The Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel launched its consultation process this week with the release of Responding to the New Environment: A Call for Comments. The deadline for submissions is Nov. 30. The panel, led by former TELUS EVP Janet Yale, aims to provide relevant, practical and implementable recommendations to the federal government that will ensure Canada has effective legislative and regulatory tools in place to support increased innovation, competition, diversity and choice in the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors in the digital age. The consultation process will also include participating in a number of industry and academic conferences and meeting with a cross-section of experts, creators, stakeholders and other interested parties, including those from Indigenous and official-language minority communities. A final report will be presented to government by Jan. 31, 2020. Read more here.
The Jack Webster Foundation has announced that Clive Jackson is the recipient of the 2018 Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award, while Donna Logan will be honoured with this year’s Bill Good Award. Jackson is a former BCTV reporter, who transitioned to the assignment desk and helped build what’s now the Global BC brand. Donna Logan is the founding director of the UBC Graduate School of Journalism (1997-2007). She’s also a past president of the Canadian Media Research Consortium (2005-14), former deputy managing editor of the Montreal Star (1976-79) and has held several senior executive positions with the CBC, including Regional Director for BC. The awards will be handed out Oct. 29 at the Jack Webster Awards dinner in Vancouver.
Catherine Tait, CBC/Radio-Canada’s first female president, is on a tour of CBC newsrooms across the country following her appointment in July. Tait sat down this week with CBC Vancouver Early Edition host Stephen Quinn to talk about the future of public broadcasting in the digital age. On the heels of the public broadcaster’s announcement that it’s launching new OTT service Gem, Tait told Quinn consumer behaviour is shifting online and the CBC has to be where Canadians are. Listen to the full interview here.
Rogers and the University of British Columbia (UBC) have announced a three year, multi-million dollar partnership to build a real-world 5G Hub on campus that will be a testbed for 5G innovation in Canada. Starting early next year, Rogers will deploy 5G-ready network equipment and infrastructure at UBC. The partnership will study 5G applications such as monitoring cars and traffic to develop smarter and safer cities. Other research interests include autonomous vehicles, machine learning, artificial intelligence and network slicing technology for use in robotics, farming and medical applications. The partnership will also develop skills in computer science, applied mathematics, machine learning and software development. Read the full story here.
Bell MTS has announced the latest expansion of its leading LTE Advanced (LTE-A) wireless coverage in Manitoba, extending wireless service for the first time to the Southeastern communities of Stuartburn, Woodridge and Zhoda. Part of the $1-billion Bell MTS infrastructure investment plan for the province, LTE-A wireless service will be available in Woodridge this week, and launches in Stuartburn and Zhoda in 2019.
Jeff Elgie, CEO of Village Media, who is finding success expanding hyper-local Ontario online news sites across smaller cities, and David Skok, CEO and editor-in-chief of media start-up The Logic, a subscription news site focused on Canada’s innovation economy, will talk about the decline of local news and creative use of technology in bridging information gaps at Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) J-Talk Going Local or Going Niche: New News Opportunities on Oct. 4 at the Google offices in Toronto. This event is part of the annual J-Talks series. Ticket info here.
Ronan Farrow, the investigative journalist behind the Pulitzer Prize-winning New Yorker investigation on movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s history of sexual assault, is set to speak at an upcoming Canadian Journalism Foundation (CJF) J-Talk in Toronto. Ronan Farrow: Power, Media and Politics will take place Nov. 4 at the St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts. The event, part of the annual J-Talks series exploring pressing media issues, will see Farrow in conversation with The Globe and Mail investigative reporter Robyn Doolittle. Doolittle’s own reporting on the way Canadian police services handle sexual assault cases prompted a national overhaul of policy, training and practices. She’s also the author national bestseller Crazy Town: the Rob Ford Story. Find more info here.
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