CNM Update

Alliance numériQC pleads case in open letter to Quebec premierThe Alliance numériQC, stung by recent budget cuts to the multimedia sector in Quebec, has posted online an open letter to Premier Jean Charest asking the provincial government to treat new media as a unique sector requiring support. The letter attacks cuts made to the Cité Multimédia, and the precarious position of the Programme Québec multimédia Jeunesse.Teknision one of two Canuck finalists at FlashForwardOttawa-based Teknision Inc. is one of two Canadian finalists at this year’s FlashForward Film Festival in New York City. The company is being recognized in the technical merit category for its interactive web site, designed as a gathering spot for the Flash community. The awards will be handed out at a gala event in the Big Apple on July 10. Teknision was also a finalist in the recent Canadian New Media Awards.Decode signs AOL dealToronto’s DECODE Entertainment has signed a licensing deal to provide interactive content from its GirlStuff BoyStuff Avatar World and Undergrads.tv properties to AOL Canada. Timing for the portal deal is interesting as Telefilm Canada has recently said it would end distribution funding within the Canada New Media Fund since deals such as the DECODE/AOL agreement have been sparse to non-existent in the past – the type of agreements that were supposed to be encouraged by the funding envelope (CNM, June 25/03). Canadian NEW MEDIA will have further details in an upcoming issue.Broadcasters’ association fills vacant post with senior Copps aideThe Canadian Association of Broadcasters has filled the vacant position of VP of external and government relations by hiring Charles Boyer, executive assistant to Canadian Heritage minister Sheila Copps. The hiring has already created a firestorm in Ottawa where media have pointed out that senior government officials are required by ethics guidelines to have a one-year cooling off period before lobbying their former colleagues on behalf of private-sector organizations. Boyer was a former PMO communications person before joining Copps’ team, as well as a former president of the Young Liberals and member of Copps’ leadership campaign team. The National Post reports that Boyer denies having had direct dealings with the CAB in his last year and quotes CAB chief Glenn O’Farrell as saying, “I have trouble imagining how in the short or midterm, he’s going to have any direct involvement – and why we would want him to have any direct involvement, frankly – with anything that was clearly a Heritage file.”Boyer, who will join the CAB in August, replaces David Goldstein who left the CAB in February.Canadian Music Centre relaunches web siteA revamped web site for the Canadian Music Centre (CMC), built by Toronto-based ecentricarts inc., has been posted. The site includes new multimedia components and electronic access to 20,000 recording, scores and printed works. CMC executive director Elisabeth Bihl told CNM in November that the site should increase the profile of Canada’s composers (CNM, Nov. 14/02).Habit@t to showcase new media talentThe Canadian Film Centre’s Habit@t will be showcasing the works of five groups of new media students in Toronto July 9-10. Works will include applications for wireless, DVD, web and audio/video technologies. CAB declines to challenge music reproduction tariffThe Canadian Association of Broadcasters has decided not to appeal a tariff on music reproduction that was announced on March 28. The Copyright Board of Canada ruled that radio stations had to pay for making reproductions of music for broadcast purposes, such as from a CD to the radio station’s computer system. For more information, see the April 10 issue of CNM affiliate publication, Canadian Communications Reports.World of Wheels signs on as MSN content providerMSN.ca will now begin featuring coverage of automotive news through Canadian partner World of Wheels magazine. Coverage will include news, in-depth car reviews and industry articles. The information provided through the site will be updated on a weekly basis.Lack of financing chief barrier to B.C. new media shopsBritish Columbia’s new media companies say a lack of financing – both from the government and from private sources – is the industry’s leading challenge to growth. Other barriers include economic viability, lack of access to key markets and the lack of a business network. The findings are in a broad-reaching survey of the province’s new media sector released today by New Media BC.

CNM Update

Broadcast | July 2, 2003

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