BANFF – Last year the new owners of the Banff World Media Festival arrived only just in time to snag the last few hotel vacancies.
But for 2018, Brunico Communications is placing a discernible stamp on this storied Canadian event. At the outset of the 39th annual edition much is being made of the new Diversity of Voices Initiative, a fresh commitment to nurture diverse creators – specifically francophones, Indigenous peoples, and women.
This year Banff welcomes 1500-plus delegates from more than 25 countries.
And a goodly number of them showed up as invited guests on Sunday morning…
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BANFF – Federal Heritage Minister Melanie Joly, as she has done for each of the last three years, delivered the opening keynote address at this year’s Banff World Media Festival and while in large part it was political self-congratulation for having reversed 10 years of cuts by the previous Conservative government, it was also an ample response to those in the industry who persist with the query, “what exactly has Joly done?”
Turns out she’s done a fair bit… not so much on substantive policy but quite a bit on the expenditure side.
Joly reminded delegates that last year at Banff…
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TORONTO – The second season of the CBC/Netflix original series Anne With An E will return to the public broadcaster on Sunday, September 23, but will stream outside of Canada on Netflix starting July 6.
The series, which has expanded to 10 episodes this season, will also be available to steam via the CBC TV app and cbc.ca/watch. The season 2 trailers were shared on social media Friday and are available here on Facebook and here on Twitter.
Inspired by the timeless Canadian novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, the second season will…
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GATINEAU – On the empirical side, unsurprisingly, data compiled and released today by the CRTC in response to a government request, show the slow decline of the popularity and revenues of traditional media.
But for the future, the report called Harnessing Change: The Future of Programming Distribution in Canada identifies four options available to the federal government as it mulls its promised overhauls of the Broadcasting Act and Telecommunications Act:
Status quo
Deregulate traditional players
Apply the existing regulatory approach to new players
Develop new, adaptable and innovative approaches which engage new players. This is the one the Report recommends.
“To ensure a vibrant domestic…
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By Sara Bannerman and Charnjot Shokar
FACEBOOK'S APOLOGY TOUR made a stop in Europe last week, but did little to soothe concerns about the threats that social media platforms pose to privacy and election integrity.
Compared to other regions like Europe that have proposed relatively robust measures, the Canadian response has been, so far, lacklustre.
The European Union’s tough new privacy laws came into effect last week. The United States government has introduced the Honest Ads Act to address social media election manipulation. Australia is investigating Google for tracking Android users’ location and web histories.
Meanwhile in Canada, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is reaching out to tech…
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TORONTO – Bell Media set to cancel Discovery's Daily Planet next week after 23 seasons and Space's Innerspace after nine cycles, and the CBC ending its daytime lifestyle series The Goods marks no major retreat from in-house production, both broadcasters insist, only a practical acceptance they must move faster to check Netflix, Google and fast-expanding digital platforms.
Here, the shift from traditional TV to digital video, while certainly not happening quickly or seamlessly, does have Canadian broadcasters tackling production costs amid falling TV ad revenues and growing streaming competition. “This decision is part of CBC's ongoing redirection of programming budgets…
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TORONTO – RTDNA Canada recognized journalistic excellence over the weekend, announcing the winners of its Network RTDNA Awards of Excellence.
“With a record number of entries this year, the competition was as tough as ever and our valued judges presided over some truly remarkable submissions” said RTDNA Canada president Ian Koenigsfest, in the announcement. “The exceptionally high standard of entries from all regions and all market sizes indicates that quality of journalism continues to thrive in Canada. Winning an RTDNA Award of Excellence once again indicates the pinnacle of our craft on all platforms. Congratulations to everyone involved in producing…
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MONTREAL – Former Le Devoir exec Luce Julien is returning to Radio-Canada as executive director of news and current affairs to take over from the retiring Michel Cormier, the public broadcaster announced Friday.
Julien (pictured) spent 23 years working for Radio-Canada, where she headed up radio news, ICI RDI, as well as digital and multiplatform coverage before being named editor-in-chief of Le Devoir in February 2016.
She will work alongside Cormier during a transition period before officially taking the helm on July 31, becoming the first woman to hold the role.
"Known for her thoroughness and strong journalistic ethic, Luce has a keen…
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OTTAWA – Despite a spike in listening options, AM/FM radio continues to play a major role in the media consumption habits of Anglophone Canadians, says a new report from Media Technology Monitor (MTM).
Radio: Analysis of the Anglophone Market looks at Anglophones' use of AM/FM radio content on traditional receivers, consumption of satellite radio, and accessing radio content online.
Highlights from the report include:
– Nearly 9 in 10 Anglophones report listening to AM/FM radio;
– The majority of AM/FM radio stations now offer their content online, and Anglophones just over one fifth of Anglophones currently listen to AM/FM radio online;
– While many…
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TORONTO – Five new Canadian scripted series will join the 2018-19 fall programming slate at CBC, including the reboot of ‘80s legal drama Street Legal, the public broadcaster announced Thursday.
Original Canadian programming will include drama, comedy, factual, arts, music, kids, sports, news and documentary programming across television, radio and digital platforms, the Corp added.
“CBC is thrilled to bring Canadians such a wide range of original programming produced by Canadian creators for Canadian audiences,” said EVP English Services Heather Conway, in the news release.
New CBC original Canadian series confirmed for the 2018-19 season include:
Cavendish – a comedy from the minds…
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