggests that elections are national contests, but election outcomes clearly demonstrate that support for parties varies strongly by province. Focusing on the 2015 Canadian election campaigns in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec, three large provinces with different subnational party systems, Provincial Battles, National Prize? evaluates whether we should understand elections in Canada as national wars or individual provincial clashes. The authors draw upon voter and candidate surveys, party campaign behaviour, and media coverage of the election to document how political parties vary their messages and strategies across provinces, how the media communicate and frame those messages, and how voters ultimately respond. The study shows that provincial variations in party support reflect differences in voters' political preferences rather than differences in party messages or media coverage. A novel and comprehensive study, Provincial Battles, National Prize? is the first and only thorough treatment of the party, media, and voter aspects of a federal election campaign through a subnational lens.

Alternative media hold the promise of building public awareness and action against the constraints and limitations of media conglomeration and cutbacks to public broadcasting. But what, exactly, makes alternative media alternative? This path-breaking volume gets to the heart of this question by focusing on the three interconnected dimensions that define alternative media in Canada: structure, participation, and activism. The contributors reveal not only how various kinds of alternative media -- including indigenous, anarchist, ethnic, and feminist media -- are enabled and constrained within Canada’s complex policy environment but also how, in the context of globalization, the Canadian experience parallels media and policy challenges in other nations.

Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World offers a broad exploration of the conceptual foundations for comparative analysis of media and politics globally. It takes as its point of departure the widely used framework of Hallin and Mancini's Comparing Media Systems, exploring how the concepts and methods of their analysis do and do not prove useful when applied beyond the original focus of their 'most similar systems' design and the West European and North American cases it encompassed. It is intended both to use a wider range of cases to interrogate and clarify the conceptual framework of Comparing Media Systems and to propose new models, concepts and approaches that will be useful for dealing with non-Western media systems and with processes of political transition. Comparing Media Systems Beyond the Western World covers, among other cases, Brazil, China, Israel, Lebanon, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and Thailand.

Few books in Canada empirically and systematically examine the role journalists play in the news-making process. While there are several books that look at how journalists do their jobs, and others that examine the political process, none – until now – have analyzed the opinions of journalists and how the news is reported. Focusing primarily on the political orientation of journalists, Miljan and Cooper investigate the link between what journalists believe about politics and how they report political issues. Using data gathered from interviews with over 800 Canadians and some 270 journalists, the authors compare how the attitudes of journalists differ from those of the general population, and how the journalists’ opinions influence the daily news. By examining the way they respond to questions on the economy, social issues, and national unity, and comparing these responses with how the stories were reported in Canadian news outlets, the book arrives at the controversial conclusion that journalists, more so than the owners of the media, are the architects of the news, engineering not only its drama, but also its ideological thrust. A must-read for anyone interested in politics and the media, this book should be read by journalists, politicians, academics, and all Canadians who are concerned about the hidden agendas of journalists.

Changes in technology and media consumption are transforming the way people communicate about politics. Are they also changing the way politicians communicate to the public? Political Communication in Canada examines the way political parties, politicians, interest groups, the media, and citizens are using new tactics, tools, and channels to disseminate information, and also investigates the implications of these changes. Drawing on recent examples, contributors review such things as the branding of the New Democratic Party, how Stephen Harper’s image is managed, and politicians’ use of Twitter. They also discuss the evolving role of political journalism, including media coverage of politics and how Canadians use the Internet for political discussions. In an era when political communication – from political marketing to citizen journalism – is of vital importance to the workings of government, this timely volume provides insight into the future of Canadian democracy.