Category: media

“The one-hour TV news program Connect with Mark Kelley, the radio show Dispatches and drama programming on Radio One will be eliminated as part of cost-cutting measures to CBC English Services to cope with planned budget cuts.”

“About 200 people staged a sit-in outside the National Film Board’s CineRobothèque in downtown Montreal Tuesday, blocking traffic at the intersection of de Maisonneuve Boulevard and Saint-Denis Street over the noon hour. The protesters are upset about the looming closure of the film theatre and screening centre.”

A directive issued Thursday via Facebook said, “Effective immediately, radio and
“Are they in or are they out? That’s the question many Malaysians are asking after the latest clarification by their government on an alleged ban on the portrayal of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) characters on state-owned television channels. In the fifth clarification on the matter since Thursday, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim said that no such ban exists” – though he “reserved the right to select content suitable for the general public.”

“While niche independent stores have the best chance of survival, a report by market forecasters IBISWorld on DVD hire outlets proclaims the ”end of an era” for rentals. Industry revenue, which was $1.6 billion in 2008-09, will slump to nearly half that – $858 million – by 2016-17, the final year of the forecast, the report said.”

“This is the new world of trailers, in which the Internet and rabid fan culture have turned one- to three-minute ads, once seen only in theaters, into events promoted and analyzed as avidly as the films themselves.”

“Monday afternoon saw a case of the Internet hype machine gone wildly out of control in which a Twitter account associated with the hacktivist movement Anonymous launched an online boycott of Netflix over the video subscription company’s newly-formed political action committee.”

Don’t think it’s all James Cameron (or Wim Wenders) – 3D is the medium of choice for many Bollywood filmmakers. Or at least, the medium of choice is converting 2D films with famous actors to 3D (and that’s not so different from Hollywood).

Carnage is the latest in a recently long line of popular play adaptations that earn little to nothing onscreen. What’s that about?

Netflix has greenlighted four new series and is planning even more. Why? “To some degree, Netflix was essentially forced into doing original programming. The kind of series Sarandos coveted most — critically acclaimed serialized dramas from HBO and Showtime — were never going to make their way to the streaming side of Netflix.”

“Canada’s largest private radio broadcaster has come out swinging against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s move to start selling advertising on its CBC Radio 2 and Espace Musique stations.”