Globalisation part II: your local news goes on tour

Following his observations on the evolution in news delivery (i.e. mass redundancies of journalists) at Global Québec and my post about virtual newsroom architecture Steve Faguy makes some interesting observations about what a green screen to do for local newscasts during the regular newscaster’s vacation. If a newscaster can go on holiday and be replaced by another presenter in another province in front a greens creen, why not just get Jamie Orchard to pack a fold up green screen to take with her to Punta Cana?

Globalisation: more virtual newsroom architecture

A few weeks ago I wrote about the relocation of the Canadian Global National newscast to a “virtual” studio in Ottawa. One interesting question being, what’s the point of moving your news anchor to the nation’s capital, when all that indicates that Kevin Newman is in Ottawa is a computer-controlled image of the Canadian Parliament behind him?

I’m very interested in the architecture of television news, because it crosses into all kinds of interesting fields of study to do with architecture and the projection of power, security and knowledge. It’s also one of the most readily accessible situations in which virtual architecture finds environment in which it is ready to demonstrate its potential.

The “virtual” treatment of the Ottawa studio has now been applied to the Global Television affiliate CKMI-TV in Montréal. Even when I lived in Montréal I didn’t watch CKMI much, mainly because TV didn’t play much part in my life, but also because the channel’s principal evening news bulletins were broadcast too early in the evening for me to watch. The concept of a 17h00, 17h30 or even 18h00 English language news bulletin in Montréal being to catch the captive audience of anglo housewives waiting for their partners to come home. From that any Montrealer or Montréalais(e) reader will know exactly what sort of political leaning Global Québec takes.

Here’s a shot of Global Québec anchor Jamie Orchard opening an edition of the evening news. See that bustling newsroom behind her? Yep. It’s a hive of activity down there at Global Québec. Or so you might imagine. The physical set isn’t the only thing that has been put out to pasture. A number of control-room and on-screen staff have been laid off as well, victims not only of a remotely controlled programme (the news studio is now controlled from Vancouver) but also of the cancellation of This Morning Live, CKMI’s breakfast programming. The creation of a virtual newsroom doesn’t just dispense with the need to have that buzzing newsroom behind the anchor, it also dispenses with the need to have people working in every regional news studio controlling the cameras and cue-ing up reports.

If there is one good point to note about the application of this virtual studio, it’s that so far the design has been better applied in Montréal than in Ottawa. This opening pan shot, looking down on the anchor and the desk (the only real things in the entire shot) works better than the acuter angle of the opening shot on Ottawa: the perspective is, at least, more believable. That said, I imagine there have been a few instances in which Jamie Orchard has or will be tempted out from behind her desk to stand in front of another hideously mis-proportioned long shot of the non-existent studio.

I can’t claim to be close to any informed sources in the Canadian media industry, but Global has no made no bones in announcing that Global Edmonton, Global Calgary and Global Toronto will be the next affiliates to welcome virtual newsrooms. And that means control-room staff there might do well to start refreshing their resumés.

Canada nostalgia: Taxi 0-22

In the last few weeks, it’s been a real pleasure to rediscover the Québecois tongue. In attempting to explain this special variety of the French language to my Strasborgeois and foreign friends, I’ve frequently turned to Québecois TV. In this clip, from the TVA series Taxi 0-22, the actor and comedian Patrick Huard plays brings a long running stage character - the politically incorrect and talkative cab driver - to the TV screen. The series features a number of special guests who ride the cab as if they were regular fares. On board today (and playing himself) is another Québecois comedian and actor, Louis-Josée Houde. Huard’s character starts the banter by complimenting Houde on his rôle in the film Bon Cop Bad Cop… the in-joke being that Huard himself played one of the two lead roles in that film. If you speak French but aren’t familiar with the Québecois joual I’d be interested to hear how much of this conversation you catch…

Canada Nostalgia: Familiprix

Two in a long running series of adverts for the Québec pharmacy chain Familiprix. Fifteen seconds in which we meet our friendly pharmacist who shouts “AH-HA!” every time you need Familiprix.

I’m in Chicago…

…which is why I haven’t been blogging that much, or not here at least. My new year’s resolution is to put my travel related ramblings into a new outlet, which is slowly coming together at nothingtodeclare.wordpress.com. It’ll be a mix of travelogue, tips and experiences from the road. So if you want the boring bits about which train to take where and which low end diner is best for that local speciality I just can’t get enough of, you’ll find it over there.

But to fill you in, I finally arrived in Montréal late on 28 December. I wasn’t delayed by fog or snow, but by a faulty computer that had grounded the Air Canada Airbus that was due to carry me across the Atlantic. Once jet lag had been conquered, there followed a most enjoyable week rediscovering the city with a new travelling companion (the kind who keeps me on my toes by asking me lots of relevant but difficult questions). I also managed to re-visit some old haunts, drink too much on at least one occasion, play pool badly and apologise excessively. Not for anything in particular, they were just general apologies which spew forth when I’m slightly tipsy.

On 3 January we left Montréal by train, and travelled throughout that day and the following night to arrive in Chicago, from where I’m now writing to you from. I’ve got a week to do all the things I didn’t do the last time I was here. The American love of the automobile and other wasteful consumers of energy means that global warming has stolen winter, and the weather has been very manageable.

Until I blog again, don’t forget my plea for nominations at the Bloggies. You may remember from April and May in 2006, my month long travelogue (and sister blog to this page) ontherails. Well, the Seventh Annual Weblog Awards are taking nominations until 10:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (GMT - 5 hours) on January 10. If you enjoyed reading my travels, then I’d greatly appreciate a nomination in the categories of Best Canadian Weblog and Best Writing of a Weblog. Just follow this link and the instructions therein, and I’ll be eternally grateful :-)

See you soon…