Keep Canada Connected: Stop Severe Cuts to the CBC
At this pivotal moment in our history, Canadians are coming together to “Reimagine the CBC” to help it connect Canadians and realize the opportunities of a digital era.The Reimagine CBC community’s ideas are from the heart, distinctly Canadian and often inspiring. But just as a community is coming together around new opportunities for the CBC, a few MPs have singled out the CBC for severe cuts in the impending budget. These cuts threaten many key CBC services, like those in rural and remote regions, and they will damage our digital economy. We have to let the government know that these severe cuts are unacceptable. They will destroy the opportunity for the CBC to connect all Canadians with new ideas and services that can stop us from falling behind in a new era of news and culture. Read more 
CBC Launches CBC Music – Canada’s Free New Digital Music Service
CBC today launched CBC Music and the CBC Music App – a free new digital music service designed to connect Canadians to the music they love. With a choice of 40 different web radio stations, 14 distinct genre-based communities, and music from nearly 1,000 major and independent music companies, CBC Music provides listeners with access to the very best Canadian and International music. Featuring original content from the most knowledgeable and experienced music personalities and programmers from across the country, hundreds of concerts, features, blogs, playlists, and more, the new music service is a place for music lovers to explore, discover and connect with other music fans. Canadians can experience CBC Music now at cbcmusic.ca. Read more
Jian Ghomeshi’s Q to Broadcast Two Hour Special with Jann Arden on November 17
According to their website, CBC’s Q hosted by Jian Ghomeshi will be taping a special two-hour-long show at the MacEwan Centre, on the University of Calgary campus, on Thursday November 17th. Jann Arden will talk about her new memoir, “Falling Backwards,” and her new CD “Uncover Me 2″. Plus Mayor Naheed Nenshi, and much, much more to be announced in the coming days. Doors at 6! Show starts at 7 p.m. Read more
CBC Announces Weekly Canadian Film Broadcasts During 2012 Schedule
CBC announced on a new partnership with Telefilm Canada on September 13, 2011 that will showcase Canadian Films through a regular broadcast on CBC TV. Saturdays at 9 p.m. (9:30 NT) each summer, beginning 2012, CBC will showcase great Canadian films from emerging Canadian filmmakers, as well as offerings from some of Canada’s favourite and well-known filmmakers and stars. CBC is proud to support Canadian filmmakers and the film industry through this new initiative. Some of the films already slated to screen include award winning films such as The Trotsky, Take This Waltz, Incendies and Beginners Guide to Endings. The 9 p.m. broadcast allows CBC the ability to screen a wider range of Canadian films that cannot be broadcast in the regular 8 p.m. time slot due to content restrictions. CBC will continue to broadcast Canadian films as part of its prime time schedule and the upcoming year will see the premiere of Breakaway starring Russell Peters, recently featured at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Midnight’s Children, to appear on CBC TV closely after its theatrical release. CBC has also pre-licensed Edwin Boyd and Winnie, both to appear in prime time on CBC TV in future.
“Lost Years” Traces History of Chinese Diaspora on CBC August 20, 7 PM
CBC TV in Alberta and Saskatchewan will premiere LOST YEARS, an epic 2-part documentary mini series, this weekend on Saturday, August 20, 2011 at 7 p.m., as part of their Prime-time Summer Series. LOST YEARS traces 150 years of the Chinese diaspora from the earliest exodus of Chinese migrants abroad, much of it marked by racism, to the modern-day redress movements to acknowledge a hidden past. It follows the journey of filmmaker Kenda Gee and his father back to their ancestral village in Taishan, China. The mini series, written, directed, and produced by Kenda Gee and Tom Radford, was shot on location throughout China, Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia, examining the great historical, economic and political realities of several eras. Based on over 12 years of research by Gee and Radford, initially through the National Film Board, the documentary has been two years in the making. Read more
CRTC Launches Online Consultation on CBC’s Upcoming Licence Renewals
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) launched an online consultation to seek input on the renewals of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) radio and television licences. The CRTC will be looking at the CBC’s overall mandate in terms of programming and conditions of licence. The comments and discussions resulting from this consultation will be considered for the upcoming hearing beginning on September 12, 2011, in Gatineau, Quebec, as well as form part of the public record. Read more
CBC Five Year Plan Calls for More Local, Regional and Digital Content
According to Mediacaster Magazine, CBC/Radio-Canada plans to introduce new online and digital media services as part of a newly unveiled five year plan to expand its regional footprint and increase regional news and programming. Its planning document, called Everyone, Every way, sets out in general terms what the public broadcaster has planned for the next five years. Read more
Marilyn
Jones is a corporate and social media advocate for individuals, small businesses
and nonprofit organizations in Alberta. She lives in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada and is the proprietor of RiverCity Productions. You can contact her
by phone at 780-695-5675 or by email at marilyn@mediamag.ca.