I thought this was funny, in that cynical kind of way.
City TV (which I believe is owned by Rogers) dumps staff across the country, mostly employees in the news departments. No money, sorry.
Now it's running Jerry Seinfeld's new reality tv show after having "acquiered" the Canadian rights to the show.
http://www.lfpress.com/entertainment/tv/2010/02/04/12743061.html
Hey, Farmpunk, guess who I ran into at my corner store yesterday? Ted Kosteki, formerly of the A chanel, and or CFPL TV. I'm not sure which incarnation was running when he jumped off the train.
I didn't remember his name until I had driven away, of course, but I recognized him. "I know you..." I said, to which he replied "I used to report news on the T.V., and I'm sorry." No kidding, he said that.
In the store we bantered quickly, two guys trying to throw as much info at each as possible in a short burst. I think he was very unhappy in his former job for a long time, as much with local stuff as the industry in general.
But he says he's very happy now teaching at Fanshaw College.
Neat story. Not sure I remember him and I've watched the various incarnations of "A" for all my life. A lot of former and current A Channel employees work at Fanshawe.
He actually said "I'm sorry"? That's crazy. As usual news people, and politicians, tend to tell "the truth" after the fact.
You might get a kick out of this link, T-P: http://www.broadcasting-history.ca/index3.php?url=http%3A//www.broadcasting-history.ca/listings_and_histories/television/histories.php%3Fid%3D13%26historyID%3D32
Just reading that timeline makes me envious of a time when there was some variety in local TV.
People I know in the industry have assurred me that CTV will not be renewing A London's licence this August. That means there'll be a station for sale. Anyone have a dollar?
Hugh Bremner was the guy I remember as a kid, reading the news at noon. A while ago, I tried to youtube him, to see if there was any video, and if so, how close my memory matched reality. I remember him looking a lot like Eisenhower.
What's sort of between the lines in all that was just how techno savy and innovative Walter Blackburn was. CFPL TV pioneered a lot of stuff.
The advent of Janice Zolf marks my exodus from CFPL News watching as a rule. After a solid hour of "Entertainment Tonight" leading into the news, Zolf's entertainment presentation would start about 15 minutes into the news broadcast.
Cheque Please.....
I still think that CFPL can be viable--maybe even with or possibly more so with CKNX-- if it went heavy and hard as a kind of local "specialty channel" presenting news and everything else local like no one else could or can. How long it would take to pay, I don't know, and with fragmented advertsing, maybe my detractors are right, that no matter what you do local T.V. is dead.
Sure would be fun to find out though.
Well, this has veered off my original topic by a stretch, bit it's all connected, so why not keep going.
My take on local tv and specifically London.
Over the air broadcasters have an advantage - it's free. That's why the net is so popular - it's free.
I suspect that's going to change shortly. There will be paywalls or barriers to free access. There already are: net fees, cable\satelite fees, magazine subscriptions. The cost of this access is only going to increase. Content will end up being all on demand, order-able, like a restaurant menu.
None of that is news. But I believe people are cheap, or are going to have be cheaper in the future. What's cheaper than free?
I don't think a return to the good old days is going to work and I'm uncertain of the infrastructure costs, the fixed costs, associated with running an over the air tv broadcaster. By that I mean - what does it cost to simply beam the signals?
A big portion of the old staff would have to go, probably all of them in order to de-cert the union, with specific re-hires in techs and engineers. Re-create the ownership as a non-profit, apply for every grant possible, do talk and longer form programming to fill time and play National Film Board movies and other indie work or cult classic movies inbetween.
That's what CHCH in Hamilton is doing and apparently they're now making money. I have family in Hamilton, lifelong Hammerites, who say they like the new CHCH. And the one thing my Uncle noticed is that the commericals are now all local in nature. Odd, eh?
On the flip side, a dude I know in the video\doc game says that CHCH is currently operating with very little structure, and the employees aren't sure of what's going on day to day. However, the station is generating content, so as boss of CFPL I would suggest a content sharing arrangement, especially with news gathering, to create a regional feel to the newscasts.
Back to London. I find it astonishing that CFPL can't put togther a current affairs talk show. They're cheap to produce, and can be done well, and would help satisfy the CRTC's content regulations for local programming.
Operating as a non-profit would mean the bottom line is to cover costs and pay employees. All money goes back into operations and wages\benefits.
There used to be a current affairs show. I wonder if it was corporately cancelled because such local programming couldn't gaurantee adherance to the corporate editorial policy?
I think most of what your saying is fodder for good ideas. But the bottom line is that if CFPL went independant, they'd have to concentrate on broadcasting stuff to London and area that people can't get anywhere else, and need.
