Media Beat: August 12, 2019

By David Farrell

What Was Said

Language Meant To Confuse, Not Clarify

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is one of the world’s great clown shows.

This week they passed a resolution intended to re-invent language about criminals because “negative predispositions associated with justice-involved individuals create societal stigmas, attitudinal barriers and continued negative stereotypes.”

From now on they want convicted felons to be called “justice-involved persons” or “returning residents.” Parolees will be called “persons under supervision.” A juvenile delinquent will be a “young person impacted by the juvenile justice system.”

And the victims of rape and murder? Maybe we should call them “individuals negatively impacted by justice-involved persons.”

No, my friends, you can’t make this shit up. – Bob Hoffman, The Ad Contrarian

Canadian media does not need government bailouts. It needs competition 

With financially insecure mainstream news organizations failing to solve the fake news problem at the same time that young and lean competitors begin to grow profits, it seems bizarre that the government has continued to stake hundreds of millions of dollars in the least efficient elements of a troubled industry.

The decision is even more bizarre when you consider one other key piece of data found by the DDP report—journalists appear to ignore many of the issues the general public actually cares about. – Ali Taghava, The Post Millennial

Kevin Newman leaving W5 to host podcasts

It’s a bit of a head-scratcher.  Broadcast Dialogue is reporting that highly regarded CTV newsman Kevin Newman is departing his role as host and contributor to the W5 newsmagazine to host a podcast for CTV and Bell Media’s iHeartRadio.

After assignments with Global Ontario, CTV, CBC and ABC News, Newman came to Vancouver in 2001 for six years to serve as anchor and executive editor of Global National with Kevin Newman.   The anchor job shifted to Toronto, and he remained with the newscast through 2010. Since 2012 Newman has been part of the team producing W5, and he has hosted the weekly show since Lloyd Robertson relinquished that role in 2016.

Newman is the second high-profile Canadian journalist to announce a move away from traditional broadcasting in favour of podcasting.  Earlier this year CBC Radio’s Anna Maria Tremonti left her host position at The Current where she’d been for 17 years to join CBC Podcasts. – Puget Sound Radio

Drake, LeBron James announce Canadian media partnership

Drake and LeBron James are joining forces to reshape the sports media landscape in Canada.

The music superstar and the Los Angeles Lakers forward announced on Tuesday a partnership to bring Uninterrupted, a digital platform for athletes, to Canada. Drake is a part owner and promoter for the platform which James began in 2015, while Scott Moore serves as chief executive officer and Vinay Virmani works as chief content officer.

Moore, who resigned as network president of Sportsnet in October, says Uninterrupted Canada will not be competing with his former employers, TSN, or any other traditional media outlets.

"I think it's complementary, but it's also a bit of a disruptor," said Moore on Tuesday. – John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press

OAB announces more content for fall confab

The Ontario Association of Broadcasters’ Conference Committee has secured a great line up of interesting speakers for Connection 2019.  There are three panels featuring perspectives and ideas on digital, research and talent coaching.  2019 speakers include Duncan Stewart, Director of Technology, Media and Telecommunications Research at Deloitte; Tom Goodwin, EVP, Head of Innovation, Zenith Media; and Mike McVay, former EVP Content & Programming at Cumulus with Lessons Learned … Fighting Back from Bankruptcy while improving Ratings and Revenue.

This annual conference continues to pack sales training, great speakers and industry experts all into a one-day conference, providing value for your time out of the office. Key industry experts will discuss the challenges of this broadcast environment and offer creative solutions.

The Gala Awards Luncheon will feature presentations for four award categories:  Community Service, Creative, Promotions and Sales.  Additionally, the Broadcast Order of Achievement and the 2019 Ontario Hall of Fame Award will be presented at the Luncheon.  New this year is the Inspiring Women Award.  Details on this award are available here.

'Succession' shows media dynasties are just families, only much worse

The HBO series has taken on a life of its own, devoting ample time to the twisted relationships that these fast-lane lives can yield, with a dark comedic streak running throughout. When the wide-eyed cousin Greg (Nicholas Braun) heads off with the Roys on a private jet, he gushes, "It's like I'm in a band. A very white, very wealthy band."

The point of wealth in "Succession," however, is less about perks than power, in a world where companies are bought, sold and gutted with scant thought of the collateral damage inflicted. "Money wins," Logan grumbles in the midst of a negotiation, which, in this world and similar fictional ones like Showtime's "Billions," is a mantra made more distressing by the inherent truth in it. – Brian Lowry, CNN

The White House is reportedly moving to regulate “anti-conservative” social media

The Trump administration may be preparing to implement rules to combat what it perceives to be a left-wing bias among tech companies that would affect the content distributed on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

The White House reportedly has been drafting an executive order, “Protecting Americans from Online Censorship,” that would ask the Federal Communications Commission to develop regulations around how tech platforms take down or suppress content. The draft is said to call on the Federal Trade Commission to apply these new rules in any investigations or lawsuits of these companies. – Nikhil Sonnad, Quartz

RIP

Jack Hagerman, aka on-air as John Worthington, host of CKUA radio show The Old Disc Jockey, passed away Thursday in hospital at the age of 92. – Puget Sound Radio