click for Globalization
david.nicholson's
Tue 8/7/01 World journalists' federation slams CRTC
The world's largest organization of journalists criticized Canada's broadcast regulator yesterday for allowing national television networks and the newspapers they own to use the same reporter to cover a story.
The International Federation of Journalists said that by allowing a practice already relatively common in the United States, the CRTC was contributing to a trend of less quality journalism on private networks, as well as threatening public broadcasters.
Fri 12/29/00 CBC HEAD SAYS HOCKEY SHOULDN'T INTERRUPT NEWS
With a little more than a year under his belt as the head of Canada's
public broadcaster, Robert Rabinovitch has some clear ideas of what he
thinks the CBC should be doing. montreal.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/view?/news/2000/12/29/rabin001229 ..He said he wants to explore shifting some of the coverage of the Stanley Cup playoffs from the main network to a partner that would show the games clearly identified as CBC productions.
Sports, Rabinovitch said, is not a big money maker for the corporation, but he believes it is important to keep covering it, though differently than has been done in the past.
OIL & CRTC vs CBC
WEDNESDAY-NIGHT
#933
January 19, 2000
OIL
This Wednesday was a full agenda.
Even without
René Miglierina, Vice President of the Canadian Petroleum Products Institute
who was to talk about the price of gasoline.
[ Miglierina's asstant called Wednesday, at noon to say he will be unable!]
Quebec is 66.9¢ to 71.9¢ US 44.2¢ to 49.9¢. and $1.75. London, England. (all Cnd / litre)
Whining over gas prices. December 1, 1999 by Fred Lagan
Tuesday, January 18, 2000 Crude oil is now over US$28 per barrel; it's highest level since the Gulf War.
This will cause much higher revenues for oil producers and in turn
larger cash distributions for the various Oil & Gas Royalty Trusts.
Current share prices of these units suggest that the market doesn't
believe that these high oil prices will last.
Our analysts are assuming an average oil price of $21 for 2000.
Even with this assumption almost all of the trusts are rated Strong Buy
or Buy. [andrew_decourcyirelandXscotia-mcleod.com]
see
pdf file 36k
That will be of interest to our young friends from Venezuela who have been working throughout the Christmas holidays on Venezuelan disaster relief and are deeply concerned by the economic prospects for their country. René Armas has invited the president of the Latin American Stdents Association of McGill to join us.
And some subjects not reached last week
No doubt someone will have something to say on the Time Warner-AOL Mega
Merger and its consequences for the Americanization of worldwide
entertainment. Combining AOL's Internet content with Time Warner's cable operations,
which can provide broadband Internet access to homes, will speed the
growth of the interactive medium, the companies say.
And just as AOL Time Warner will be cross-marketing itself to its
different audiences, marketers will be able to tap into the new
behemoth's multiple audiences, according to AOL's Pittman. "AOL Time
Warner will provide companies worldwide with a convenient, one-stop way
to put advertising and commerce online as well as take advantage of the
best in traditional marketing," he says.
David and Diana Nicholson
Wednesday Night #933
January 19, 2000
Subsidies to NHL owners?
Why is the Government of Canada offering subsidies for professional Hockey
teams when public opinion appears to have this type of subsidy way down its
priority list, well below Health Care and Education? Why is this subsidy being
offered by the Minister of Industry rather than the Secretary of State? Does
the government really believe that this subsidy will stimulate employment?
These are the questions that are being asked currently. There may be a further
series of queries should it turn out that the Ottawa Senators is the only team
to qualify. At this stage, it seems that Canadian public opinion is reflected
accurately by Wednesday Night – calls to the media are running close to 95%
against the Manley initiative.
Globalization, Seattle and Davos Jan 2000
What do the Internet, Seattle and this year’s Davos World Economic Forum
starting on the 27th , have in common? Internet activists were able
to gather a humungous crowd to protest at Seattle. This in turn has given rise
to questions on the part of governments as well as individuals as to the value
of globalization, especially the American view of same. What has this got to do
with the Davos conference? Seattle was
the wake-up call for people whOWN to implement globalization pell mell.
Not many people on this side of the Atlantic realize that there was a
massive demonstration at Davos two weeks ago. The Swiss Army had to be called
in to maintain order.
The theme for Davos this year is "How do you manage
globalization?" One guest commented that the Davos appears to have gotten
out of hand. It has come a very long way since its start 30 years ago.
Too many people, too much publicity, to have really effective- and private
–exchanges. Today, there is little access to the leaders, other than hearing
them speak in public gatherings.
The Stock Market/Economy
Can anyone predict the near and medium term future of the stock market? The
consensus is NO! Is there a new paradigm in the market? Who can say with any certainty?
There are some values to be picked up, especially in the banking and some
aspects of the hospital supply sectors. Alan Greenspan is largely credited with
preventing a market crash, but this task becomes more difficult with the
passage of time. There is a great deal of nervousness over the dot com
companies, with some expectation that the whole sector will ultimately shake
out, with a very small number of players surviving.
The Canadian Economy
How is the Canadian economy doing? Great! Operating at 86% capacity, Canada
is enjoying the highest employment level in eighteen years, Québec the highest
level in twenty-two years.
Friday January 21, StatsCan will
release Canadian inflation figures with core inflations expected to be 2.2% for
the year 1999, approximately three to five basis points behind the American
figure for the same period. Core inflation excludes fluctuations in energy and
food, the former because prices are controlled by the OPEC cartel, the latter
because its dependence on weather makes it volatile.
OPEC and oil prices
A question arises as to the stability of OPEC. No cartel has ever lasted
over time. With a lifting price of about $1.50 per barrel, over time, someone
will be tempted to cheat. Venezuela has a lot of oil, and it might be expected
that following the recent disaster in that country, and its subsequent need for
money, it might be tempted, but so far Venezuela is encouraging its fellow
producers to maintain a high price level.
In the short term, oil prices are expected to rise. With low North American
inflation and a high level of job creation, there will be little if any
immediate effect on the economy, but ultimately the high prices will filter
down through the system.
CRTC vs CBC
Is The C.R.T.C. making unfair demands on the C.B.C.? Apart from the
suggestion that the background of some commissioners leads them to have an
anti-C.B.C. bias, this is a very difficult question to answer. The television
preference of urban dwellers is quite different from that of Canadians living
in remote regions. To fragment the corporation in order to respond to this
difference could be a fatal error. The desire to prevent American content from
suffocating Canadian National Television might lead to disaffection with C.B.C.
P.B.S. has a mandate to be an intellectual and cultural stimulant and is not
constrained in the source of programming to meet that mandate. However, PBS is
much different in its regional breakdown and programming varies widely. While
it does receive tax dollars, it local stations also fund raise (endlessly, it
seems) among “viewers like you” in order to keep their heads above water.
There is no easy answer. But then, there rarely are….
QUOTES OF THE EVENING:
“I am not sure that globalization has any friends.”
"People don’t make profit any more. They impact bottom-line
parameters."
"Dot com is a little like the gold rush, when people who sold the
shovels were the ones who made the money."
"All inflation figures are fraudulent because they do not represent
real expenses of real people."
"The great challenge for (Alan) Greenspan is how to let the air out of
the bubble slowly. If he succeeds, he may win the Nobel Prize."
Friday 7 January 2000 CRTC, CBC in dogfight
Network may defy edict to boost regional shows CHRIS COBB The CBC is angrily hinting it might defy yesterday's ruling from the country's broadcast regulator to
phase out blockbuster Hollywood movies and boost regional programming.
7 January Renewing the CBC's mandate
It was a stirring sight in Ottawa : the CRTC acting as the saviour of a pure and unadulterated CBC. ...AT&T Canada Corp. appealed to Ottawa to rewrite the rules governing
telecommunications competition. .. because it is
"losing the battle" in an attempt to carve
out long-distance market share and profits
after a series of unfair recent decisions by
regulators.
Susan Bonner reports for CBC TV
[Download Players]
Our page on the CRTC and the RULES
The CRTC and/or Canadian Culture and more! on what the U.S. thinks.
March 14, 1999
"What's the future of the CBC?"
We have a A/V page to try out Media on the web | Napster type stories
It was 1872 when John A. Macdonald's
government introduced the Trade Unions Act ..CBC strike history
Time Warner-AOL Mega
Merger and its consequences for the Americanization of worldwide
entertainment. Rhe deal looks good. TWX receive 1.5 shares of AOL. This solves AOL's broadband and creats sigbificant cross selling opportunities. TWX gets internet conference call. It is about time that Bell Canada gets told to shapeup and give some service! And Videotron senior staff learn to return phone calls. move from $64 to hi $102
Tuesday 11 January 2000 AOL nets Time Warner Puts Canadian Internet providers, content regulations on the line ANDY RIGA ...With only 130,000 subscribers in Canada, AOL has struggled against Bell
Canada's Sympatico (with close to 400,000 customers in Quebec and
Ontario) and high-speed Internet services from cable companies.
But after getting a $60-million (U.S.) cash infusion from the Royal Bank
of Canada last year, Toronto-based AOL Canada boosted its marketing
and is working on deals to offer high-speed or broadband Internet
access over cable and telephone wires this year.
Time Warner gives AOL Canada a pile of new video and audio content
that will make its service - particularly the high-speed version - more
attractive to Canadians ....
The CRTC might find itself under pressure from Canadian broadcasters
complaining about the Canadian-content requirements that they have
to abide by but that won't touch new-media broadcasters,
Must see ourISP page
An other thought
It is an interesting observation... the entire market take-off started
with the first Warner-Time merger...at the time $10 Billion "largest in
history" 1989.
This market might just end with this deal. It is simply silly in terms
of valuations. AOL has nothing except 20 million internet subscribers
and a good deal of old connectivity wiring that could have been
purchased at $300/each.
(Average price paid for internet subs).
AOL has lousy service, it doesn't have any cable...mostly dial-up and
Bob Pittman (who used to run HBO at Warner for Steve Ross) managed to
convince Gerry Levin et al that it was worth more than the entire T-W...
T=W has the broadband cable, has the programming assets....man were they
taken!
I was hoping AT&T would make a deal with T-W. That would have flown and
would have created much more value with the marriage of telephony over
the net.
None of these companies are worth what they are commanding as simply the
barriers to entry are nil... and anyone can still get in the game with a
better mousetrap.
This may be the straw that breaks Mr. Greenspan's back and look for
vigor in interest rate hikes...they cannot let this continue to bubble
much longer....
Have fun!
Guy Stanley found this in the FT
...shares in Britain's big media businesses leapt this week on news of the
proposed US merger between America Online and
Time Warner. The odd man out was the UK's largest
media organisation, the BBC, which does not, of
course, have any shares to be traded. It is high time it
did.
The AOL deal may or may not prove a model for the
rest of the communications industry - strong arguments can be mounted on
both sides - but it does show that if a business wants to be a serious force in
the new global media industry it needs three important attributes: great flexibility, since no one really knows what the future holds; deep pockets to snap up assets, though these should be filled with share certificates rather than cash, to permit painless equity for equity swaps; and a strong
international reach.
The BBC [& the CBC] possesses none of these, but it could if the establishment heeded the wake-up call of the AOL deal and started thinking seriously about privatising the second largest media group in Europe after Germany's
Bertelsmann [what was the best in N.A. the CBC].
Instead, it is engaged in a tortuous debate over how to fund the BBC's digital
television expansion plans, earnestly trying to decide whether auntie will
spend the money wisely, or fritter it away on gin, and whether she should be
forced to raise some funds herself: by selling off parts of the family silver or
becoming a little more (but not too much, dearie!) involved in that dangerous
bingo-like activity, "commerce".
The BBC has big ambitions for digital television, which will transform viewing
patterns over the next decade, offering vast numbers of channels, access to
archives of programming, and convergence between the internet, broadcasting
and personal communications devices. It has already built up an impressive
internet presence with its BBC Online site. But its plans will cost a lot and it
v argues that without adequate funds it will be condemned to a slow demise. [and so CBC]
For the BBC, [CBC] it would solve at a stroke its perpetual cash shortage. It could
aggressively exploit its superb brand name, expand into digital, and bid more
aggressively for talent, shows and sports fixtures. It would have a currency
with which to snap up other businesses and become a genuinely global force.
[in fact the cbc.ca is doing a good job in digital streamming audio/video, some of which is seen on this site. (Manley's speach video was done in Gov. house]
For policymakers, there should be numerous attractions. First, MPs would no
longer debate the validity of the BBC's ambitions like central planners from
another era. The market would decide. It would also force greater efficiency on
the corporation, which film-makers complain is still over-bureaucratic.
Alas, however, privatisation is not a live political issue because the
government and most of the establishment believe the BBC should remain a
public service broadcaster, with a duty to "inform, educate and entertain",
enriching viewers' lives in "ways that the market alone will not". As such it is
also supposed to exert an influence for good on private-sector broadcasters,
whose instincts are supposedly for the cheap and vulgar.
But this argument is simply out of date. First, no one seems able to define
very clearly what public service means in an age of infinite choice. Second,
the very idea smacks of elitism from another age: let them eat our cultural
cake. Third, in the digital age people will simply not watch the BBC if it does
not provide what viewers want, leading eventually to a licence-payers' revolt.
Finally, it is a national myth that the bulk of BBC's service nowadays
"enriches viewers lives in ways that the market cannot". Quality is in the eye
of the beholder, but a dispassionate Martian comparing BBC TV with
commercial rivals would be hard put to notice any significant difference.
Admittedly, there are a few remaining pockets of genuine "enrichment": parts
of Radio Three and Four and a scattering of scientific and educational
programmes. But these could be protected, as part of a privatisation licence,
or subsidised by public subscription, as in the US. And the government could
temper quality concerns by holding a golden share in the privatised company,
at least for its early years. [our CBC radio was great .. but it to is becoming a bore! ...stuffed with local content... 'boy gets stuck in fence in YC']
by Martin Dickson
This Toronto-based site converts off-the-air TV signals into digital
format and rebroadcasts it on the Internet. Launched in November,
has raised the ire of the Canadian and U.S. TV industries, along with the National Football League. They're crying copyright and
trademarks infringement. Try tvguide these 2 are U.S.
cbc.ca/newsworld listing shows how dull we are?
Monday, January 17, 2000 on West renews call for end to Chechen campaign
the CBC.CA is good!
Published by Royal Bank of Canada
Vol. 76 No. 3, May/June 1995
The Duty of Civility
Civility means a great deal more than just being nice to one another; it is the lubricant
that keeps a society running smoothly. So vital is it, in fact, that some philosophers say
that we have a duty to act civilly - especially here in Canada, where we must live with
diversity...
When you listen to this documentary 
please hear the clip, well into the peice, taken from the mid 1900s and notice the way we use to speak...
Jacques Clément will give his seven [7] min. on Russia
Mike Hornbrook reports for CBC Radio
[Download Players]
Dr. Mark Roper will bring us up to speed ...medicaly and will bring with him, Anne Thomas, for over 15 years the Assistant head nurse at the MGH emergency, for the on-going discussion of healthcare.
Do see The Roper Letter vol 1 & 2
also Wed 884 a medical night
Wed932 South Africa
Wed934bioGen.htm