By David Farrell
Trump indictment: US, world react to charges laid against ex-president
Global News reporters went near and far collecting reactions to the news that Donald Trump has been charged. More than 1600 comments have been posted since the 3+ minute clip was posted on YouTube. Included among them is someone calling themselves Rulinghabs who states, “They should only interview people from other countries. They give the most intelligent answers.”
Indigenous leaders call for minimum commercial radio airplay quota
The CRTC is being asked to introduce a five percent minimum quota for Indigenous music content on commercial radio, based on the recommendation of the Mémoire sur le contenu musical autochtone (Memorandum on Indigenous Musical Content), the result of a public consultation conducted last summer, spearheaded by Indigenous record label Makusham Musique, in collaboration with Innu Takuaikan, the Innu First Nations band government in Quebec. It found that 94.83% of the 312 Canadians surveyed believed a percentage of Indigenous music content should be imposed on commercial radio stations in Quebec and Canada, expressing that they almost never hear Indigenous music on the radio. – Connie Thiessen, Broadcast Dialogue
Reactions to Rogers-Shaw deal approval
"This is an unprecedented agreement that I hope remains exceptional. The circumstances in which it is appropriate to do this are incredibly rare."
"Imagine there is another case where the minister decides he's kind of feeling his oats and says I want to start regulating all these things. I don't trust the competition bureau to get it right. I'm going to start politically interfering in mergers." – Michael Osborne, a competition lawyer at Cozen O’Conner.
To read further reactions, click on the link embedded in the headline above. – Reuters
Fighting Rogers-Shaw was part of a misguided crusade by Competition Bureau
If more competition is the goal, reformers such as (Competition Bureau head) Matthew Boswell should look at legal and regulatory barriers, particularly barriers to entry by foreign-owned firms across multiple industries, including telecom and banking, that discourage competition. Eliminating barriers to entry would help ensure that any cost savings associated with merger-related efficiency gains are passed through to consumers in the form of lower prices, improved product quality or both.
Unfortunately, governments in Canada have implemented numerous laws and regulations that stifle the competitive entry of both foreign and domestically-owned firms into a range of Canadian industries. – Steven Globerman, The Globe and Mail
Debate: Is social media undermining democracy? | TVO Today Live
Social media has rapidly expanded its role in democratic societies. In light of the growing threats to democracy from online sources, Canadians must grapple with how social platforms may be impacting the health of our institutions. Steve Paikin (The Agenda) moderates a debate between the “yes” side of Samantha Bradshaw and Ann Fitz-Gerald and the “no” side of Jeff Jarvis and Robby Soave.
The media’s coverage of Trump’s indictment was dumb, desperate, and a really bad sign for 2024
Substanceless and endless, the hours of cable news blather that formed the Trump Indictment Cycle suggests that no one has learned anything. – Alex Shephard, The Soapbox
NAB launches campaign for AM radio
With the long-term survival of the U.S. AM broadcast band in question, the National Association of Broadcasters has launched a campaign to highlight AM’s importance in cars. Emphasizing the band’s role for “news, community engagement, entertainment and vital public safety information,” the association launched “Depend on AM Radio.” – Paul McLane, RadioWorld
Notable
Community FM shines a light on homelessness in Prince Edward County: Picton, ON’s 99.3 County FM is shining a spotlight on what it means to be homeless in s Prince Edward County. The original series explores the unique challenges the homeless face, especially in a rural community. It's narrated by Wendy Mesley and the script is written by Astrid Young. Volunteers of the radio station interviewed more than 60 individuals in and around the local homeless community and organizations that serve them. JJ Johnston, Chair and morning drive personality, narrates.
One step closer to AI Regulations in Canada: Assuming Bill C-27 is finalized in the next few months, this proposed timeline for the adoption of the Artificial Intelligence and Data regulations means that they would not enter into force before 2025 — at the earliest. – McCarthy Tétrault LLP
Corporations and government have a duty to support made-in-Canada journalism – Josh Rubin, Toronto Star
Tech billionaires lost another $200B in 2023. Here’s who dropped the most: Big tech, big losses. The planet’s technology billionaires had another rough year, declining in both number and collective wealth on Forbes’ 2023 ranking of the world’s wealthiest people. In all, Forbes found 313 billionaires who made their fortune in technology, compared to 332 last year. Their aggregate net worth is $1.9 trillion, down $200 billion from last year’s $2.1 trillion. – Phoebe Liu, Forbes
YouTube channel pages add dedicated 'Podcasts' tab – 9to5Google
Hows to use AI to impersonate celebrity voices (and why you shouldn’t) – Seth Resler, Jacobs Media
AccuRadio offering AI-driven music channels: The first tranche of 47,000 new AI-programmed music channels debuted on April 3, as per an announcement made by the free-streaming service co. CEO Kurt Hanson.
TikTok and ByteDance have spent at least $13.4M on U.S. lobbying since 2019 – Sam Gutelle, Tubefilter
Trump surrender: ‘It’s kind of a Jesus Christ thing’: ...“He wanted a perp walk; he wanted daylight hours … He wants to get out of the vehicle and walk up the stairs. This is a nightmare for Secret Service, but they can only strongly suggest — not order — that Trump enter through the secure tunnels. Trump wants to greet the crowd… – Jana Winter, Rolling Stone
Study links identity threat among white evangelicals to the belief Trump’s election was part of God’s plan: An analysis of data from the American Trends Panel relating to white evangelical protestant Christians found a link between the belief that Donald Trump’s election was a part of God’s plan and whether a person considers him/herself a religious minority. While 66% of white evangelicals who do not see themselves as a religious minority stated that Trump’s election was a part of God’s plan, this percentage increases to 74% for white evangelicals who do consider themselves a religious minority. The study was published in Politics and Religion. – Vladimir Hedrih, PsyPost
Dumb phones on the rise in U.S. as Gen Z looks to curb screen time – Kathryn Mannie, Global News
Full hotels, busy ski resorts: Why Ukraine's tourism sector is having a busy war – Carole Rosenblat, CNN
Can the government get a handle on artificial intelligence? … One broad, big bucket of concerns is the generation of inaccurate outputs. Bad advice. Misinformation, inaccurate information. This is especially bad because people think these systems are “intelligent.” They’re throwing medical symptoms into ChatGPT and getting inaccurate diagnoses. – Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic
Media feasts on Trump spectacle: As satellite trucks clog Lower Manhattan and the press corps parachute in, veteran court reporters talk to Vanity Fair about coverage concerns, from nabbing a seat to accessing documents, and the historic nature of the proceedings. “It’s the biggest case in my career,” says one. – Charlotte Klein, Vanity Fair
Paris’s air taxi stations could be ready before taxis are: Europe’s first flying-taxi airport, or vertiport, is in test mode for a full launch with a wishful think that passengers will be shunted between Paris’s international airports and the venues of the 2023 Summer Olympic Games. – Jeff Wise, Bloomberg
Amazon’s new Internet service now covers 90% of Americans: Do you have a Ring Doorbell or Amazon Echo? You are likely sharing your internet and don’t even know it. If you have an Amazon device like an Echo, unless you turn it off, Amazon is sharing your internet so other Amazon devices can use it even if you don’t use them. – Luke Bouma, Cord Cutters News
Wake Up, West – a new energy world order is building, fast: Consumers don’t really care about big geopolitical things in their day-to-day life, and they aren’t really scared by the weather (tornado alley excepted). But gasoline prices are on every huge sign in every town in every state; nothing else has its price shoved in your face so vehemently. And those consumers really get up in arms when gasoline prices get too high. To show how seriously politicians take this, the US half-drained the strategic petroleum reserve last year for the sole purpose of lowering domestic gasoline prices before an election. – Terry Etam, BOE Report
Upmarket Real Estate listings
For those who love escaping into a period drama with a stash of cash to flash, a rare jewel of a property on the market will be the stuff of dreams come true. Steventon House, in Hampshire, which replaced the house where Jane Austen wrote some of her best-loved works, is now up for sale with a guide price of £8.5M (C14.3M). – Tattler & the Savills co. properties website for a description with pics here.
For $4.8 million you can buy this nearly 400-acre historic Nova Scotia estate: The home was built by an American steel industrialist and recently refurbished by bookseller Nicholas Hoare. – Dave Zarum, Maclean’s
