You should probably just hit on a couple of numbers for the purposes of the committee, so that people can appreciate just how profound a difference, in terms of the ratings here, particularly in terms of the supper hour.... Actually, it went from an hour to zero, back to 30, back to 60, if you recall. In any case, that's one.
We need to get a sense of the extent to which it is a resources issue. I think generally we believe it is, but every once in a while people will say, I don't know whether it's a resources issue or a management decision issue. When that happens, we're back to this dilemma that we have, because we could recommend to Parliament that the annual appropriation be increased significantly, but then come to find out after that happens that nothing--let's say in the regions in particular--has changed the way we wanted it to change. I'm not sure there's much that would be helpful that we could do about that. This is national public radio, not state radio or television.
Therefore, we have to come to terms with how to do that. Maybe there's something in the language of the mandate, although I think it's fair to say most of the people have proposed that the mandate did not need to be changed dramatically, but actually just lived up to. Please help us with that.
Regarding new media, are there any thoughts, or anything that you would offer about the opportunities? I think there's a big opportunity here. I think this is an historic moment for the national public broadcaster, and my sense is that they could seize this moment. We're already ahead in some areas. So I would like you to respond to that, and add.
There's also a discussion about whether there should be advertising or not. Could you each throw out your thoughts around that?