Media Beat: September 17, 2018

By David Farrell

Jian Ghomeshi goes public about his disgrace

Disgraced former CBC Radio host Jian Ghomeshi penned a personal essay in The New York Review of Books that drew swift backlash on Friday, with many social media users questioning why he was given such a prestigious platform to detail his life post-trial.

Ghomeshi was acquitted in March 2016 of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking involving three complainants. In May 2016, he apologized to a fourth complainant and signed a peace bond that saw another count of sexual assault withdrawn.

In the piece, titled "Reflections from a Hashtag" and published online Friday, Ghomeshi reveals that he had suicidal thoughts in the aftermath of the allegations and reflects on his trajectory from a high-profile Canadian personality to a self-described "outcast." – Canadian Press

Supreme Court sides with Rogers over illegal downloading case

The high court sides with Rogers Communications in ruling that the companies pursuing copyright violators should reimburse service providers a reasonable amount for the effort of looking up subscribers suspected of breaking the law. –Aaron Vincent Elkaim, Canadian Press

RAIN News expands its summit series to Canada

Kurt Hanson’s legacy and new media online publication is expanding its Summit series into Canada on October 10, at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto.

In a feature presentation, Erik Portier of Radionomy Group / TargetSpot will contribute a wide-ranging talk titled “If you don’t have a digital audio strategy, you don’t have a future strategy,” a comprehensive survey of digital tactics and technologies, including case studies.

New research will also highlight the event, as Jeff Vidler of Audience Insights Inc. and Jeff Ulster of The Podcast Exchange will deliver the second edition of The Canadian Podcast Listener, a landscape study of how Canadians consume on-demand audio.

“Canada has a vibrant broadcast/streaming ecosystem and an enthusiastic podcast audience,” observed RAIN President Brad Hill. “We are thrilled to bring RAIN’s first Canadian conference to Toronto at the beautiful, state-of-the-art Glenn Gould Studio. Our goal is to give each attendee new knowledge, an illuminated view of online audio’s future, and a productive gathering of top industry professionals.”

Registration details can be found here.

CBC TV to relaunch Gem OTT TV app

CBC is rolling out a new streaming service called Gem that will feature Canadian movies and kids shows, not just from the public broadcaster, but other top content providers as well, the head of CBC/Radio-Canada said in a keynote address.

The service will be available before the end of the year on the CBC TV app, which is being rebranded. Subscribers have the option of an ad-supported, free option, or for $4.99 a month, an ad-free version.

Gem will offer 150 feature films from Telefilm Canada over the coming months, and the service will also partner with the National Film Board of Canada. – CBC

Two new Copyright Board appointments

The Governor in Council has recently made the following long-awaited appointments to the Copyright Board:

• Nathalie Théberge of Gatineau, Quebec, [Director General, Creative Marketplace and Innovation, Canadian Heritage] to be Vice-Chairman of the Copyright Board, to hold office during good behaviour for a term of five years and fixes her remuneration and certain conditions of employment as set out in the annexed schedule, which salary is within the range GCQ 5, effective October 1, 2018.
• Adriane Porcin of Winnipeg, Manitoba [Assistant Professor of Law, University of Manitoba], to be a part-time member of the Copyright Board, to hold office during good behaviour for a term of four years. – Excess Copyright