By Greg O’Brien
ON SATURDAY, CBC.ca published a story that said nearly 60% of rural Canadians don’t have access to high speed broadband, a piece which of course whipped around on social media and was republished unquestioned by other websites.
If I want to be nice, I’d say the story is terribly misleading. What it is though, is just untrue.
The story’s sub-headline and again in the body copy says “CRTC data suggests as few as 40.8 per cent of rural households have access to high-speed broadband.”
This is, simply put, a false sentence devoid of all context split from reality and…
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QUISPAMSIS, N.B. — The Canadian Communication Systems Alliance (CCSA) announced today Ian Spencer is joining the organization as manager of contracts, effective Monday, May 4.
Operating from his home base in Whitby, Ont., Spencer will be responsible for supporting Lori Rosenberg, CCSA’s vice-president of contracts, in negotiating current and future CCSA master programming agreements, managing staff in the administration of the agreements and implementing various CCSA member services. He will replace Debbie Randon, CCSA’s current manager of contracts, who will retire in July after 20 year of stellar service, says the news release.
Most recently, Spencer worked at CBC/Radio-Canada as manager…
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TORONTO — CBC and the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS) announced Tuesday the Junos 365 Songwriters’ Circle virtual series, featuring some of Canada’s best songwriters telling the stories behind their songs and performing from their homes.
Adapted for an online audience after the Jewel of the Junos event was cancelled in Saskatoon due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the five-part Junos 365 Songwriters’ Circle series is being presented by SOCAN in association with Music Publishers Canada.
The series begins Friday, May 1, with the first episode featuring Juno Award winner Brett Kissel bringing together stories and songs from Juno…
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Stingray to rebroadcast on its specialty channels
TORONTO – Following Sunday night’s all-Canadian special, Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble, organizers announced today more than $6 million has been raised to date to provide immediate support to Food Banks Canada during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With donations still being tallied and accepted, more than 140,000 individuals were inspired to support local food banks. Canadians can continue to donate to Food Banks Canada by texting COVID to 30333 or visiting FoodBanksCanada.ca/StrongerTogether
The biggest multi-platform broadcast ever is now the most-watched (non-sports) Canadian broadcast on record, said the press release. Nearly one in three Canadians watched…
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By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the CRTC public hearing into the renewal of CBC/Radio-Canada’s broadcast licences that was supposed to happen in May has been postponed until further notice, but the deadline for interventions remained back at February 20th.
However, that did not stop Quebecor from sending a letter to the CRTC on April 14 requesting the Commission put the letter on the renewal’s record, so the issues it raises can be discussed at the hearing, whenever that might happen.
Quebecor also brought the issues to the attention of the federal government. It’s a complaint made before,…
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VICTORIA and TORONTO – CHEK TV’s Rock for Relief fundraising concert held last Friday was seen by 20% of British Columbia TV viewers, the broadcaster reported this week.
Rock for Relief featured performances by David Foster and Katharine McPhee, Randy and Tal Bachman, the Tenors, Trevor Guthrie, and current American Idol contestant Lauren Spencer-Smith from Nanaimo, as well as local Vancouver Island favourites Jesse Roper, Carmanah, Aaron Pritchett, Kathryn Calder and many others.
The broadcast helped raise nearly $691,000 for Islanders in need during the Covid-19 pandemic. An additional 250,000 people watched the concert on social media channels, too.
“By any…
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TORONTO — In response to the tragic events in Nova Scotia this past weekend, CBC will provide a national television and streaming broadcast of the Nova Scotia Remembers community vigil this Friday.
The virtual vigil will be broadcast on Friday, April 24 at 6 p.m. ET (7 p.m. AT, 7:30 p.m. NT) on CBC News Network, CBC Gem, cbcnews.ca and the CBC News app, as well as CBC TV and CBC Radio in Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
The CBC News special will be hosted on TV and streaming platforms by CBC Nova Scotia’s Tom…
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TORONTO — With 10 new broadcasters coming on board to air the event, the all-Canadian special Stronger Together, Tous Ensemble in support of frontline workers battling Covid-19 has been extended to 90 minutes and will now begin at 6:30 p.m. across all markets (7 p.m. NT) on Sunday, April 26.
Previously announced as a one-hour broadcast, the event has become the largest single-show broadcast in Canadian history and will now air on an unprecedented 120 platforms. Broadcasters originally announced for the event include Bell Media, CBC/Radio-Canada, Corus Entertainment, Groupe V Média, and Rogers Sports and Media.
The 10 additional broadcasters…
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NEW YORK — CBC has been chosen as broadcaster of the year by the New York Festivals (NYF) Radio Awards, announced Tuesday as part of the NYF’s 2020 Storytellers Gala awards ceremony, which had to go virtual due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
CBC was honoured for several award-winning entries that explored news, entertainment, sports and music. The public broadcaster’s gold-trophy winning entries from CBC Radio and Audio included Tai Asks Why, Uncover the Village, The Band Played On, MMIWG Final Report and PlayMe. CBC also won several silver and bronze trophies and was a finalist in numerous categories as well.
“It…
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OTTAWA — CBC/Radio-Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts announced Tuesday a new, time-limited funding initiative called Digital Originals to help artists, groups and arts organizations showcase their original digital content to online audiences during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Canada Council for the Arts will provide a total of $1 million in funding to successful applicants to develop, create and share original or adapted digital works with Canadian audiences online, says the news release. CBC/Radio-Canada will showcase and amplify the discoverability of select projects on one or more of its platforms.
“Digital Originals will help to keep Canadian artists…
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