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Media Beat: February 24, 2020

By David Farrell

Super Channel is suing retailers, customers over TV boxes and pirate content

A lawsuit filed in Alberta provincial court is raising questions about how popular media-streaming devices are being used -- and whether consumers can be held responsible if they are used to watch illegal content. The suit was filed by Allarco Entertainment, the company that owns Super Channel, and is suing four popular Canadian retailers. – Heather Yourex-West, Global News


Telus CEO says $1B of spending, 5,000 jobs at risk if CRTC pushes MVNOs

Telus Corp. could cut about $1 billion of spending and 5,000 jobs over the next five years if the CRTC requires Canada’s wireless companies to open their facilities to virtual network operators, chief executive Darren Entwistle said Thursday. – CP

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Bell slammed for inmate exclusives

An Ottawa lawyer alleges that Bell Media profits off vulnerable inmates through its exclusive contract to provide phone services in provincial prisons. A CBC As It Happens investigation outlines that calls made by inmates are difficult to make and expensive, which prevent inmates from speaking to their loved ones or counsellors. – Aisha Malik, Mobile Syrup

US media just keeps getting dumber and dumber

MSNBC's Chris Matthews is under fire after comparing Sen. Bernie Sanders decisive win in the Nevada caucuses to the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, with some on social media calling for the "Hardball" host to resign. – Joe Concha, The Hill

Silencing the media: Attacks on women escalate

First-person reports from women in the media about physical or psychological abuse are becoming more numerous around the world. In July 2019, the independent Dutch Association of Journalists published findings of a survey of more than 350 female journalists. Over half said they had been subjected to intimidation or violence in their work. – Barbara Crossette, Pass Blue

Did Coronavirus originate in the US?

According to Chinese state-run media, some Chinese speculate that Americans who died of the flu may have unknowingly become infected with the deadly Covid-19 – which they claim is spreading undetected in the United States.

Some even speculate that infected Americans brought the illness to China. –William Ebbs, CCN

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Coronavirus: Russia denies spreading US conspiracy on social media

US officials said Russian-linked accounts were making unfounded claims that America started the outbreak.

Thousands of profiles on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram were peddling the theory, the officials said. – BBC

The Sun records £68m loss amid falling sales and hacking damages

The Sun recorded a loss of £68m last year amid falling print sales and the enormous cost of phone-hacking claims against its parent company from figures including Sir Elton John and Heather Mills.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, which publishes the Sun and retains liability for the activities of the News of the World, spent an enormous £54m on legal fees and damages related to the illegal interception of voicemails. – Jim Waterson, The Guardian

Forbes’ Blockchain 50 list

From the instantaneous settlement of German government bonds to verifying the provenance of diamonds mined in Africa and bringing liquidity to a small supplier of sliding shower doors in Zhongshan, China, this year’s members have largely moved beyond the theoretical benefits of blockchain, to generating very real revenues and cost savings. While many companies on our new list are household names like Vanguard, Square and Microsoft, a few cryptocurrency native startups like Bitfury have already met our criteria and are on their way to becoming the blue chips of the digital age.

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Charles Officer
Petr Novák, Wikipedia

Charles Officer

Culture

Award-Winning Canadian Director Charles Officer Has Died

The celebrated Toronto filmmaker and director of K’naan’s “Strugglin'” video died after an illness.

Canadian filmmaker Charles Officer, known for his work on CBC show The Porter and features like Akilla's Escape, died on Dec. 1 after an illness. He was 48. The director and writer was celebrated for his work in a range of forms, including scripted television, documentary, and even an early music video for Somali-Canadian artist K'naan. He directed four out of eight episodes of the acclaimed series The Porter, which tells the story of railway workers in the 1920s who formed North America’s first Black union. The Porter won ten Canadian Screen Awards this year, with Officer winning Best Direction.

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