CNM Update

Baddeck move confirmed by P.E.I.Prince Edward Island's government, through TechPEI, has confirmed that the Baddeck International New Media Festival will be held in the island province this year. The festival, the new media industry's pre-eminent event, will be held October 17-19 at Rodd's Brudenell River Resort in Roseneath. Telefilm Canada and the CBC have confirmed their participation as sponsors. The event has been renamed the International New Media Festival, and an updated web site is now online. Canadian NEW MEDIA reported last week that the move from Nova Scotia was made necessary when Enterprise Cape Breton Corp., a Crown corporation, backed out of funding the event this year (CNM, Aug. 21/02). In related TechPEI news, the province's new Atlantic Technology Centre will be officially opened on September 8. More details. Private copying collective requests delayThe Canadian Private Copying Collective (CPCC) has asked for a delay in holding hearings on proposed private copying tariffs until January 14. The Copyright Board of Canada could render a decision on the matter as early as tomorrow or Friday, Aug. 30. In the meantime, the CPCC has said it will file a motion extending the current tariff until a new one can be set, and that there be no retroactivity in the event new rates are higher than the old. Hearings had been set for October 22. More details Retransmission submission deadline extendedThe CRTC has pushed back the deadline for comments to Public Notice CRTC 2002-38, which is to examine the issue of Internet retransmission of over-the-air television signals - Public Notice CRTC 2002-38-1 (CNM, July 25/02). The new deadline for comments is September 13, one week later than originally scheduled. The deadline for reply comments remains October 4. The extension was apparently suggested by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters, though no reason for the request was given. Corus Internet radio involvement winds downLocal Media Internet Ventures (LMIV), a coalition of companies including Corus Entertainment Inc. formed around experimenting with Internet radio, will cease to exist September 30. Other partners included Bonneville International Corp., Emmis Communications, Entercom Communications and Jefferson-Pilot Communications. The venture is being shuttered for a lack of new partners, according to a media release put out by the organization. "Unfortunately, the fundamental change in the economic viability of streaming and the recession in the broadcast advertising market have conspired to cause many radio stations to reduce the resources they are allocating to their interactive efforts," a media release quoting LMIV president/CEO Jack Swarbrick reads. "As we continued to encounter prospective customers who loved our product but couldn't find the funds in the 2003 budget to become an affiliate, we knew that it was time to shut down LMIV." The National Post reports that Corus contributed less than $5 million to the venture. More details. Marblemedia scores half million for DeafplanetToronto-based marblemedia has announced that it's won over $500,000 in funding to date from the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund for its deafplanet.com project. The web and television series features American Sign Language as the main component of communication to teach a children's educational curriculum. The initiative also has the support of TV Ontario, the Canadian Independent Film and Video Fund, the Trillium Foundation, Toronto StarTV.com and the Telefilm Canadian New Media Fund. It has been pre-licensed by ACCESS TV in Alberta. The project is one of several to receive funding as part of the May 1 Bell funding round, recently announced. Former NFB commish tapped to head CTFSandra Macdonald, former commissioner and chair of the National Film Board of Canada, has been named to the top post at the Canadian Television Fund. Macdonald will serve as president/CEO of the organization starting September 4. She will divide her time between Montreal and Toronto. Macdonald is well known in the cultural community, having also served as the president of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association from 1992-1995, and previously with the CRTC and Communications Canada. More details. CCA finds lack of focus with new heritage programsThe Canadian Conference of the Arts (CCA) finds that new initiatives in cultural programs are developing according to ministerial priorities and not policy objectives. In a new report, Investment in Canadian Culture, CCA notes that the "absence of an overarching national cultural policy, with a clear vision and guiding principles, means that these initiatives are pieces of separate puzzles that are uncoordinated from a policy perspective. The risk is that the impact of these initiatives will be programmatically circumscribed." One key concern has been that the department is controlling too much of new spending, even over programs by arm's-length bodies such as Telefilm Canada and the CBC. The report notes: "This means there is more potential for the new funding to be diverted towards broader government priorities or partisan purposes." On the Canadian Culture Online Program, the major initiative aimed at the new media community, the CCA suggests that the federal government could be a leader in ensuring organizations that receive funding properly compensate artists whose work appears on the Internet. More details.

CNM Update

News | 08/28/2002 4:00 am EDT

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us