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FYI

Media Beat: April 20, 2018

Media Beat: April 20, 2018

By David Farrell

Big Brother in 2018

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) has sent 443 license keys for the video game Orwell: Ignorance is Strength to Senators and parliamentarians to familiarize lawmakers with the ethical implications of new espionage powers created for Canada’s spies following the passage of Bill C-59, An Act respecting national security matters.


The risk of ceding online content monitoring to Internet giants

As elected officials place Internet giants such as Google and Facebook under an increasingly intense microscope, the pressure mounts on those companies to play more proactive roles in policing content on their networks. In recent weeks, the demands have come from seemingly every direction: privacy commissioners seeking rules on the removal of search results, politicians calling for increased efforts to address fake news on Internet platforms, and Internet users wondering why the companies are slow to takedown allegedly defamatory or harmful postings.

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My Globe and Mail op-ed notes Internet companies can undoubtedly do more, but laying the responsibility primarily at their feet poses its own risks as governments and regulators effectively cede responsibility for content moderation and policing to private, for-profit companies. In doing so, there is a real chance that the Internet giants will become even more powerful, limiting future competition and entrenching an uncomfortable reliance on private organizations for activities that are traditionally conducted by courts and regulators. – Michael Geist

VA usage in Canada

Research firm Media Technology Monitor has issued a report on usage that suggests two in five Canadians have used a virtual assistant in the past month, with 25% connecting using Siri and one in seven using the phrase, ‘OK, Google’.

Where does Netflix go from here?

Netflix just reported that they have 125M global subscribers. If they can double that over the next ten years, and they can also double what they charge, they will have 250M subs paying $20 per month. Which is $5B in revenues. Each month. Or $60B per year. – Duncan Stewart, Deloitte Canada

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Postmedia's political leanings

There’s nothing surprising about the fact the Toronto Sunmight take an anti-Liberal line heading in to the June 7 Ontario election. What’s somewhat more remarkable, however, is that they’d feel the need to set that down on paper.

A three-page document shared with us by a tipster outlines what appear to be the Sun’s plans for covering the upcoming provincial election. It is headed, appropriately, “Toronto Sun Provincial Election Plans,” and sets out a detailed strategy to take on the Liberals.

“Our focus will focus on exposing the Liberal record during the campaign and advocating for change that addresses the critical need to responsibly address chronic and growing problems in health, education and economy,” reads a section at the top summarizing the “Editorial Perspective.” – Jonathan Goldsbie, CanadaLand

Facebook faces tough questions over Canadian data collection

A senior executive apologized to Canadians on Thursday for what he said was a “huge breach of trust” that allowed the data of more than 622,000 Canadians to be harvested. – The Star

An outcry over CBC plans to destroy original archived materials

The Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation (CBMF) is urging CBC to stop destroying original radio and television programming after making digital copies, arguing these master recordings are irreplaceable.

The Toronto charitable foundation said in a release Wednesday that CBC's English Services began destroying original radio and TV programming at the beginning of April. – CBC News

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Rogers Q1 profit soars

The wireless, cable, internet and media company’s net profit was $425M, up 37 percent from $310M in the comparable period last year.

Adjusted earnings grew even more, rising by 45 percent to $477M, while total revenue was $3.63B, up eight percent from $3.37B last year. – CP

Why Infinite Dial Canada 2018 Study is bad news for Radio PDs

The Study shows 51% of 18-34-year-olds don’t own a radio at home That’s one in two millennials who don’t have either an AM or FM radio where they live. How is that not bad news for a PD who depends on 18-34 listeners for job security, never mind their ratings bonus?  – Steve Kowch, Kowch Media

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Amazon Prime boasts 100M subscribers

Launched 13 years ago, the company reports having shipped more than 5B items worldwide in 2017 and its web services up accelerating to $20B annually. – Shareholder newsletter from CEO Jeff Bezos

FuboTV raises US$75M for OTT service

The fast-growing sports-leading over-the-top subscription service takes funding from AMC and 21st Century Fox as it plans app improvements. The company closed its Series C round in June 2017 when it received an additional $55M. Since then it has streamed the MLB All-Star game, the MLB playoffs, and the World Series; NFL regular season games and the Super Bowl; and the Winter Olympics. It passed 100,000 subscribers in September and boasted of double-digit growth. – Streaming Media

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Jade Eagleson

Awards

Jade Eagleson, The Reklaws Lead CMAOntario Nominations in 2024

The Country Music Association of Ontario has announced the nominations for its 12th annual CMAOntario Awards, with Jade Eagleson racking up five nominations. The awards will be presented on June 2 at the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga.

Jade Eagleson is poised to win big at the CMAOntario Awards, presented by the Country Music Association of Ontario.

The "Rodeo Queen" singer picked up five awards nominations today, including Single of the Year, Album/EP of the Year, and Male Artist of the Year — the most nominations of any artist. Eagleson is followed by sibling duo The Reklaws, rising artists Josh Ross and Karli June, and mainstay Meghan Patrick, who all have four nominations each.

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