How do CSI and a bunch of John Wayne westerns qualify as history on History TV?
When people talk about “historical” content on television, they mean documentaries with sad music, or trips to archaeological sites. Who would have thought that the term “historical” would apply to a contemporary series about frowning forensic investigators? The series is CSI: NY, and History TV, Canada’s history-oriented cable channel, is merrily violating its programming mission by showing it. And no one can stop them–certainly not Canada’s media regulators. Earlier this year, Maureen Parker, executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada, noticed that History TV’s prime-time programming was somewhat unhistorical. In February, she complained to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, which complained to Alliance Atlantis Communications, owner of History TV (and, in what is certainly a complete coincidence, owner of CSI). Without missing a beat, Alliance Atlantis informed the CRTC that CSI: NY qualifies as historical because it “offers viewers a critically
