I, like most people, have to admit to certain beguilement, when seeing a fight take place in the media.
Two pugilists swinging …bludgeoning each another with their point of view. Usually it’s the politically left and the political right battling it out. Usually it’s one argument pitted against another.
And usually the strongest one wins.
Usually… but not now.

Now….. the winner is not the one with the best argument. Best intentions. Or best plans.
Now the winner is the one … who was loudest, who was more outraged, and who got the biggest apology.
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Relaxing with what little spare time I’ve have of recent, I sat down to watch a movie. Captivated by the previews (yes, a rarity in this day and age), I couldn’t help but feel the powerful emotions from Denis Villeneuve’s short preview of his movie, Polytechnique. While the silence of the actors in complement with the black and white film was emotionally captivating, I cannot help but feel that Canada’s most horrific massacre does not deserve Hollywood treatment.

I am strongly against the glorification of violence in this case, in an all too familiar setting: school. The massacre, which cost 14 women their lives at the hands of gunman Marc Lepine in 1989, was a senseless act of violence specifically against women in a forbidden school setting. The resurrection of this event is inappropriate and disrespectful because of its disregard for the victims and the nature of the crime. This movie is clearly going for shock value and is being billed as one of Canada’s most controversial films yet. However, shock value does nothing to help the state of school related violence or even violence in general, rather this movie looks to feed the masses a form of entertainment based on the sacrifice of innocent individuals. This is a movie designed to profit off of controversy and because it hits so close to home, I cannot support it.

Here is a preview of the movie:

Polytechnique Trailer

When Arnold Schwarzenegger successfully entered politics, it was proof that the American dream was still very much alive. The Austrian-born actor started his career as the star of Conan the Barbarian. He didn’t speak a word of English. From loincloth to politics, he is now the Governor of California twenty-one years later. Greased up to show off a glistening six-pack, he wore nothing more than a loincloth for covering. But that was okay.

A bare-breasted picture of Lenore Zann is apparently not. This actress and now NDP candidate in Nova Scotia is being attacked for her work on the tv show The L Word.
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I don’t like economics. I don’t like the recession. It feels as if the media has latched onto a new hot-button issue and won’t let go. Every day it seems like another statistic related to the recession is being discussed without an ounce of optimism for an entire newscast. Keep in mind, I live in Alberta and we’ve yet to face the brunt of the recession. However, let’s be realistic and look at the Petro-Canada/Suncor merger as an example: did anyone talk about the jump in the markets? Not really. Why not? What have we got to hide? Looking forward to today with the G20 meetings, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of optimism. How are we going to face the biggest economic crisis in six decades? It’s obvious we can’t fix this over night but someone has to take a step in the right direction. I like the G20 event, I also noticed the markets have rallied around it (for a third day in a row too), why hasn’t anyone emphasized this? I think we just need some optimism to get the ball rolling.

Back in junior high school, I had a math tutor that would spend our sessions asking me the hardest questions he had in his textbook, but would never do any math himself. Eventually, I asked him flat-out to solve one of the many near impossible questions he had given me and he quickly changed the subject. For the remaining time he was my tutor, I spent my time thinking that he couldn’t answer the questions he was being paid to answer.

That’s how I felt about Gary Goodyear this past week.
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Last week Jon Stewart turned his satirical eye toward financial new network CNBC. The bit was picked up by the news media and led to Jim Cramer, host of CNBC’s Mad Money, rebutting the charges. Of course, it didn’t end there; barbs were traded between Cramer and the show until it all came to a head Thursday night.

Cramer went on The Daily Show for an extended interview with Jon Stewart. Many were expecting some sort of public lynching, but what we got was a very serious discussion. Stewart called Cramer out on some contradictory and morally dubious behaviour, but he saved most of his venom for CNBC as a whole.
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With the CBC facing a $65 million revenue shortfall, the federal government shows no signs of offering a lifeline – and that has me both worried about the fate of the CBC and disappointed in the Canadian government.

According to CBC president Hubert Lacroix, the corporation is facing the shortfall due to decreased advertising revenues and increased programming and administrative costs – not to mention the prospect of reduced revenues from licensing and rebroadcasting rights.

The CBC has requested a loan, or an advance on their funding, to cover the shortfall but Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has argued that the CBC already receives $1 billion in funding, along with $60 million in non-recurring funding.
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As a marketer, I am constantly amazed by the exploding power of web-based information transfer – especially the news. Within minutes of Obama’s visit to Ottawa, I received an email from a friend of a friend who happened to be outside the pastry shop where the President bought his beaver tail. Some up close and personal pictures like you’d never get on your favourite news channel – just because they were not there at that exact place. And no dulcet-toned announcer commentary.

So much for the traditional, packaged media coverage brought to you by Peter Mansbridge and his nightly crew. What a tiresome bunch they have become. Especially Rex Murphy. I say stuff a sock in him and send him back to make sand castles and debate politics with Danny Williams on their next beach vacation together. Now wouldn’t that be a lovely down home postcard.
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The budget released last month by Mr. Jim Flaherty and the Conservatives has left out any word of financial appropriations for the CBC’s annual budget. This, coupled with a projected shortfall of $65 million in annual advertising revenue is leaving the CBC in a fiscal scramble.

Traditionally the CBC is given unspecific details about its total appropriation from the Federal Government. However, the CBC has regularly received an allocation of $60 million in government funds. The remainder of the $1 billion annual operating budget of the CBC is made up primarily from CBC Television advertising revenue.
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I’ve always been sceptical of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the government agency in charge of regulating broadcasting and telecommunications.

After all, it seems to be staffed by a group of public servants who are guided by the “let the market decide” mantra, as opposed to their legislated responsibility to create and sustain a viable broadcast and telecom sector that actually works for Canadians and delivers innovative, high- quality content and services.

Despite my misgivings, I have to admit that it seems as though the CRTC is actually on the right track … for now at least! Of course, this is only a recent development, so maybe I should hold back on my excitement.
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