Wednesday, June 6, 2018

Commentary

5 comments
Ronald
2018-06-07 13:20:42

Grant, When I was covering the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Tribune, we had a three-person bureau + a columnist. Same for the Free Press. That's 8 journalists full-time covering Manitoba politics for two newspapers. Add 1 CP, 1 Broadcast News, 1 CBC English TV, 1 CBC English radio, 1 CTV, 1 Global = 13. Plus, when the Leg was in session, for Question Period another 4-5 radio and 2 CBC French radio and TV. And, and, if it was really, really important, Peter Mansbridge was just beginning his career and would appear with his halo lighting the way. BTW, in my second summer at the Free Press I was sent to Thunder Bay for the Mid-Canada Corridor Conference, organized by Richard Rohmer and with numerous heavy hitters, e.g., Toronto. There were 41 journalists -- 33 from the various entrails of the CBC!

2018-06-06 15:13:04

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts around 'Radio on TV.'

I recently encountered this phenomenon. CBC morning radio programs being aired on t.v. by adding a camera to the radio sound room. Is this driven by online/mobile streaming of radio, since the visual is such an integral part of those experiences? Compared to a car or analog stand-alone radio, there's no accompanying visual, whereas a mobile device has to display something, if only a "This Station" static image.

2018-06-07 05:09:19

I'm not sure digital is driving it. I remember seeing this in Calgary several years ago, before digital was present and in Toronto too. It's basically a way to get radio on a TV channel and I remember seeing weather information and traffic cameras for the morning drive on the screen as well. I took it as a great way to communicate information, but it certainly was different than running a TV newscast on radio.

Grant

2018-06-06 10:33:38

I'm astounded you wrote this without mentioning digital and without mentioning the success of the CBC, where reporters contribute to 3 platforms. Or one reporter will do a TV story and another will write digital and cut a clip for radio. It's 2018. CBC has been digital first for 3 years.

2018-06-07 05:05:47

I certainly appreciate your comment and adding to the discussion. My focus was on the Global TV/Corus Entertainment simulcasting. and I find it's best to keep a blog as tight as possible.

Grant