Thursday, September 15, 2005
CBC 81: Call for boycott of CBC literary awards
In a blog posted this afternoon, This Magazine asks if artists should boycott this year's CBC literary awards.
The This Magazine blogger, Suzanne asks:
She notes that there is now a new site for the Literary Awards, off the SRC server in Quebec, where, of course, there is no lockout.
The literary awards have always been a way for developing writers to make a mark, so what do they do? There is no lockout in Quebec and Moncton, so no virtual picket line to cross if the writer lives there--unless that writer wants to support lockedout writers across the rest of Canada.
There is the dilemma for Francophone artists outside that region. French services are cut off from French speaking communities across the country. Does a Francophone writer in Calgary or Vancouver enter Les Prix littéraires Radio-Canada?
What those writers should consider is their long term financial, literary and career goals. Even if they chose to freelance for the rest of their lives, a valid choice, then if they do decide to cross the virtual picketline, they will be be playing into the hands of bureaucrats who have little regard for creativity, bureaucrats who now and in the future want all rights from their work in all forms of media (including the data banks of the starship Enterprise) in perpetuity until the galaxy implodes and won't care if that writer, like some nineteenth century predecessor dies of consumption in a drafty attic.
The short term gain of being a winner under a cloud in this situation isn't worth it in the long run, is it?
Technorati tags
writing, journalism, CBC, blog, news, lockout,
CBClockout, CBCunlocked,
6:16 PM posted by Robin Rowland
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In a blog posted this afternoon, This Magazine asks if artists should boycott this year's CBC literary awards.
The This Magazine blogger, Suzanne asks:
the idea of entering online during the ongoing labour dispute feels like crossing the picket line. What will it be writers -- ethics or a lottery-small chance of winning $6K?
She notes that there is now a new site for the Literary Awards, off the SRC server in Quebec, where, of course, there is no lockout.
The literary awards have always been a way for developing writers to make a mark, so what do they do? There is no lockout in Quebec and Moncton, so no virtual picket line to cross if the writer lives there--unless that writer wants to support lockedout writers across the rest of Canada.
There is the dilemma for Francophone artists outside that region. French services are cut off from French speaking communities across the country. Does a Francophone writer in Calgary or Vancouver enter Les Prix littéraires Radio-Canada?
What those writers should consider is their long term financial, literary and career goals. Even if they chose to freelance for the rest of their lives, a valid choice, then if they do decide to cross the virtual picketline, they will be be playing into the hands of bureaucrats who have little regard for creativity, bureaucrats who now and in the future want all rights from their work in all forms of media (including the data banks of the starship Enterprise) in perpetuity until the galaxy implodes and won't care if that writer, like some nineteenth century predecessor dies of consumption in a drafty attic.
The short term gain of being a winner under a cloud in this situation isn't worth it in the long run, is it?
Technorati tags
writing, journalism, CBC, blog, news, lockout,
CBClockout, CBCunlocked,
6:16 PM posted by Robin Rowland
Permanent Link
