The Canadian Media Concentration Research Project (CMCRP) has released its latest report

GENERAL:

The Canadian Media Concentration Research Project (CMCRP) has released its latest report, The Growth of the Network Media Economy in Canada, 1984-2015. The ongoing series is directed by Professor Dwayne Winseck, School of Journalism and Communication, Carleton University. Among the findings, the media economy has quadrupled in size since 1984 and, though stable, advertising is experiencing a ‘relative decline’ while digital advertising is soaring. It’s a comprehensive read and it’s right here.

The CRTC’s annual Communications Monitoring Report is out and shows revenues in the broadcasting sector are down as Canadians continue to turn to the internet for music and television. Revenue for the entire broadcasting sector including radio, television and television service providers dipped by 1.6 per cent to $17.9 billion in 2015. The number of hours spent listening to radio and watching television on traditional platforms dropped slightly, down 1.8 per cent to 16.2 hours for radio and 0.7 per cent to 27.2 hours for television. Read the report here.

The 2016 Jack Webster Awards Dinner, honouring the best in BC journalism was held Oct. 20 in Vancouver. The following winners were recognized during the evening:

Best News Reporting of the Year – Print

Kathy Tomlinson, The Globe and Mail, Real Estate Wild West

Best News Reporting of the Year – Radio

Bob Keating,CBC Nelson, Season of Fire

Best News Reporting of the Year – Television

St. John Alexander and Mi-Jung Lee, CTV Vancouver, Westjet Harassment Investigation

Best Feature Story – Print

J.B. MacKinnon, Hakai Magazine, The Whale Dying on the Mountain

Best Feature Story – Radio

Catherine Rolfsen, Bal Brach, Alison Broddle, Rick Cluff, Stephen Quinn, Theresa Duvall, Shiral Tobin, Lee Rosevere, CBC Vancouver, Finding Refuge

Best Feature Story – Television

Duncan McCue, Doug Trent, Denis Grenier, CBC TV, Hooker Monologues

Jack Webster Award for Excellence in Digital Journalism

Andrea Woo, The Globe and Mail, Fentanyl’s Deadly Path

Jack Webster Business, Industry & Economics Award

Mike Hager, The Globe and Mail, Medical Marijuana

Best Reporting – Chinese Language

Clement Tang, Fairchild Television Magazine 26, BC Drug Overdose

Jack Webster Award for Community Reporting

Jessica Klymchuk, Kamloops This Week, Transcendent: When Darrin became Deanna

Jack Webster Award for Excellence in Legal Journalism

Kim Bolan, The Vancouver Sun, Jail Violence on the Rise

Jack Webster Award for Science, Technology, Health & Environment

Alberto Mendoza-Galina, Keith Rozendal, Clea Machold, Katelyn Verstraten, Peter Klein, Gary Marcuse, Global Reporting Centre, Milliondollarmeds Rare Diseases in Canada

City Mike Award (Commentator of the Year)

Jessica Barrett

Bill Good Award

Rob Dykstra

Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award

Shelley Fralic

theScore, the mobile first provider of sports content, has released its F2016 financial results reporting revenue is up 94 per cent from last year, $23.9 million compared to $12.4 million in 2015. Advertising revenue for the 12 months ending Aug. 31 was up 105 per cent. Credit for the growth is due to an increase in mobile users.

AT&T has announced it is buying entertainment group Time Warner for nearly $86 billion USD. The deal will combine AT&T’s distribution network with Warner Brothers film studios and cable networks HBO and CNN. AT&T is already the third largest cable TV provider in the US and the deal only makes it bigger. The deal still needs approval from regulators and critics are saying the takeover concentrates too much media power.