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Locked-Out Journalists Turn To Podcasting

Posted by Zonk on from the staying-on-the-air-anyway dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An Interesting Canadian Press article is up on the Macleans website discussing locked out union journalists podcasting to stay on the air. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation locked out 5,500 unionized employees Aug. 15 over a contract dispute. Most of those walking the picket line are radio, TV and internet journalists and technicians. In the last few days, they've been cranking out podcasts - locked out folks in Fredericton, New Brunswick; Regina, Saskatchewan; Vancouver, British Columbia and other cities have all participated. Some have 'real news', music and interviews. Others are more propaganda-like. A whole batch of them are at www.cbcunplugged.com."

6 of 146 comments (clear)

  1. Two drink minimum by FatRatBastard · · Score: 5, Funny

    Some have 'real news', music and interviews. Others are more propaganda-like.

    So basically it's no different than your normal CBC broadcast.

    [rim shot]

    Thank you.. I'll be here all week.

  2. Hmm by Dirtside · · Score: 5, Funny
    An Interesting Canadian Press article
    Ah yes, the Interesting Canadian Press. Much preferable to the Staid Tedious Canadian Press.
    --
    "Destroy science and religion. Science would re-emerge exactly the same; but not religion." - Penn Jillette, paraphrased
  3. unionized? by Yonatanz · · Score: 5, Funny
    The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation locked out 5,500 unionized employees

    Good thing too, you don't want those un-ionized employees going about stealing everybody's ions.

    I wonder where they were locked though... In a Faraday cage, maybe?

  4. Re:Hate the term "podcasting" by hungrygrue · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is not "streaming audio". Streaming requires enormous bandwidth in order to play in real time. A Podcast is downloaded and saved to the subscriber's disk for playback at a later time. It does not matter, therefore, if limited bandwidth means that a twenty minute episode will take fourty minutes to download

    Streaming audio also has the same limitation that radio does, and which podcasting provides a solution to: the listener must tune in on the day and time of the broadcast in order to hear it. There are a large number of Public Radio programs which I enjoy but my schedule does not allow me to listen to live. Even more programs that I listen to are not offered by stations in my area. Podcasts allow me to subscribe to the feeds that I want and listen to them whenever and wherever I want, including on my mp3 player when I am away from my computer.
  5. Improved ratings by FatRatBastard · · Score: 4, Interesting

    One of the funniest things I've read about the lockout is how the CFL broadcasts have improved their ratings since they've gone play-by-playless.

  6. Inept website by OpenGLFan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They need to totally redo that website. Right now it's definitely got a "we're mad, and we're podcasting" feel to it. I thought, hey, let's see what the journalists are reporting about! Maybe they're some creative people who've been locked out! Let's listen to them. And the message I got was "We're mad, and we're podcasting."

    They've missed the important point: you have to podcast about something. You can't just podcast. Look at the links on the right -- do you see all the journalists? All listed right there. Hey! They're podcasting! Yes, but what the frack are you podcasting about? It's like looking at a TV guide that says:

    7pm: Richard Dean Anderson, Amanda Tapping
    8pm: Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett
    9pm: Edward James Olmos, Katee Sackhoff

    which, if you're not already fans of Stargate and Battlestar Galactica, gives you no information and doesn't compel you to watch the show.