The CBC and local journalism

"There may be a role for public policy to support local journalism. That’s the subject of a worthy policy debate. But however one comes down on the question the CBC isn’t the answer."

CBC logo courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

The CBC went all in on identity politics. That will be its downfall | The Hub | Sean Speer:

August 10, 2024 - "As the CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corp.] faces growing scrutiny, including for a new round of executive bonuses in spite of major layoffs, its proponents continue to hang onto the argument that the public broadcaster is still needed to fill the gaps caused by the decline of local news across the country....

"The recent failure of SaltWire in Nova Scotia and the declining value of Corus local radio and television stations reinforce that it’s highly challenging to generate a sustainable return by producing news for local markets. But ... the CBC doesn’t really provide the type of news that most people ostensibly have in mind when they make such an argument. Public interest local journalism would in theory cover basic civic news like city hall, local sports, or community activities. The CBC’s provincial and local coverage is decidedly not focused on these topics.

"A case in point is an article published this week on the CBC Newfoundland webpage about a local trans man who unexpectedly gave birth to a baby. Whatever one thinks about the story it’s hard to argue that it reflects broad public interest journalism. The article itself indicates that the individual’s chance of conceiving a child was 1.8 percent. The nature of their experience — particularly in St. John’s — is even more atypical. It’s highly niche content that is neither representative of the broad-based local experience nor informative of major national or international developments for a local audience....

"The decline in local news isn’t a new issue.... The CBC had plenty of time to reorient itself as a key part of the government’s response to these developments.... In a parallel universe, the public broadcaster could have reconfigured its staff and other resources beyond the 40 or so communities (which mostly comprise provincial capitals and key population centres) in which it’s currently present. It could have gone much further than last year’s addition of 14 journalists in communities like Cranbrook, Lethbridge, and Kingston to establish itself as a major player in secondary and rural communities across the country. It could have dedicated a greater share of its local coverage to public interest journalism and away from its overemphasis on identity politics."

"If the CBC had pursued these changes in the face of the decline of local news, it would have renewed its public broadcasting mission for today’s media environment and made it far more difficult for Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives to campaign on the pledge to defund it. Its failure to be responsive to the evolving local media landscape has undermined its strongest argument for continuing to exist.

"There may be a role for public policy to support local journalism. That’s the subject of a worthy policy debate. But however one comes down on the question the CBC isn’t the answer. The CBC doesn’t do public interest local journalism anymore. It does identity politics. And that will ultimately be its downfall."

Read more: https://thehub.ca/2024/08/10/the-weekly-wrap-the-cbcs-days-are-numbered-and-it-has-no-one-to-blame-but-itself/

Free Staters make Keene NH a 'crypto mecca'

Keene New Hampshire Is Not Only a Libertarian Enclave - It's Also a Crypto Mecca - Bitcoin News - Jamie Redman:

September 6, 2019 - "New Hampshire is well known for having a large number of libertarian residents since the Free State Project (FSP) started a movement of political migration in 2001 [to] the low-population New England state. Libertarians in the region promote free markets, stand against war, and are either completely anti-state (anarchism) or believe in a very limited government (minarchism). Many of these activists who migrated to New Hampshire are strewn across the state but there are dense regions of libertarian proponents in places like Keene, Portsmouth, and Manchester. Due to the vast amount of free market believers, there’s a slew of businesses in places like Keene that accept digital currencies like bitcoin cash. The liberty loving blog, Free Keene, revealed that the Monadnock Decentralized Currency Network managed to persuade a bunch of mom-n-pop shops to accept cryptocurrencies over the years.

"In fact, throughout the lifetime of the Free State’s activism spent bolstering the concepts of liberty and voluntaryism, the people living there have created a cryptocurrency mecca. Free Keene blog author, Ian Freeman (also the co-host of Free Talk Live) explained ... that ... Keene has a wide variety of digital currency-accepting businesses and lots of them use the Anypay payment processor.

"Freeman details that according to data stemming from the Anypay and Marco Coino merchant map there are 15 bitcoin cash-accepting businesses in the region. This works out as a ratio of 'one business for every 1,533 people,' Freeman explained. The Anypay merchant map not only shows people where crypto merchants are located, but also displays when someone purchases something with cryptocurrency....

"The Bitcoin Embassy New Hampshire located in Keene is also well known for its Bitcoin radio advertisements that promote the benefits of cryptocurrencies and free markets. Starting in 2016, the commercials were syndicated on 'The Peak' (101.9 WKKN-FM Keene, 100.7 WTHK-FM Wilmington, VT, and 104.7 W284AB Jamaica, VT) seven days a week from 3pm-6am EDT. 'Bitcoin is a powerful local currency that can also be used internationally. It’s Keene to buy local, and Bitcoin empowers local business owners to keep more from each sale, rather than sending 3% outside of the area to credit card companies,' the radio ad’s message said.

"More recently, due to the frictionless and low network fees on the Bitcoin Cash network, activists in Keene have been opting to use and promote BCH regularly. Last summer, Freeman helped launch a new website called Cryptotip.org that creates cryptocurrency tips from bitcoin cash (BCH) and dash, making it easier for residents to tip people in sound money.... The cryptocurrency Dash has a decent-sized following in Keene too and many Dash supporters live in the FSP region.

"The ... Free Keene blog explained ... that 'Keene and Portsmouth, New Hampshire are two hotspots in the world of cryptocurrency'.... Alongside being a crypto mecca, Keene and New Hampshire also have a lot more to offer to people who are interested in libertarianism and plan to join the ongoing NH Freedom Migration."

Read more: https://news.bitcoin.com/keene-new-hampshire-is-not-only-a-libertarian-enclave-its-also-a-crypto-mecca/
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Farmers for Free Trade run anti-tariff ads in ND

Farmers for Free Trade Purchases Billboards, Radio Ads in North Dakota Ahead of Commerce Secretary Ross’s Thursday Visit | KTIC Radio:

August 22, 2018 - "Farmers for Free Trade purchased billboard and radio ads to send a clear message to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who will visit North Dakota this Thursday with Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Steve Censky.... For the week of August 20, eight billboards throughout Fargo will rotate with the message, 'Secretary Ross, Tariffs Hurt ND Farmers.'

"The billboards are running now.... Radio ads that highlight the impact of tariffs on North Dakota farmers will run on Thursday, August 23rd in the Fargo market.

"'Farmers and manufacturers have been patient, giving time to the president to see if these will work. But prices are plummeting and export markets have been taken over by foreign competitors. We hope that Secretary Ross hears from North Dakota farmers, manufacturers and workers that it’s time to end the trade war, so America’s heartland can start thriving once again. It’s past time that we open new markets to American exports instead of erecting new barriers,' said Brian Kuehl, executive director of Farmers for Free Trade.

"Soybean exports are a core component of North Dakotan farmers’ bottom lines. North Dakota exports roughly two-thirds of its annual $2 billion soybean crop to China. Already this year, Chinese buyers have cancelled all of their orders for food-grade soybeans, valued between $1.2 to $1.5 million. If the United States and China don’t resolve the trade dispute, farmers may not be able to meet their payments and could lose financing to plant next year’s crop. These slashes to the bottom line are unsustainable, and farmers want to see the president focus on open access to international markets for their products."

http://kticradio.com/agricultural/farmers-for-free-trade-purchases-billboards-radio-ads-in-north-dakota-ahead-of-commerce-secretary-rosss-thursday-visit/
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Farmers for Free Trade: https://www.farmersforfreetrade.com/

Swiss students fight against mandatory TV fees

How Swiss students fight against imposed TV fees | Freedom Today Network - Bill Wirtz:

November 20, 2017 - "Together with other classical liberals in Switzerland, Frédéric Jollien is fighting against the royalties imposed by the government for media consumption. 450 Swiss Francs, the equivalent of €382, is the annual fee that consumers need to pay, regardless if they want state-run TV and radio channels or not. 'We are not trying to abolish anything. We merely want consumers to choose for themselves which channels they want to watch.', says Frédéric, who works in the campaign of 'NoBillag', the citizen's initiative that intends to overturn the fee via referendum.

"The state-run channels in Switzerland date back to World War One, when they were used to communicate with the citizens. The government had completely monopolised both TV and radio 'for security reasons'. After the war period, Switzerland opened the market to private media companies, but it kept the 'Billag' fee in order to pay for the state channels which still absolutely dominate the market until this day.

"The fee even has its own website www.billag.ch, on which the mandatory contribution is explained as follows: 'In Switzerland, you are legally obligated to pay the radio and television fees. By paying the fees you enable radio and television programmes in every part of Switzerland.'

"Which almost sounds like you couldn't have any TV or radio stations if it wasn't for governmental control. For Frédéric Jollien, who is a Senior Local Coordinator for European Students for Liberty and founder of Swiss Students for Liberty, this description is dishonest: 'The opponents to our campaign claim that without the "Billag", nobody would pay for state channels, yet they simultaneously also argue that people are very fond of the content. Which one is it now?'

"The 'NoBillag' campaign has been working on the issue of media royalties for three years now, and effectively managed to get their citizen's initiative approved. This means that a public vote on the repeal of the 'Billag' will take place on March 4, 2018. Until then, the campaign is tirelessly working to promote its ideas.

"However, running such a campaign demands considerable efforts: 'The government has extended the "Billag" to include private companies as well. Despite them only receiving less than 10 per cent of the revenue generated by the fee, they now also have vested interests in keeping it in place'.... The print media is equally unimpressed by the 'NoBillag' campaign, as owners also seek to convince the government to initiate large subsidies for the papers, the same way it is practiced in countries like France.....

"Jollien is very optimistic regardless: 'We started a crowdfunding campaign and raised over 50,000 Francs in only ten days, bringing us closer of our 100,000 CHF objective. But not only that: several polls have indicated that we might very well be able to win the public vote!'

"[J]ournalists (who by the way, are exempt from paying this fee) are releasing heavy verbal fire on the campaigners. They claim it would cause massive unemployment in the media sector, that it is anti-democratic or that it would enable big foreign companies to take over the Swiss market. "It's actually quite peculiar: the Swiss conservatives, who are usually the ones spreading fear of foreigners, support us because they believe that state media is being biased against them, while the Left opposes us because they believe the evil foreign media channels from Germany, Italy and France will eat us up. This shows how strange the idea of a free market can sound to people', says Frédéric."

Read more: https://ftn.media/how-swiss-students-fight-against-imposed-tv-fees
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FBI search & seizure at Free Talk Live radio

FBI in Keene: Search, not raid at 'Free Talk Live' radio host's home | New Hampshire - Paul Feely, New Hampshire Union-Leader:

March 21, 2016 - "Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation removed items Sunday morning from the Keene residence of a radio talk show host.

"A video posted Sunday on the FreeKeene.com website appears to show a group of law enforcement officers taking electronic devices and boxes from a residence at 73 Leverett St. in Keene at 6 a.m. Sunday. The FreeKeene.com website states the residence is the home of Ian Freeman, host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show “Free Talk Live,” carried by more than 170 stations across the U.S.

"A search of online property records available at the Keene municipal website shows property at 73-75 Leverett St. owned by the Shire Free Church Monadnock organization....

"Kristen Setera, spokeswoman for the FBI’s Boston Division Office, confirmed in an email Sunday night that ''the FBI conducted court-authorized activity in connection with an ongoing federal investigation.... No arrests were made'....

"'Don Feith, Assistant U.S. Attorney for New Hampshire, in an email Sunday night, confirmed the FBI conducted a search of the home...  'It was not a raid,' Feith wrote.

"The video posted at FreeKeene.com, which runs about two minutes and 25 seconds, is titled 'FBI Warrant Execution' and shows people in green vests marked FBI and others in New Hampshire State Police vests carrying what appears to be computer towers with 'evidence' tape on them, along with brown bags from the Keene home.

"T.J. Park, who also lives at the residence, took to the airwaves Sunday night with co-host Mark Edge to discuss the FBI search on the radio talk show Free Talk Live.

"''I’m looking forward to the results of this investigation,' said Park. 'Whatever this is, I know Ian didn’t do it, I know Mark didn’t do it, and I sure as hell didn’t do it. I know we’re all innocent.'"

Read more: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20160321/NEWS/160329925
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Amash: NPR Defunding ‘Does Not Actually Save Taxpayer Dollars’

ThinkProgress » GOP Congressman: NPR Defunding ‘Does Not Actually Save Taxpayer Dollars’ - Alex Seitz-Wald:

March 18, 2011 - "Yesterday, the House narrowly voted to defund NPR by prohibiting taxpayer dollars from being used by local radio stations to purchase NPR content.... Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), who voted “present” ... explained his opposition in a statement to Fox News by noting that the bill voted on yesterday would not save a dime of taxpayer money:...

"'The funds CPB does not send to NPR under the bill are returned to CPB to be spent subsidizing other private radio producers. I offered an amendment in the Rules Committee to require that any funds not sent to NPR be redirected to pay down the deficit, but the amendment was ruled out of order. Therefore, public broadcasting will not see any reduction in federal funding even if this bill becomes law.'

"Republicans have claimed stripping taxpayer dollars from NPR is about the need to cut spending and rein in the deficit.... But as Amash and many Democrats have correctly pointed out, the bill doesn’t actually save taxpayer money — it merely moves around money already allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, away from NPR and to other public broadcasting operations."

http://thinkprogress.org/2011/03/18/gop-rep-npr-defunding-does-not-save-money/

Without cowboy poetry festival, over 20,000 people "would not exist" (video)

Sure, the U.S. has a trillion-dollar deficit, and something has to be done to cut it. But this is going too far. Now they want to cut Elko, Nevada's cowboy poetry festival, the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering!

Fortunately, there are still a few cool heads left in Washington. Here's Senator Harry Reid (D-NV):

"The mean-spirited bill, H.R. 1, eliminates National Public Broadcasting. Now, that is really saying a lot, madam president. It eliminates the National Endowment of the Humanities, National Endowment of the Arts. These programs create jobs. The National Endowment of the Humanities is the reason we have in northern Nevada every January a cowboy poetry festival. Had that program not been around, the tens of thousands of people who come there every year would not exist.”

http://dailycaller.com/2011/03/08/harry-reid-blasts-mean-spirited-republicans-who-want-to-cut-taxpayer-funded-poetry-festival/