By David Farrell
Montreal's La Presse to become non-profit entity
The Desmarais family has owned La Presse for more than 50 years as part of its conglomerate, Power Corp. and will donate $50 million to the new entity. – Steve Rukavina, CBC News
La Presse plans to go not-for-profit – if Quebec lets it
Montreal-based La Presse news group says it plans to adopt a nonprofit structure if Quebec repeals a provision allowing it to do so.
The French-language publication says in a statement the change requires the Quebec government to repeal a provision of a Private Act adopted in 1967, regarding its ownership. – The Canadian Press
Ad spending in Canada this year expected to hit $11.52B
Digital media ad spending is expected to account for the largest global investment, according to eMarketer. – Media in Canada (subscription)
Republic TV plans to launch in Canada
Republic TV, the English news channel launched by journalist Arnab Goswami, has announced its foray into the North American continent by airing its linear programming content nationally in Canada on a 24-hour licensed Canadian news service of Asian Television Network International. ATN operates a South Asian Radio Service on Satellite Radio across The United States and Canada. Some ATN content is also available on any Bell mobile phone that supports video. – Best Media Info
Supreme Court decision on Super Bowl advertising due tomorrow
The Supreme Court of Canada will announce May 10 whether it will hear appeals of an order by the CRTC that’s allowed Canadians to see American Super Bowl advertisements in real time. The licence to broadcast the game in Canada is held by Bell Media, which has challenged the commission’s jurisdiction under the Canadian Broadcasting Act to dictate the content of a “single program”—simultaneous substitution continues to be applied to other U.S. programs shown in Canada, such as the Academy Awards. – Bloomberg BNA
The CRTC should celebrate its 50th by giving up telecom regs entirely
Although the CRTC keeps looking for reasons to justify its existence, Canada long ago successfully transitioned from monopoly to competition. In this context, you may be wondering why exactly we still need a dedicated telecommunications regulator. The answer? We don’t. – Martin Masse, Financial Post
NDP MP Charlie Angus calls out big data lobbying in Ottawa
“I asked why the Liberals are putting Dracula in charge of the blood bank and hiring senior Google officials to steer our cultural policy.”
US radio consortium buys Aussie podcasting app, Pocket Casts
A group of US public radio giants comprising NPR, WNYC, WBEZ Chicago and This American Life has acquired the podcast app created by Australian developer Shifty Jelly.
Pocket Casts - billed as 'The world's most powerful podcast player' - is widely considered one of the best podcasting clients on Android due to its use of Material Design and quick support for new Android features. – Radio info
The 10 best podcasts of 2018 (so far)
A few quick notes on methodology: Craft is a bit more important to me than the stories themselves. I tend to put more stock into podcasts that function well as stand-alone experiences, though I’m aware that puts comedy, conversational, and “after-show” series at a disadvantage. And, as always, more established shows have the added burden of being ranked against prior seasons. – Nicholas Quah, Vulture
