It’s a perplexing challenge as a trade publication for the Canadian film and television industry to figure out our role in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 tragedy that, at the very least, has served to undermine the false sense of security that has fundamentally defined, not just American, but Western culture.

It is said that every era is struck by a catastrophic episode that redefines everything from foreign policy to fashion trends, and it is without a doubt that the recent terrorist attacks in the U.S. will have an immediate impact on the kinds of scripts that get greenlit for the year ahead, the attendance and activity at MIPCOM and the mood surrounding such TV celebrations as the 16th annual Gemini Awards and the postponed Emmy Awards (now airing Oct. 7).

Also, if a war ensues, it will continue to command blanket news coverage, eating up a bulk of commercial airtime for an indefinite period.

The buzz in the financial media indicates that the extent of injury to the Canadian and American economies rests on when consumers turn off their TVs and start shopping again.

But keeping tuned in does not necessarily spell good news for broadcast revenues. Industry analysts in the States estimate that broadcast and cable television networks and stations lost anywhere from US$40 million to US$100 million a day in the first week after the terrorist attacks, when uninterrupted coverage began.

Canadian analysts estimate domestic loses at about 0.1% of the total Canadian advertising pie, which rings in annually at roughly $2.4 billion in national and retail sales (see ‘Canadian casters,’ p. 1).

But Canadian media is a much different animal than that of the U.S., or at least a much slower and poorer beast. The U.S. advertising market, for example, has taken a nosedive in the past year, which has strongly affected broadcasters’ bottom lines, while Canada’s broadcast industry was mostly fearing, rather than feeling, the pinch before the recent atrocities.

Paul Robertson, head of television for Corus Entertainment and chair of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, noted in an interview with Playback back in May, that although Canadian broadcasters are yet to feel the drop-off of the ad market, ‘Canada’s getting painted with the same brush [as the U.S.], feeling that there is some sort of airtime apocalypse coming in the next few months.’

And this month, solemn-looking media CEOs across the country are now facing that reality, as ad spending (along with anything else deemed discretionary) comes under review. At its recent AGM, Alliance Atlantis Communications chair/CEO Michael McMillan forecast that ‘things are going to get worse before they get better.’

Financial losses and projections aside, the social and psychological effects of the recent disasters and the pending war on terrorism will, inevitably, make way for a new wave of programming, perhaps raising the bar on content and production values, perhaps lowering it.

For now, broadcast execs and film distributors are shelving most product that has reference to terrorism or any anti-American sentiment. But rest assured, as the months pass and capitalism prevails, the attack on America and the paradigm shift it has created will take thematic precedence over programming agendas across the Western world.