CRTC ups funding, calls for TV hearings in the fall

As per the budget, the CRTC upped funding for local television to $102 million. More importantly, it called for public proceedings into the future of conventional broadcasting starting in the fall. That might be more meaningful in the long term, as the CRTC is upping funding and granting one-year licenses to tide the nets over the short term.

CTV, July 6 1009

Some thoughts on new technology

NM/MSM is better than MSM/NM. New is better than old. Technology will liberate. Technology is evil. These absolutist arguments don’t pass much intellectual scrutiny. Technology is morally neutral. Cavemen figured this out with fire. Fire is good (”mmm, cooked meat”), fire is bad (”CAVE ON FIRE! CAVE ON FIRE!”) settled this debate millenia ago, and cavemen figured out that use of technology determines its usefulness and any ethical value that may be put on it. So, a link to a couple of academics who look at the same argument through the lens of new technology in the nascent Iranian revolution.

Globe and Mail, July 3 2009

Globe, union reach tentative agreement

Both sides looked over the abyss and stepped back. Despite its “final offer” last week, a mediator found enough room for both sides to save some face. Ratification on Monday; don’t think it’ll be a problem. No details till then.

Reuters, July 3 2009

CanWest gets extension — again

The seemingly-endless saga of CanWest, its debtors and investors, drags on. Latest extension is to July 17 for agreement in principle, July 31 for final agreement. We should start a pool to see what the final date will really be.

Financial Post, June 31 2009

Shaw backs out of deal on small stations

As predicted in this space a few months ago, the Shaw move to buy for $1 each small CTV stations in Windsor, Wingham and Brandon has fallen through. I noted it was just a cheap stunt for the benefit of the CRTC to argue that CTV/Global over-the-air stations don’t need fee-for-carriage and can be profitable without it. I suspect the bean counters at Shaw finally argued economic sense to senior management, and convinced them that buying money losing stations in an ad depression is a guaranteed money-loser. Interesting that the story comes out on a holiday and that Shaw management, in the manner of titans of industry who screw up everywhere, are unavailable for comment. Keep after them boys, to explain what happened to this. Meanwhile, CanWest sold its smaller stations in Montreal and Hamilton to something called Channel Zero, which has a radical approach to profitability: change the format to something they can afford, to wit all news during the day and movies at night. This will be good for news in those communities.

Globe and Mail, July 1 2009

Top 50 magazines in Canada, 2008

Masthead lists the top 50 magazines in the country. This link is to J-source, which contains a correction from Masthead. The link to the full report is at the bottom of the J-source page. Interestingly, the top 50 show gains and losses in revenue. The results for 2009 will likely be grimmer, as the ad drought shows no sign of diminishing, at least till 2010.

J-source, June 25 2009

Globe/union get extension till Thursday midnight

Typically, once a final offer is on the table bargaining stops, and the next step when the final offer is refused is strike/lockout. The Globe and Mail and its union, though, have opted for mediation, to the above deadline. It doesn’t mean a deal is imminent though; a mediator first has to determine whether there’s room for negotiation (if not, the mediator then files a report that the two sides are deadlocked). Assuming there is, most mediators want both sides to give up some demands before filing a mediation report recommending a contract. Then both sides have to vote on that contract. At this point, I’m betting on lockout or strike. Since there’s a media ban on this (nice how the media exempt themselves from the usual coverage they provide) we likely won’t know till Friday morning what the result is.

CP/Canoe, June 29 2009

New Media from Iran troubles MSM

The tendency of mainstream media to simply quote from new media, without seeking a second source or other verification, is troubling enough. It’s even worse when the state clamps down on all media, new or traditional, and observers outside that state try to get a sense of what’s going on. As a result, blogs, posts, videos etc. on the current unrest in Iran are being cited frequently by MSM, but with the unease that they have no way of verifying that any of it is factual. A thoughtful piece from the New York Times.

New York Times, June 28 2009

Union rejects Globe final offer

A strike or lockout at the Globe as early as Thursday is possible as the CEP local at the Globe and Mail rejected what management described as its final offer. While there is some talk of the sides going back to the table on Tuesday, it’s difficult to do so after one side has tabled what it calls a final offer. There is some possibility of mediation/conciliation, in which a third party steps in to try to bring the two sides together. I’m not sure what the Globe’s strategy is on this; the National Post could make some gains if a Globe strike/lockout make it the only “national” newspaper left (I hesitate to call it a national newspaper when it doesn’t provide home delivery in six provinces — Atlantic Canada, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.)

Reuters, June 27 2009

Reader’s Digest goes right in the U.S.

Faced with too much debt (what is it about MSM that makes it go too far in debt?), the U.S. version of Reader’s Digest is going socially and religiously conservative. I doubt that it will mean much in Canada, whose social conservatives don’t constitute a large part of the population, but it is interesting that RD is moving this way, with the political right in the U.S. pretty much in disarray after eight years of George W. It’s also trying to slim down its circulation, from eight million to 5.5 million (and down from 17 million in the 70’s.) This is the same strategy that Life, Look and the Saturday Evening Post tried to do to survive as mainstream heavyweights in the 1960’s and 70’s — they are just rump publications now. Could the same happen to RD?

New York Times, June 18 2009