By Frank Moher The CBC has been given its money back. That is to say, the immediate infusion of $75 million announced in the Liberals’ budget last month, plus the promise of a $150 million increase each year through 2021, more than makes up for the money leached from it by the Conservatives. Various ideas have […]
The Video: Justin Trudeau, actor
In 2007, Justin Trudeau was an actor in the CBC docudrama The Great War, in which he played decorated Canadian soldier Talbot Papineau, and ignored W.C. Fields’ dictum never to act with children or animals. We’ll leave it to viewers to decide if he made the right career move by going into politics instead. As […]
The fix for local TV
By Jim Henshaw We’re in an age of media decline. Last week, I posted my thoughts about what’s gone wrong with Canadian newspapers. But local TV in Canada is also losing viewers at an alarming rate. This week the CRTC was told that fully half of our local stations could be gone within the next […]
Who really fired Evan Solomon?
By Montreal Simon When Evan Solomon was appointed host of the CBC program “Power and Politics,” I didn’t think he would be able to fill the very large shoes of the departing Don Newman. He was missing about 30 years of journalistic experience. And although I was right, he gradually began to win me over, in […]
How Anne wooed me
By Rod Mickleburgh Social media reaction to the unexpected death recently of Canadian actor Jonathan Crombie, who so memorably played Gilbert Blythe in Anne of Green Gables, came almost entirely from the distaff side. Not too many guys were fans of the movie, I guess. Well, I’m a fan. A big one. Like many of my gender, […]
He wrote Canadian film into being
By Jim Henshaw While writer muses come and go at their will, each of us is granted a mentor. Very early on I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of the best screenwriter Canada has produced, John Hunter. I don’t remember how John and I first met. All I know is he […]
Alice Cooper, Canadian icon
By Frank Moher Did I miss the part where Alice Cooper became a Canadian? Because otherwise, HBO Canada’s new doc Super Duper Alice Cooper appears to mark some strange turning point in Canadian film funding. And believe you me, this is a Canadian film — at least if its list of financiers is anything to […]
Who will tell the CRTC a good story?
By Jim Henshaw Last week, it appeared that CRTC Chair Jean-Pierre Blais had found himself in a socially awkward position. The Writers Guild of Canada had presented their clear and cogent argument on the quality and appeal of Canadian made television. It wasn’t anything Blais hadn’t heard before. And maybe he was tired or maybe […]
Online, and off the radar
By Rachelle Stein-Wotten Watch much Canadian TV? Watch many web series? For most Canadians the answer to both of those questions is most likely, “Not a lot.” So naturally the best way to increase the viewership for both is to fuse them together into one super, unstoppable, non-watched force, right? Wait . . . that […]
Programmed by Facebook
By Jim Henshaw This week the President of the CBC shared his vision of the future of our national broadcaster. It was a vague vision. Something about being leaner by thousands of jobs and less real estate, not overly committed to documentary projects or news and accessing audiences via social media and mobile instead of […]
