CNM Update

April 7, 2004 Changes afoot at Banff Television FoundationDetails are sketchy, but Pat Ferns is apparently set to step down as CEO of the Banff Television Foundation. Sources and media reports indicate that a new CEO will be appointed, and hint at the new involvement of a third-party Winnipeg company in running the foundation’s various events. Ferns is apparently to stay on with the organization in an ambassadorial role, while much of the grunt work involved with running the organization is expected to be passed off. Banff officials are apparently set to make an official announcement with details sometime in the next couple of days. Canadian NEW MEDIA will have further details in an upcoming issue.CRIA target relieved in wake of rulingOne of the 29 individuals whose information the recording industry was seeking as a prelude to copyright infringement action says he’s relieved Konrad von Finckenstein ruled against the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA), and his information is not yet up for grabs (CNM, April 2/04 and March 3/04). Reached by email, the Calgary man writes: “I thought the judge’s decision was right on. I think he made a comparison to online sharing being the equivalent of using the photocopier in the library. I couldn’t really agree more with this idea. After talking to you, I couldn’t help but remember being like 10 years (old) and taping your favourite song off the radio. Well, you didn’t see the CRIA trying to shut down radio. Basically, it’s a huge relief and shows a very progressive attitude towards the concept of file sharing.”NewMIC contemplated new research area before demise: PwCThe Vancouver-based New Media Innovation Centre was contemplating shifting its research focus toward Ambient Intelligence (AmI) studies prior to its demise last fall (CNM, Nov. 21/03). The new focus was in response to the failure of previous business models to prove viable, according to a confidential PricewaterhouseCoopers report obtained under Access to Information provisions by Canadian NEW MEDIA. Further details will follow in the upcoming issue of the newsletter.Bell Fund announces winnersThe Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund has announced the winners of its Feb. 1, 2004 funding round. Winning production grants were (TV producer/interactive producer: project title):Productions Escaping Inc./Frima Studio Inc.: Ciao Bella; DECODE/DECODE Interactive Inc.: Franny’s Feet; DECODE/Streatham Productions Inc. & Hat Trick Productions/DECODE/Streatham Productions Inc.: Streatham Hill; Zinc Roe design/Zinc Roe Inc.: Storymill; and, Spectra Animation/Spectra Animation: Toopy & Binoo. Development grants were awarded to: Tinôme Inc.: Project X; Tinôme Inc.: Shanipiap.tv; Palomar Films & Turbulent: Mémoires virtuelles; Voice Pictures: The Great Goose Caper; Xenophile Media: Beethoven’s Hair; and, Zolar Entertainment/Digital Wizards: A Passion for Life. Professional development funding was awarded to HOT DOCS, this year to fund a new media producer seminar, rendezvous and the sales office. HOT DOCS did not request funding for the Cyberpitch this year. Professional development funding was also granted to the Canadian Screen Training Centre for its Summer Institute of Film and Television.Private members’ copyright bill introducedLiberal MP Marcel Proulx has introduced a new private members’ bill to amend the Copyright Act to give broadcasters a stronger exception for the ephemeral recordings they create in the course of operations. Bill C-506 would give programming undertakings more time to destroy ephemeral recordings of a work. It would also require them to destroy reproductions of an ephemeral recording as soon as they no longer possess the sound recording or the performance or work fixed by means of a sound recording. Repealing certain sections of the Act will also allow programming and broadcasting undertakings to benefit from an exception even if a licence to copy the work is available from a copyright collective society. The bill is likely the result of lobby efforts by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters upset at the royalties they pay for transferring music from physical CDs to computers (CNM, Sep. 26/03), but officials have not responded to inquiries to confirm their involvement.Festival of Cinema and Technology on tapThe International Festival of Cinema and Technology Toronto will be held April 10 to April 12, presenting projects including short comedies, dramas, animation, experimental films and documentaries. The event is part of a festival tour that is also taking place in London, Orlando, New York City, Sydney and Brisbane. Details can be found at http://www.ifct-tour.org/toronto.htm.Most recent IAB Canada results announcedThe Internet continues to demonstrate an ability to deliver brand awareness and an audience of key decision-makers, says the Interactive Advertising Bureau of Canada. Results from its Canadian Media Optimization study show that an RBC Financial Group online campaign resulted in: a 53% lift in awareness of RBC Insurance’s “expertise in insurance”; a 37% increase amongst key segments in brand favorability; and, 54% of those who were exposed to the campaign identified themselves as key decision-makers for buying insurance. Porn industry association receives incorporation in anticipation of new .xxx domainIndustry Canada has approved the incorporation of the International Foundation for Online Responsibility (IFFOR), with headquarters in Toronto. IFFOR’s directors are drawn from the owners of ICM Registry, which has sponsored a renewed effort with ICANN to create a new .xxx top-level domain for the operators of adult web sites. Under ICM’s proposal, companies seeking to operate in the new domain would be self-regulated as members of IFFOR. Even in advance of the creation of the new domain, disagreements in the adult industry exist, and another lobby group, the Free Speech Coalition, sees the potential for ghettoization should the .xxx domain be created.

CNM Update

Broadcast | April 7, 2004

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