But it’s no save for indy news, says Tory MP and former broadcaster
OTTAWA – While the news media are under attack from President Donald Trump’s administration in the U.S., their counterparts in Canada have found a strong ally with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government.
In Wednesday’s fall economic statement, Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced a multimillion-dollar investment in Canadian journalism for both producers and consumers of news.
Starting in the 2019-20 fiscal year, the federal government proposes to allocate $14.6 million over five years to help create a Francophone digital platform with French-language global broadcaster, TV5MONDE, to boost the presence of…
Continue Reading
OAKVILLE – On Wednesday, November 28, provincial and territorial emergency management organizations will be issuing public test messages through Alert Ready, Canada's emergency alerting system, that will hit TVs, radios and wireless phones all around the country.
Each province and territory will issue one test message at 1:55 p.m. local time, with the exception of Quebec, where the test will occur at 2:55 p.m. local time. This will be the second live Alert Ready test this year. The first occurred during Emergency Preparedness Week in May 2018 and readers may recall there were a few glitches.
The…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The majority of Canadians who report pirating TV and movie content also have a TV service or an over-the-top TV subscription, according to a new research from the Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
The Internet not only gives service providers and copyright holders opportunities to reach wider audiences with their content, it also allows Internet users to find films, TV shows, music, video games and software that are made available for free online, sometimes against the wishes of their creators and copyright holders, says Pirating TV and Movie Content: Analysis of the Canadian Market.
Highlights from the report…
Continue Reading
GATINEAU – Last week Corus Entertainment filed an application informing the CRTC that it will shut down 44 transmitters and requested an amendment to their station licences.
Twenty of those stations had not been converted to digital and Corus was required to do so, according to the conditions of the acquisition imposed by the CRTC when then CanWest Global stations were acquired by Shaw Communications back in 2010.
In the November 8th application, Corus is requesting permission to shift the remainder of the benefits money meant to upgrade the transmitters to other endeavours, and therefore not convert them to digital as it…
Continue Reading
PIAC reiterates FairPlay opposition
OTTAWA – A representative of Canada’s Business Coalition for Balanced Copyright – an alliance of Canadian telecommunications providers including Bell, Rogers, Vidéotron and others – says while its members support a regime that rewards and protects creators, facilitates access to creative content, makes investment in technology and supports educational research, the removal of exceptions added to Canada’s Copyright Act in 2012 would put hundreds of millions of dollars at risk.
“ exceptions added to the Copyright Act in 2012 were necessary to eliminate uncertainty that would restrict or inhibit the development of new products and services,” Jay…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Cuts to overall energy consumption as well as an in increase in the recycling and diverting of e-waste and scrap metal are among the highlights of CBC/Radio-Canada’s latest corporate Environmental Performance Report.
The report highlights the public broadcaster's “green” scorecard and initiatives from April 2017 to March 2018. This edition also marks the 10th anniversary of CBC/Radio-Canada environmental reporting.
During the last decade, CBC/Radio-Canada has:
– Recycled 1,450.2 metric tonnes of e-waste and 926.8 metric tonnes of scrap metal, the equivalent to 74.3 (32-metric-tonne) dump trucks;
– Decreased air emissions by 45.5%, the equivalent to 671,106 tree seedlings grown for 10…
Continue Reading
TORONTO – Heather Conway, CBC’s Executive Vice President English services, has announced her departure from the public broadcaster to pursue other opportunities, the company announced today.
She will remain in her role until December 7, 2018.
"Heather has been instrumental in spearheading CBC's digital transformation on all of our platforms and across all genres, helping us meet our goal of doubling our digital reach, two years ahead of schedule," said Catherine Tait, president and CEO, in the release announcing the departure. "She has been passionate about reflecting Canadian diversity in our content, ensuring that it is more distinctly and identifiably Canadian.”
Prior…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – The final segment of the 16th Annual Conference of the International Institute of Communications, held in Ottawa on October 31st and November 1st, was unusually staged with the chair of the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel (BTLR), Janet Yale, at a lectern on the right-hand side of the stage and moderator Lawson Hunter, senior counsel, Stikeman Elliott and a legend in the regulatory realm on the left lectern.
The remaining six members of the expert panel, Hank Intven, Monique Simard, Monica Song and Pierre Trudel, Marina Pavlović and Peter Grant were seated on high chairs between these…
Continue Reading
When U.S. studios go direct to consumer, will anything be left of the Canadian TV industry?
I HAVE A Plan A, and a Plan B.
Plan A is a solid, workable, and absolutely necessary approach. One I and others have been advocating for almost 20 years.
Unfortunately, I am very much afraid that it is now too late. By the time the Broadcast and Telecom Legislative Review (BTLR) Panel presents its interim report (due June 2019), and then we have an election, and then the Final Report is delivered at the end of January 2020, and then assessed by a new government,…
Continue Reading
OTTAWA – Jack Nagler, currently CBC’s senior director of journalism (public accountability and engagement), has been appointed as the public broadcaster’s new English Services ombudsperson.
Current CBC ombudsperson Esther Enkin, who has held the role since 2012, will stay on until her retirement at the end of December.
Completely independent of program staff, the ombudsperson reports directly to the Corp’s board of directors through the president and CEO, and handles complaints from members of the public who are not satisfied with the response they receive from the news department. CBC has two: one for English Services and one for French Services,…
Continue Reading
