Digital strategy, broadband for urban poor, not addressed
OTTAWA – After years of neglect, outright disdain and budget cuts from the previous government, CBC/Radio-Canada is getting what some consider a much needed infusion of cash. The Liberals’ Budget 2016 is injecting $675 million over the next five years into the national public broadcaster.
The money – $75 million this fiscal year and $150 million in each of the four subsequent years – will be used “to disseminate and support world-class Canadian content and to provide Canadians with better access to programs and services in the digital era,” said the budget.
Critical to…
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MP fumes his local anchors are now in Toronto
OTTAWA – The ongoing local television struggles were the topic of the day at the Heritage Committee this week as it kicked off its study on the media and local communities (just three short weeks after the CRTC did the exact same thing).
Officials from the Department of Canadian Heritage, the Competition Bureau and the CRTC were at the inaugural meeting to provide MPs with background on the challenges facing the industry.
The nearly two-hour long session was mainly about giving and receiving information on the struggles of local TV, including…
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OTTAWA – The Westin Hotel will play host to over 600 people from feature film, television, interactive media, broadcasting and telecommunications industries during the Canadian Media Production Association’s Prime Time conference, beginning Thursday morning.
CMPA CEO Reynolds Mastin kicks things off at breakfast, followed by morning keynoter John Penney, Chief Strategy Officer, Starz.
Other notable speakers over the next two days include Minister of Canadian Heritage Mélanie Joly, the CBC’s Heather Conway, Shaw Media’s Barbara Williams, Bell Media’s Tracey Pearce, DHX Media’s Steven Denure, Freemantle Media’s Jens Richter, Shaftsbury’s Christina Jennings, and many others.
Sessions on advertising, branding, partnerships, international success stories,…
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OTTAWA – New Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly will join next week’s Prime Time in Ottawa conference, organizers confirmed Friday.
Minister Joly will appear ‘In Conversation’ with CMPA president and CEO Reynolds Mastin at the luncheon on Thursday, February 4. This conversation will be livestreamed, and can be accessed by registering here.
“It is a great honour for our industry’s leaders to be able to hear first-hand from Minister Joly as we gather to discuss the future of the Canadian content-creation industry,” said Mastin, in the news release. “The CMPA believes it is crucial for the private sector…
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TORONTO – The popularity of TV content and applications funded by the Canada Media Fund (CMF) is just one indication of how the Fund is meeting the needs of Canadians, according to an evaluation report by the Department of Canadian Heritage.
The report, released last month but made public Monday, covers the first four years of the CMF, from 2010-2011 to 2013-2014. Its objective was to provide Canadian Heritage with comprehensive and reliable evidence to support its decision-making.
Based on an array of evaluation methods, including a literature review, key informant reviews, case studies and an expert panel, the report covers a wide…
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OTTAWA – The Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC) is looking for a new executive director as Jean Malavoy departs from that role.
Since joining the CRFC in 2013, Malavoy led the development of a new Youth on Air! program, helped to support the major associations serving the sector, increased the amount that individual radio stations could access for Canadian Content Development projects, and pioneered a way for stations to partner on larger initiatives, reads the news release.
"Jean came to the CRFC at a pivotal time," said CRFC president Roger Ouellette, in the release. "We have grown into a source of…
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OTTAWA – The newly minted ministers of Prime Minister Trudeau’s first cabinet received their ministerial mandate letters this week, detailing his expectations and their priorities.
Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Navdeep Singh Bains’ letter said that his “overarching goal will be to help Canadian businesses grow, innovate and export so that they can create good quality jobs and wealth for Canadians”.
His top priorities, as they pertain to the Canadian communications industry, include:
– Improve the quality of publicly available data in Canada. This will require working with Statistics Canada, the President of the Treasury Board and other departments…
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OTTAWA – Two names in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s new 30-member cabinet will be of particular interest to Canada’s communication industry.
The role of Industry Minister has vanished, as the PM opted to mesh the ministries of science and technology and Industry Canada under the department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. Navdeep Singh Bains (Mississauga-Malton, ON) was named minister of that portfolio.
After entering federal politics in 2004 as MP for Mississauga–Brampton South, Bains served as parliamentary secretary to the PM and a Liberal critic for various portfolios. He is Certified Management Accountant, holds an MBA with a specialization in finance,…
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WITH THE ELECTION OVER WITH, there will be debate and discussion around the priorities of the new Liberal government with regard to shaping communications and digital policy.
I suspect that, perhaps with the exception of more funding for the CBC, and a few other election promises, communications will not be an immediate priority for the transition team or for Cabinet. It’s not that communications/digital policy isn’t relevant, whether in respect of competition and choice, price, culture, accessibility, economic growth, innovation in IT or jobs. It’s just these things are not seen, politically, to be broken enough, particularly on the carriage…
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PEOPLE ARE ALREADY CALLING Justin Trudeau our first “selfie” Prime Minister. Images of him on the campaign trail – and the day after the election – mugging with various Canadians who have one arm outstretched and the other around our PM-to-be number in the hundreds of thousands. He’ll apparently even click it for you, if you like.
Of course, those snapshots are then uploaded to the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, LinkedIn or any other sharing platform to display to followers around the country and the world. Just Google “Justin Trudeau selfie”.
Invariably, those images ride…
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