Canadian Television on E!

Do you live in fear that Brittney Spears will get a haircut without your knowing? Are you afraid that some Hollywood starlet will slip into rehab and no one will tell you? Are you concerned that Kim Bassingers divorce will become final and you'll be the last to know? Well fear no longer.

Via Torontoist E! The all entertainment network is coming to Canada. It will be replacing CHCH Hamilton (too much local/regional news in Canada anyway). So, you can also rest assured that as long as they get a Canadian to tell you who's out this week on 'America's Next Top Model' that they will get a big tax subsidy.

Shame on Doyle for buying into culture of violence

Personally, I don't think that Tony Burman's decision not to air the video by the Virginia Tech killer had anything to do with avoidance. John Doyle rambled on about the decision ad-nauseum in his monday Globe and Mail column. Doyle, laughably, even compares the Virginia Tech killings to the War in Iraq.

"The planes carrying the multiple coffins of American soldiers are hidden from view without protest from broadcasters."

Americans have a right and a duty to see the images from Iraq. The occupation of Iraq is, after all, being done in their name, with their money by a government they elected. The massacre at Virginia Tech was not.

There are a few things about popular culture, especially American popular culture, that Mr. Doyle does not seem to know about.

First, there seems to be an obsession amoung some with serial killers and other famous criminals. Movies and TV specials about the Manson Family, or Son of Sam, the Boston Strangler, Jack the Ripper etc., are always sure to draw a crowd. In some fairly recent American films such as Natural Born Killers and Silence of the Lambs (and it's related sequels) blood thirsty serial killers actually manage to become the protagonist.

Second, "You're not anyone in America unless you're on TV." - Nicole Kidman in "To Die For" Anyone ever see Jerry Springer? How about Maury (sp?) Povich? There is virtually nothing Americans wont do to get their 15 minutes. They will debase and humiliate themselves, even lie about the sordid details of their personal lives only to be on television for a few minutes and American television - where nothing is too personal, salacious or morbid will let them.

Third, there is an unhealthy facination with guns and violence in the U.S. I don't think that I really have to demonstrate this to anyone, I'll simply point out that the number of annual homicides in the U.S. is 2-3 times the number of Americans who have been killed in Iraq to date. Killing in the U.S. is a sure fire way to gain notoriety.

In the case of Virginia tech, the murderer made a video and sent it to NBC. Obviously part of his motivation was getting on television, gaining notoriety and grabbing his 15 minutes of fame. American television played right along, reinforcing to closet sociopaths everywhere that it would, in fact, work.

I know that this is Canada, and not the US. I know that the culture here is different. but Canadians, especially younger Canadians seem so fascinated with American culture that the difference between the two is thinning. As everyone in media knows, American film, American television and an increasing percentage of American music are dominating the Canadian charts. Whatever the impact of this might be it is certainly true that gun crime is on the rise in Canadian cities.

It is also true, sadly, that Canadian media (including the CBC all too often) have been complicit in this. Even 'Canadian content' rarely focuses on those things that make Canadian culture different, unique and better than U.S. culture anymore. They take the government subsidies and make copies of US shows, entertainment 'news' shows about the U.S. or programs where the characters are generically North American, not distinctly Canadian.

Finally, and this came up on Denis McGrath's blog the day of the shootings, we live in a difficult age, and "Change requires will". The problems that face society today - poverty, disease, pollution, global warming and violence are not going to change on their own. We have to decide to make change and we have to be willing to make some sacrifices to make change happen. In many of these cases the price we pay will be economic (and it will sting.)

In this case all that's happened is John Doyle has been deprived of the opportunity to hear the ramblings of a homicidal maniac. It's a sacrafice that I think we can all live with. Personally, I applaud Tony Burman's decision to not air the tape. I applaud his decision not to reward a murderer. I applaud his decision to stand up for what makes Canada different.

As for my 'right to know'. The CBC might, on another occasion, have grizzly autopsy photos from a traffic accident - that doesn't mean I want to see them (whether I have the right to or not.) If John Doyle needs a fix of sensationalism and gratuitous violence - I'd suggest he try this.

Passing This Along: The Hidden City

Rec'd via email: Thought those of you who want to know might want to know.

So here's the scoop.......DNTO's pop culture professor and neurotic jock, Nick Purdon, is working on a brand new radio show - and he needs your help!

But first, some background. The show is called "Hidden City," and it willl air this summer on CBC Radio One. The idea is to explore the hidden things - unwritten rules - behaviours - and activities that most of us don't notice but are integral to life in the city. It is about exploring the life of that unique human creature known as the "urbanoid."

One of our episodes is about noise in the city, and we're interested in exploring it at the micro-level - as in, the noise that drives neighbours crazy. We're looking for people who are currently at war with a neighbour about loud music, barking dogs, shrieking kids, or any of the gazillions of noises that drive the modern urban dweller batty. We want people who've been feuding for a while. People who've tried to reach out to their neighbour, to no avail. People who are at their wit's end. If anyone knows such a person (or maybe it's you!) then we'd love to hear from you! Please email me, Sara Tate, at sara_tate@cbc.ca with the subject line "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!!"

Maybe we'll even be able to help you solve your noisy neighbour problem. We look forward to hearing from you!

Merci,
The Hidden City team.

Open Internet Coalition?

There is no doubt that the internet will, to an even larger extend than it already has, have a dramatic impact on the world. The implications for media are becoming more obvious by the day, but this is just the beginning. As more and more people come online and the average age of internet users goes up there will be profound implications for government and politics, religion and culture.

One only has to look at the effects that the printing press, radio, television and film had on society. The difference with the internet is the low, low barrier to entry and the fact that anything put on the internet is instantly available to the entire world.

This is the first truly populist, democratic media revolution in the history of mankind. We can all guess and speculate about it's ultimate ramifications but, to date, every guess about the future of the internet and how far reaching it's effects might be has fallen dramatically short of the mark.

It is also true that since the dawn of the internet, it has been a constant battle: between traditional and new media, between anarchy and control, between those who see the Web as a medium for sharing ideas and information and those who only see it as a medium for sales, and all too often between content creators and consumers.

I would like to suggest that it's time for a cease fire. I believe that the vast majority of people who use the Internet have more areas of agreement than points of division. So, I believe it is time to unite on the points where we agree and try to hammer out our differences on the points where we do not.

I believe that nearly everyone would like to see an internet where:

Everyone has an opportunity to be heard with a minimum of regulation.

Consumers have easy access to content that they enjoy.

Content creators can be paid fairly.

Conflicts between content producers and consumers are settled fairly and without law suits or the threat of law suits.

Individual privacy is protected.

Actual crime such as spam, identity theft, fraud and child pornography is minimized and punished when it happens.

So, If I am right about this, I would like to hear from content producers, internet users, service providers and nearly everyone else with a stake in this to discuss the creation of an Open Internet Coalition.

The idea at this point is vague. I don't know how these discussions will be held. It is entirely possible that more can be added to the list above. It is likely that separate coalitions will have to be set up in different countries (to deal with that country's specific issues.) But ideally those groups would remain in communication with one another to share ideas and work together when possible.

If you would like to be a part of this, or (especially) if you have ideas about how this coalition can be organized and communicate please get in touch at beach.justin[at]gmail[dot]com.

(Simultaneously posted to Hype, Circles Around the Square and JustinBeach.com)