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It’s been kind of a slow week at the Corp… people are a little sluggish at returning calls and emails… but I did run across this beautiful request from a CBC reporter on Facebook:
I am a CBC Radio producer and I’m researching a story.
I am looking for vegetarians who support the seal hunt.
If this is you, please contact me via Facebook.
Thanks.
Is there anything more Canadian?
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| Fun Stuff | Posted at 1:48 pm (30 Jan 2008) |
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On this day in 1952, at 8.30 pm, Vancouver’s CBR 1130 became CBU 690. There was a 30-minute CBU Special at 8:30 followed by a Robbie Burns Special at 9:05 pm. The launch of CBU meant a power increase from 5000 watts to 10,000 watts. At this point CBC Radio had just 17 low-power relay transmitters throughout B.C.
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| Asides, Today In CBC History, Transmission, Vancouver | Posted at 12:02 pm (25 Jan 2008) |
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Here’s a strange twist in the saga over the international rights sale of 135 programs.
The Corporation has taken the unusual step of publicizing that its Board of Directors has given the green light to the deal. (The Corporation rarely announces specific Board decisions. In this case, the Board’s support was distributed both on the CBC’s corporate news feed and as a news release to other media.)
The deal, which sees the CBC sell off all international rights to its program catalogue of about 135 active titles, came under heavy criticism from Canadian firms who said they should have been given the opportunity to bid for the rights. The deal was done with the British firm Fireworks International. A Canadian office will be established to manage the assets.The sale is permanent; the deal is not structured on any kind of multiple-year agreement.
Two days after the proposed sale was announced, the parent company, ContentFilm, was bought by Toronto-based Peace Arch. CBC executive Fred Fuchs was a senior vice-president at Peace Arch before coming to the CBC.
In an email to staff this morning updating them on the Board meeting, CBC’s new President Hubert Lacroix said:
“[Head of CBC's English services Richard Stursberg's] analysis shows that public tendering would have diluted the value of our assets while increasing the negative impact for staff. During the discussion, Board members voiced different points of view, considerations and concerns.”
“I am convinced that we, in exiting this business in this way, struck a deal that allows us to maximize the consideration for these distribution rights, while meeting the strategic objectives that we sought [including] continued income stream to CBC for the sale of active titles in the catalogue.”
While CBC executive Steve Billinger, a key player in the negotiations, has said he does not yet know what the impact of the 11 staff within CBC’s international sales division will be, he did say the deal with Fireworks included discussions about taking on at least some of those staff. Lacroix was more direct: “Content Film/Fireworks has expressed interest in our employees, which was a really important factor for us in taking this decision.”The Canadian Media Guild says the Corporation contracted out the work of international sales employees without following collective agreement provisions or Corporation policies on procurement of services. It says it “was never consulted on the plan and never had an opportunity to examine the business case or to propose alternatives to sending the work outside.”
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| Board of Directors | Posted at 12:14 pm (24 Jan 2008) |
The CRTC this morning approved the CBC application to operate a transmitter at Whistler B.C. to rebroadcast the programming of its national French-language network service, La Première Chaîne. The new transmitter will operate at 103.1 FM with an average effective radiated power of 240 watts. The Commission received one intervention in support of this application.
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| Asides, Radio-Canada, Transmission, Vancouver | Posted at 11:58 am (24 Jan 2008) |
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Don Scott, a CBC TV cameraman, will not face obstruction charges for an incident with Winnipeg police last month.
Scott was arrested December 12 where he was filming a police standoff. His camera and tape were seized. A CBC executive says police are still holding the videotape.
Police said Scott was within a safety perimeter and refused to move away when an office asked him to. The CBC said Scott agreed to move, but was arrested because he refused to stop videotaping.
Cameraman Don Scott had not been formally charged but was scheduled to appear in court for “obstructing a peace officer.”
The Crown prosecutor said “We just felt it didn’t meet the requirements of the section for obstruction.”
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| Winnipeg | Posted at 1:30 pm (23 Jan 2008) |
Zero hour approaches.
Wednesday at midnight (okay, technically speaking midnight is on Thursday, but you know what I mean) is the deadline to get letters of support for CBC Radio One on the FM dial in Vancouver into the CRTC.
You can keep it simple. Just tell them how much you like CBC Radio programing, and that you think it’s crucial for the Lower Mainland to have access to the national broadcaster on the FM dial. And feel free to pester your friends. They’ll thank you for it later.
To do this, go to the form on the CRTC website and click on the button #2007-18. Check the box beside #200714239 (in the list, this is the second CBC application) and go to the bottom of the page and select next. Then just follow the instructions to complete your letter of support. (Please copy CBC on your e-mail at regulatoryaffairs@cbc.ca)
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| CBC Radio 1, The CRTC, Vancouver | Posted at 12:14 am (23 Jan 2008) |
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Nora Young’s great show about the culture of technology, Spark, is planning an upcoming episode on the topic of collaboration.
So, putting their money where their mirophone is, the show’s crew has launched a wiki to seek direct input from listeners before the show airs.
It’s also interesting to see the shows’ episode lineups as they evolve. True, soliciting help on future shows isn’t a new idea, but using a wiki — which anyone can edit — is an interesting experiment.
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| Spark | Posted at 11:19 am (22 Jan 2008) |
Don Wittman, synonymous with CBC Sports for nearly a half-century, died early Saturday after a battle with cancer. He was 71.
Wittman passed away in a Winnipeg hospital surrounded by his family.
Don Wittman joined CBC Sports in 1961 and went on to call some of the most vicious, arresting and triumphant moments in Canadian sports history.
Don Wittman joined CBC Sports in 1961 and went on to call some of the most vicious, arresting and triumphant moments in Canadian sports history.
“On the Saturday mornings of every telecast I worked with Don, I recall him spending a couple of hours talking to players, coaches, writers and broadcasters, gathering as much information as possible, far more than he could ever use on the air,” Scott Oake of CBC Sports said. “But, in Don’s mind, better that than being unprepared.”
His voice appears on perhaps the most replayed sports clip in Canadian history, Ben Johnson’s apparent win in the 100-metre sprint at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, a result overturned days later after Johnson tested positive for a steroid. More recently, he expressed the shock so many viewers felt when favourite Perdita Felicien crashed into the first hurdle at the 2004 Athens Games.
Covering a calamity more sobering than any sporting event could ever be, Wittman was near the scene in Munich in 1972 after gunmen attacked and held hostage members of Israel’s Olympic team, with 11 eventually killed.
During the standoff, Wittman and producer Bob Moir crawled under a fence to get into the Olympic Village and the evacuated Canadian quarters. They were positioned directly across a courtyard from the Israeli dormitory.
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| Obits, Sports | Posted at 10:26 am (22 Jan 2008) |
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Doug Finley,
Director of Political Operations
Conservative Party of Canada
January 21, 2008
Dear Mr. Finley:
This letter is in response to your complaint to the CBC Ombudsman about
“collusion” involving one of our reporters during the recent
Mulroney/Schreiber hearings in Ottawa, during which questions were asked about lobbying efforts by Mr. Mulroney directed toward the current federal
government.
Following an investigation by senior management of CBC News, we have
determined that our reporter Krista Erickson did, in fact, provide questions
to a Member of Parliament in the lead up to the Ethics Committee meeting in
December. Those actions, while in pursuit of a journalistically legitimate
story, were inappropriate and inconsistent with CBC News policies and
procedures, specifically under our Principles, Sec. 3:
“Credibility is dependent not only on qualities such as accuracy and
fairness in reporting and presentation, but also upon avoidance by both
the organization and its journalists of associations or contacts which
could reasonably give rise to perceptions of partiality. Any situation
which could cause reasonable apprehension that a journalist or the
organization is biased or under the influence of any pressure group,
whether ideological, political, financial, social or cultural, must be
avoided.”
Our investigation determined there was no bias in related news coverage.
However, our reporter, acting on her own, used inappropriate tactics as a
result of journalistic zeal, rather than partisan interest. CBC News
management has made the decision to reassign its reporter from the story and
to Toronto, effective Jan. 21.
Given the potential risk to the journalistic credibility of our Ottawa
bureau, its reporters and CBC News generally, we have chosen on an exceptional basis to make the detailed outcome of our disciplinary process available to you, our employees and the public at large.
I trust this addresses your concerns.
It is also my responsibility to inform you that if you are not satisfied
with this response, you may wish to submit the matter for review by Vince
Carlin, CBC Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman, an independent and
impartial body reporting directly to the President, is responsible for
evaluating program compliance with the CBC’s journalistic policies. The
Ombudsman may be reached by mail at the address shown below, or by fax at
(416) 205-2825, or by e-mail at ombudsman@cbc.ca
Sincerely,
John Cruickshank
Publisher
CBC News
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| Posted at 6:27 pm (21 Jan 2008) |
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On this day in 1930, CPR applied for seven 50 kW transmitters to be located to serve Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and either Halifax or Saint John. 15 kW transmitters were proposed for Fort William, Sudbury, Quebec City and Prince Albert. However, on April 2nd, eight of the applications were withdrawn “until a decision was made by Parliament” (on the future of radio). However, three applications were left standing for stations in Toronto, Montreal and Winnipeg but, apparently, never re-surfaced. On the same date, Canadian Pacific was issued a license for a “phantom” station (CHRY – later changed to CPRY) which would be based in studios in the new Royal York Hotel in Toronto and which would lease time for its programs from CKGW or CFRB.
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| Asides, Today In CBC History | Posted at 8:54 am (17 Jan 2008) |
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The federal broadcasting regulator is imposing considerably tighter rules on media ownership.
But those rules will not apply to existing ownership structures.
From now on, a person or company can only control two of the following types of media that serve the same market: a local radio station, a local television station or a local newspaper.
This is quite a step up from common ownership policies governing the number of conventional television and radio stations a person may control in the same market.
As well, the CRTC will:
“The trend toward greater consolidation in the broadcasting industry has raised concerns that a large ownership group could achieve a dominant position through acquisitions, which could bring about a reduction in the diversity of local, regional and national content,” the CRTC said in a news release issued this morning.
It’s not immediately clear whether there’ll be a grandfathering clause or the rules mean current owners will have to sell off operations if they own more than than two.
“With these new policies, we have developed a clear approach to guide us in assessing future transactions in the broadcasting industry,” said CRTC Chairman Konrad von Finckenstein, CRTC. “It is an approach that will preserve the plurality of editorial voices and the diversity of programming available to Canadians, both locally and nationally, while allowing for a strong and competitive industry.”
The policies apply only to private broadcasters.
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| The CRTC, The Media Landscape | Posted at 11:44 am (15 Jan 2008) |
You’ll be seeing advertisements on CBC Radio web pages soon.
The increase is necessary to pay for increasing costs in streaming CBC Radio online and producing and distributing podcasts, CBC Radio head Jennifer McGuire told staff yesterday.
“We cannot grow in these spaces at the expense of our existing programs and schedules,” she said in a staff memo. “To date, we have managed to keep in step with technology and listener/user demands by stretching existing resources to cover other platforms. As a startup strategy this has served us well, but it is not sustainable and is certainly not a formula for growth. The hard reality is that we need additional revenue to do this important work.”
To gain that revenue, McGuire says CBC will be extending the banner ads you currently see on CBC.ca pages, such as the News and Entertainment pages.
Traditionally, CBC Radio has kept itself free of any commercials or sponsorships. Last year, CBC Radio began adding short sponsorship messages at the beginning of some podcasts, also to help pay for them.
CBC Radio currently has 54 podcasts, making it the largest single podcasting organization in Canada. The CBC Radio 2 portal page, with Concerts on Demand and live streaming, attracts more than a million page views per month.
What do you think? Given that CBC Radio just can’t produce and distribute podcasts at no cost, was this the right way to increase revenue? If not, what revenue source would you have found if you were in charge?
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| CBC Radio 1, CBC Radio 2, Podcasting | Posted at 11:40 am (15 Jan 2008) |
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CBC’s new daytime show, Steven and Chris, launches today. You’ll see tips on home decor, fashion, food and health. What you won’t see are sponsors’ brands integrated into the show.
Yet.
CBC TV’s sales department is actively looking for companies who want to place their brand directly within the program content.
But it’s not “product placement,” according to Praveen Amirtharaj, CBC TV’s director of marketing. Like previous brand-integrations on CBC TV shows, Amirtharaj says the show’s producers will drive how a product or company’s logo will appear in the program.
On the Gill Deacon Show, which last year held this slot on the daytime schedule, producers asked sales to find a specific company. “It was the producers who came to us and asked us [to sign the board game] Cranium, Amirtharaj told me. “They wanted her to play a game on the show, so we found Cranium. It’s not like we had Cranium sitting on the side and said ‘Gill, what can you do with Cranium?’ It was the other way around. That’s different than the privates who [tell their show producers] ‘I have a stable of products. How many shows can you get it into?”
On the show The Tournament, Amirtharaj says the sponsor, Kia Motors, was sought because the script called for it. “One of the characters guy owned a dealership and another character worked there,” he said. “There was a reason for it to be there.”
How It Would Look
I asked him how brand integration might play out on the Steven and Chris show. “Let’s say the show producers tell us they want to do a story on healthy living and they’re doing a cooking section involving dairy products…. We could say ‘You know what, the Dairy Farmers have a nutritional opportunity with cheese.’ ”
As for disclosure, Amirtharaj says it depends on the show. Sometimes it’s listed in the credits as “promotional consideration by,” but only if the placement isn’t obvious.
Actively Seeking Sponsors
But while Amirtharaj says show producers direct the sales department to find a particular type of sponsor, CBC’s head of “brand activation” Jamie Michaels seemed to be a little more on the hard-sell side. He told Media in Canada that the Steven and Chris show would make an excellent because “It’s got a live studio audience with that kind of feel — which we believe we can really capitalize on in working with sponsors on contesting, giveaways and, ideally, brand integration and branded segments.”
“There’s no question it targets women, so it will work very well for female-skewed products. And we want to leverage that with our sponsors,” he added.
The magazine says the program’s potential exposure for advertisers is “desirable,” adding “The hosts are so high-profile that their frequent public appearances – such as one they did last month for the opening of Home Depot Canada’s ‘Project’ prototype store in Richmond Hill, Ont. – invariably draw excited crowds and often end up on TV news clips.”
No sponsors have been signed up so far. The program, shot in live-to-tape format, debuts today at 2:00 p.m. local time, 2:30 p.m. NT.
What do you think? Have you seen other brand integrations on CBC shows? How did they compare to private stations’ placements?
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| Marketing/Promotion, Steven and Chris | Posted at 9:44 am (14 Jan 2008) |
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If you’re a CBC employee, you likely received an internal email today saying you must complete an online course called Occupational Health and Safety by the end of next month.
I just took the course. It’s not the kind of thing you can walk through between stories or on a break. It takes 40 minutes to complete.
It’s actually pretty common-sense stuff. But the actual content (types of hazards) doesn’t begin until 18 minutes into the course. The lengthy introduction is dedicated to definitions, acronyms, committees, legislation and regulations, and processes. It even walks you through each exciting part of the COHS legislation — section by section. (Chapter 2.7)
And no, you can’t skip to the “meat.” You’ve got to run through the whole thing. At the end of each chapter, there is a test. I don’t want to give anything away, but one of the questions actually asks you how many chapters there are in the legislation. I wish I were kidding about this. My other favourite quiz question:
Things I learned:
Best Line:
“The legislation does not permit you to
refuse work that you simply don’t like.”
(Chapter 2.5)
Runner-Up:
“Remember that you can make a difference!”
Best Photo:
(Megan notes in the comments: “That’s clearly a very dangerous area of the
building. The guy in the background is already in a wheelchair.”)
To take the course, go to the Organizational Health and Wellness [internal link] site on the Intranet. If you plan to take this from home (the course is available outside of the CBC network), make sure you first visit that page to get the login information.
You even get a certificate you can print out and put on your cubicle wall. Or choose the “Wallet Size” option if you’d like to carry it around with you to impress your friends. Awesome.
Completing the course is a legal requirement. If you don’t finish it by February 29th, you’ll get a “friendly reminder” in your email.
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| Environmental | Posted at 3:02 pm (11 Jan 2008) |
Former CBC Vancouver transmitter technician Sam Greenwood died in his sleep in North Vancouver yesterday morning at age 78. He was with the Corporation from 1960 to 1974 and then again with the CBC’s helicopter/ground car setup at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. There will be no service at his request. Obituary here.
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| Obits | Posted at 1:21 pm (11 Jan 2008) |
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