How Canadians Communicate – serie

Fewer Canadians than ever are lacing up skates, swimming lengths atthe pool, practicing their curve ball, and experiencing the thrill ofcompetition. However, despite a decline in active participation,Canadians spend enormous amounts of time and money on sports, as fansand followers of sporting events and sports culture. Never has mediacoverage of sports been more exhaustive, and never has it been moredriven by commercial interests and the need to fuel consumerism, onwhich corporate profits depend. The power plays now occurring in thearena of sports are by no means solely a matter of money, however. Atissue as well in the media capture of sports are the values that informour daily lives, the physical and emotional health of the population,and the symbols so long central to a sense of Canadian identity.Writing from a variety of perspectives, the contributors to thiscollection set out to explore the impact of the media on our receptionof, and attitudes toward, sports—to unpack the meanings thatsports have for us as citizens and consumers. Well-known hockey writerRoy MacGregor delves into the influence of big media and big sports onthe practice of objective journalism; Richard Gruneau examines theworrisome relationship between sports participation and socioeconomicclass; blogger Derrick Newman investigates the impact of fantasyleagues on sports coverage; sociologist Harry Hiller looks at theiconic dimensions of the Vancouver Olympics. Other contributors shedlight on the way in which the media serve to transformsports—including, of course, hockey—into a vehicle for theexpression of identity and nationalism. Still others probe the functionof sports as spectacle: the escalation of violence, controversies overdrug use, and the media's coverage of tragic deaths. The goal isnot to score points but to prompt critical discussion of why sportsmatter in Canadian life and culture and how they contribute to theconstruction of Canadian identity.

Food nourishes the body, but our relationship with food extends farbeyond our need for survival. Food choices not only express ourpersonal tastes but also communicate a range of beliefs, values,affiliations and aspirations—sometimes to the exclusion ofothers. In the media sphere, the enormous amount of food-related adviceprovided by government agencies, advocacy groups, diet books, and so oncompete with efforts on the part of the food industry to sell theirproduct and to respond to a consumer-driven desire for convenience. Asa result, the topic of food has grown fraught, engendering sometimesacrimonious debates about what we should eat, and why.By examining topics such as the values embedded in food marketing,the locavore movement, food tourism, dinner parties, food bankdonations, the moral panic surrounding obesity, food crises, and fearsabout food safety, the contributors to this volume paint a rich, andsometimes unsettling portrait of how food is represented, regulated,and consumed in Canada. With chapters from leading scholars such as KenAlbala, Harvey Levenstein, Stephen Kline and Valerie Tarasuk, thevolume also includes contributions from "foodinsiders"—bestselling cookbook author and food editorElizabeth Baird and veteran restaurant reviewer John Gilchrist. Theresult is a timely and thought-provoking look at food as a system ofcommunication through which Canadians articulate cultural identity,personal values, and social distinction.