Month: October 2009

I applaud the folks at CHEK-TV for taking on their own station. There is no reason why local programming shouldn't work. For all the cries of "Local Programming Matters" there hasn't been any real local programming in Canada in fifty years. The networks ran things by remote control which is why they had no trouble flipping the switch on the little stations during tough economic times. I would suggest that they contact their local community college and perhaps even high school to and look into co-op and/or apprenticeship programs. In the early days of radio and then TV, stations created their own content cheaply by providing a forum for local talent. Check the local music scene, maybe comedy shops, or community theatre. Early TV filmed stage plays for broadcast. Passe? Last year the Stratford Festival's production of "Caesar and Cleopatra" was videotaped as a stage play and subsequently projected for high prices in a limited movie theatre run. Thanks to the possibility of internet distribution, for the first time in decades it is possible for Canadian musical acts to make a career for themselves without attracting big (read american) record labels. The technology has made it possible for them to make and distribute their own stuff. Which should make it easier to both find and promote local music (and visiting acts) on deeply low budget tv shows as in days of yore. Canadian culture could well be coming into its own right now thanks to the modern technologies. Small local stations like this would do well to take advantage. CRTC has long profoundly failed both the Canadian music and tv worlds, and currently they are doing their best to offer up the internet to Bell Canada's control with rulings designed to condemn the independent ISPs to oblivion. As well, the impending implementation of Usage Based Billing will double the cost of Canadian internet access for the exact same substandard service we get now. http://stopusagebasedbilling.wordpress.com/ Sign the petition at http://dissolvethecrtc.ca/