The Garret Tree
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Toronto rally May 10 for BBC's Alan Johnston
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) and the Canadian Media Guild (CMG) have called on their members and all journalists to mark May 10, 2007, by attending a rally in Toronto in support of British journalist Alan Johnston. BBC Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston was kidnapped by gunmen near his office in Gaza City on March 12, 2007. Thursday, May 10 marks his 60th day in captivity.
In Toronto at
Simcoe Park
200 Front Street West
(beside the CBC building)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
12:00 p.m. - 12:40p.m.
Speakers include:
Peter Mansbridge, CBC Television
Brian Stewart, CBC Television
Anna Maria Tremonti, CBC Radio
Rick MacInnes Rae, CBC Radio
Patrick Martin, The Globe and Mail
Sandro Contenta, Toronto Star
Click in the image link above or go to the BBC Editor's page on Alan Johnston.
Johnston, 44, is a veteran foreign correspondent. Before moving to Gaza in 2004, he ran BBC bureaus in Kabul and Tashkent. He is widely respected and liked by his peers. His reporting on events in Gaza has been widely acclaimed as balanced, insightful and courageous.
The BBC and media workers rights organizations around the world have been calling for Johnston's immediate and safe release from the day of his abduction. These appeals have taken on a new urgency as time goes on. His parents in Scotland, both in their 70s, have appeared on international television and radio to appeal to his kidnappers for their son's freedom.
Johnston is believed to be alive and in good health but there is no sign of his captors releasing him anytime soon. Why he's being held remains a matter for speculation.
A single media worker harmed or kidnapped is one too many. The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) reports dozens of instances of journalists taken hostage each year, many of them in Iraq and the Gaza strip. Fourteen journalists have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip since 2005. Reporters, camera crew and producers need to know they can work safely in troubled areas like Gaza. If journalists are unable to report freely, the world will have lost vital access to information.
CBC News Editor in Chief, Tony Burman's Letter: Why BBC's kidnapped Alan Johnston needs to be freed.
Technorati tags
writing, journalism,
BBC,Alan Johnston, Gaza,CBC
8:31 PM posted by Robin Rowland
Permanent Link
Links to this post
In Toronto at
Simcoe Park
200 Front Street West
(beside the CBC building)
Thursday, May 10, 2007
12:00 p.m. - 12:40p.m.
Speakers include:
Peter Mansbridge, CBC Television
Brian Stewart, CBC Television
Anna Maria Tremonti, CBC Radio
Rick MacInnes Rae, CBC Radio
Patrick Martin, The Globe and Mail
Sandro Contenta, Toronto Star
Click in the image link above or go to the BBC Editor's page on Alan Johnston.
Johnston, 44, is a veteran foreign correspondent. Before moving to Gaza in 2004, he ran BBC bureaus in Kabul and Tashkent. He is widely respected and liked by his peers. His reporting on events in Gaza has been widely acclaimed as balanced, insightful and courageous.
The BBC and media workers rights organizations around the world have been calling for Johnston's immediate and safe release from the day of his abduction. These appeals have taken on a new urgency as time goes on. His parents in Scotland, both in their 70s, have appeared on international television and radio to appeal to his kidnappers for their son's freedom.
Johnston is believed to be alive and in good health but there is no sign of his captors releasing him anytime soon. Why he's being held remains a matter for speculation.
A single media worker harmed or kidnapped is one too many. The International Freedom of Expression eXchange (IFEX) reports dozens of instances of journalists taken hostage each year, many of them in Iraq and the Gaza strip. Fourteen journalists have been kidnapped in the Gaza Strip since 2005. Reporters, camera crew and producers need to know they can work safely in troubled areas like Gaza. If journalists are unable to report freely, the world will have lost vital access to information.
CBC News Editor in Chief, Tony Burman's Letter: Why BBC's kidnapped Alan Johnston needs to be freed.
Technorati tags
writing, journalism,
BBC,Alan Johnston, Gaza,CBC
Labels: Alan Johnston, BBC, Canada, CBC, Gaza, Globe and Mail, news, Toronto, Toronto Star, writing
8:31 PM posted by Robin Rowland
Permanent Link
Saturday, January 27, 2007
CBS could scuttle Toronto photo festival display
Post updated 1700 ET
CBS Outdoor, the new name for the old Viacom billboard company could threaten the public display of photographs during the annual Contact photo festival this spring.
The Globe and Mail reports this morning that CBS which controls the advertising for Toronto's public transit system wants to charge $32,500 for the display of photographs in five bus shelters and another display of photographs, organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, in St. Patrick subway station.
(Globe story usually public for about two weeks after publishing)
The Globe story says that when Viacom ran the system, the company charged the festival the charitable organization advertising rate. Now, according the Globe, the beancounters at CBS Outdoor are quadrupling the display rates.
Quote from the Globe
Downtown councillor Kyle Rae told the Globe that the CBS decision could threaten other arts and culture events in Toronto.
As the Globe article points out, many other cities around the including London's Platform for the Arts display the work of local artists in the "underground" and other transit locations.
Out of curiosity I searched New York transit art, the Big Apple of course is home to Black Rock, the corporate headquarters of CBS, and found the New York transit system Subway Art Guide.
Another black eye for CBS!
(And an example again that many in the United States think it is the centre of the universe. The US site for CBS Outoor, cbsoutdoor.com has a map of the world on its market page, but that map is not clickable. So if you miss the obscure reference on the drop down menu on the the home page, you have to hunt up the page for the international branches. The Canadian site, of course, has more visible links to the international offices, in case some poor soul searching on Google ends up in the wrong country.)
--
Update/Response
A reader, who works at CBS, sends this response:
12:45 PM posted by Robin Rowland
Permanent Link
Links to this post
Post updated 1700 ET
CBS Outdoor, the new name for the old Viacom billboard company could threaten the public display of photographs during the annual Contact photo festival this spring.
The Globe and Mail reports this morning that CBS which controls the advertising for Toronto's public transit system wants to charge $32,500 for the display of photographs in five bus shelters and another display of photographs, organized by the Art Gallery of Ontario, in St. Patrick subway station.
(Globe story usually public for about two weeks after publishing)
The Globe story says that when Viacom ran the system, the company charged the festival the charitable organization advertising rate. Now, according the Globe, the beancounters at CBS Outdoor are quadrupling the display rates.
Quote from the Globe
CBS Outdoor officials insisted that Contact has never received the same rates as charitable groups, and was free to renegotiate the deal. But [festival organizer Bonnie] Rubenstein said her staff received an e-mail from CBS last November, informing them of the new rates and policies, saying they were "non-negotiable."Contact has appealed for help from the city's arts division and the office of TTC chair Adam Giambrone, who said he was unable to persuade CBS to adjust the fee.
Downtown councillor Kyle Rae told the Globe that the CBS decision could threaten other arts and culture events in Toronto.
"Those are our bus shelters and there needs to be a clearer relationship between our goals as the property owner and CBS's bottom line," he said.
As the Globe article points out, many other cities around the including London's Platform for the Arts display the work of local artists in the "underground" and other transit locations.
Out of curiosity I searched New York transit art, the Big Apple of course is home to Black Rock, the corporate headquarters of CBS, and found the New York transit system Subway Art Guide.
Another black eye for CBS!
(And an example again that many in the United States think it is the centre of the universe. The US site for CBS Outoor, cbsoutdoor.com has a map of the world on its market page, but that map is not clickable. So if you miss the obscure reference on the drop down menu on the the home page, you have to hunt up the page for the international branches. The Canadian site, of course, has more visible links to the international offices, in case some poor soul searching on Google ends up in the wrong country.)
--
Update/Response
A reader, who works at CBS, sends this response:
I think the Globe got it wrong -- "when Viacom ran it"?
Essentially there is no change in the management of CBS Outdoor, just a name change.
In fact, CBS Corporation is really Viacom, just a name change for the whole company.
That's how CBS kept all the licenses.
The "new" Viacom, or MTV Networks, is essentially a whole new company after the spinoff.
Confusing yes. But I am pretty sure CBS Outdoor in Canada has the same old management it always did. Not fair to blame the EYE for this one.
- Wikepdia entry on MTV Networks
- Wikipedia entry on Viacom
- Wikepedia entry on CBS Corporation
Labels: Canada, CBS, Globe and Mail, photography, United States, web design
12:45 PM posted by Robin Rowland
Permanent Link
