It comes after news that Sun Media and CanWest will stop using Canadian Press stories, the Globe and Mail will be making ten percent reductions to its staff and there will be 560 layoffs at CanWest. The newspaper industry is changing. Although printing presses haven’t drawn their last breath just yet, it remains to be seen what will happen when reader friendly portable media devices become the norm.

Future technology and an increase in Internet usage will also change online journalism.

In an article in Time Magazine, Walter Isaacson says that media organizations will have to stop giving their work out for free. He argues that consumers should pay subscription fees or micro-fiance fees to read a publication’s material.

It makes sense and really isn’t that different to the way we do things now. When we buy a print publication we do so for the quality of the writing, perspectives or coverage that it contains, otherwise we would simply watch the television news for ten minutes a day. Paying for online news allows publications to be reader orientated and takes influence away from advertisers.

The world is moving towards an era where media and the Internet become increasingly integrated: When watching television and films, reading newspapers, books and magazines, communicating, listening to music and radio and shopping through electronic online devices is the norm.

We need a business model that will allow this new media to flourish by keeping the people who create it employed.

Since the federal government slashed public funding for the CBC in the late 1970’s and 80’s Canadian television has been left victim to the travesties of advertising companies and shows that are popular and cheap to make. Producing television that will stand the test of time is secondary to the advantages of hosting cheap US shows and interspersing them with horrible adverts.

Because of this, Canadian content and Canadian culture have played second fiddle.

Now the government has announced blueprints to amalgamate the Canadian Television Fund and the Canadian New Media Fund into the Canadian Media Fund, pledging $134 million a year for two years for the fund.

Heritage Minister James Moore said that there will be “more money for more creativity and more Canadian content available on more Canadian platforms”. This includes a stipulation to integrate shows traditionally aired on television onto the Internet, which is great for those who like shows on demand.

The changes will mean the CBC, non-profit broadcasters and private networks will all bid for funding from the same pool. There are concerns: the CBC will no longer receive the guaranteed allocation it did from the previous arrangements, although it can compete for funds it was not previously allowed access to. Also, those donating the funds, many private for-profit cable companies, are sitting on the board that decides who gets what.

Both these things point to a decision-making process that could be hijacked in favour of board members’ self-interests, higher profit margins and a culture of popular throwaway television and media — the same factors that have caused Canadian television to become such a mess in the first place.

Hopefully the board will take some risks and invest in projects that will be broader in their scope than their potential for immediate popularity and cost viability.

What do you do when you’ve lost your job, can’t get a girlfriend/boyfriend and live with your parents?

You retreat into an Internet world that better suits the reality in your head that’s what.

But instead of turning yourself into a loin cloth wearing, axe wielding barbarian wandering the virtual land of Warcraft, and replacing human interaction with chat room reality, piece your existence back together with craigslist.

It is a one-stop shop for everything you could possibly need in real life on the Internet. First you’ll need to get a job. Here’s one from craigslist’s finest:

The Hair Whisperers Lice Removal service is looking for someone based in San Fransisco to remove lice and eggs from people infected with lice. Qualified candidates should have valid driver’s license, great close up eyesight, feel comfortable going into people’s homes, be personable, good with children, and extremely detailed oriented. Squeamish people need not apply. A good sense of humor a plus! A background check is required, and references will be checked as well. To be considered, all applicants must include where they live, and what times and days they are available. Travel is not paid for. No Weekend Only please.

Driving is a large part of this job, and the longer you are willing to drive, the more you will work. Driving is unpaid. You can set your own hours, and choose when you work, but should be available at least a few hours every day. No 9-5-ers looking to start work at 6 pm, as children often go to sleep at 8. We will train qualified applicants.

Perfect you can borrow your parent’s car when they come home from work and still spend a considerable amount of time building your Warcraft reputation to epic proportions during the day.

But you still live at your Mum’s and that isn’t the way forward if you plan to become a super hot chick/guy magnet. You need somewhere to live. How about this craigslist gem?

 ..I am looking for someone to rent my rent controlled apartment. The monthly rent is extremely cheap and would be a dream for many people in this city. It is in the east village close to A and 3rd. I caught my wife in bed with our neighbor who is almost 20 years younger than her. She is refusing to move out and still seeing him when I am at work, on my bed…I need someone to move in and help me get her out. Man or woman. My plan is to act like we are a couple until she can’t take it anymore. I have done everything possible to try and get her out..But she is a scumbag….So we need to create some type of plan that would get her out..i would charge you very cheap and all you would have to do is act like we are dating. We might have to kiss if front her and make fake sounds when we are in the bedroom. Please respond with a detailed description of your plan to get her out and a little about your self.

Excellent – cheap rent and the added extra of pretending that you’re in a relationship – this makes it much easier for future dating explorations- “I lived with this guy for a while, he liked me but I wasn’t that into him etc etc” Now you can say you’ve had experience and someone found you desirable – great.

Let’s take it a step further – say lice removal really took off, and you branched out from the practice relationship, and found another craigslist abode to live in.

You need a wife or husband or possibly both – well on craigslist you’re just a click away from lifelong happiness. This craigslist catch is defo one to consider:

I decided tomorrow I want to get married, So any takers. Im attractive, not a psycho…well not completly:)- have a job, car, my own place, im very independent…i love sex and my husband will have to be able to keep up with me…ive never wanted to get married…ever. But life is pretty boring right now and i feel like if i get married at least its something exciting. So ur probably wondering if im all these great things why dont I have a man…ha I get asked that everytime i go on a first date. I always dread that question, but truth is once i sleep with the man i lose interest…stupidly. But i figure if im married, that means A this person is as spontaneous as I am, B I cant just walk away…and C hopefully he will satisfy me.

AND I dont want to get messages saying marriage is sacred I cant do this blah blah blah because to that i say bullshit. Anyone should be allowed to get married to who they choose and get married for whatever reasons they choose. I choose to marry a stranger because maybe that stranger is who im looking for.

I will send a photo if I recieve a photo…Im looking for someone thats between 21-33, attractive…obviously Has their own place, job, ect. Someone who has his shit together but crazy enough to marry a stranger…Race doesnt matter but i love latin men and black/ mixed with something men .

PS i dont cook!

Good luck and remember – next time you have a problem it can be solved on www.craigslist.org. 

Twitter? What sort of name is that? How could I, with my lofty journalistic intentions possibly subscribe to a micro blogging site with such a silly name? Birds twitter (the feathered variety), twits twitter and so now do 6 million users- some of which have very impressive resumes.

Ever one to compromise my highbrow principles I signed up and decided to follow some bigwigs about their business. One of my first acquisitions, after trying and failing to find an original and witty user name, was Salam Pax. Pax is the legendary blogger of Baghdad, who documented the run up to the Iraq war as only a native Iraqi with a masterful command of English could.

And then after some searching I got Stephen Fry!!

And then Barack Obama!!

Surely this is better than checking hordes of Facebook updates? Be gone you Facebook plebs!!! Now I can follow a community entirely made up of fantastic, rich, powerful, sexy people who spend their time twittering snippets of interesting informed info!!! I’m part of their world at last!!!

Now I can follow journo/writer types who no doubt I will impress with my forthcoming tweets and further my burgeoning career. I can glean the nuggets of their minds without having to trawl through their tiresome blogs.

In this new fangled world where the constraints of page space does not apply it is quite refreshing. God did not bestow everyone with the talents of Salam, and there seem to be many writers on the internet that write like they talk: a lot and without much to say. So its nice to have the point without the reams of run off that usually accompanies it (seems a bit rich coming from the guy writing this eh?).

The site is also advantageous because you can find out who’s being listened to by the people in the know.

It’s not all good though according to some psychology experts quoted in an article in the timesonline. Apparently the whole thing comes from an infantile desire to continually prove we exist stemming from a lack of identity, and that actually all that twitters is not gold (especially when it concerns what the twitterer had for breakfast).

Twitter may not be as revolutionary as the telephone, and indeed may have been replaced by some other ludicrously named self-indulgent software medium in years to come, but it is pushing the boundaries of how we communicate.

The site has brought us closer to events as they happen – tweets escaped from those stuck in the carnage during the Mumbai attacks, they also emanate from court sessions and presidential debates.

It can help develop quasi-personal relationships in a quasi-professional context in the public domain. For those with an established voice it allows them to seem close by. It remains to be seen which newcomers can tweet loud (or interestingly) enough to draw the attention of the media flock.

All in all I grudgingly give my approval to the stupidly named site- I know its six million users will feel a lot better now.

Oh there I go again checking Facebook for the fourth time today. I feel vaguely guilty every time I do because I’m aware I’m feeding a rather pathetic addiction.

The social networking site has just celebrated its fifth year and I, like the 150 million others around the world, am hooked.

Am I incapable of real social interaction? Perhaps – but I find myself perturbed that I log on religiously just to find out that Laura is “is putting her feet up with a nice cup of tea”, or that Chris will “hopefully be awake enough t go out tomoz nite!”

There have been a number of well-documented worries about social networking sites over the past half decade. But am I concerned that someone is going to steal my identity and run up thousands of pounds worth of debt? In a word: no, and that’s not just because I don’t have any credit. Nor am I going to be unwittingly cyber-molested by a heavy breathing pervert using an alias (it would definitely have to be consensual). Nobody is going to encourage me to commit suicide (any more than usual) or develop an eating disorder.

What concerns me is that I’m developing Facebook OCD and it’s sad.

I spend a considerable amount of my time checking the banal details of my friends and acquaintances. My mum says it’s not on.

“You spend half your life staring at that Bookface thing. None of it’s real you know. Why don’t you try actually speaking to people.”

But even my mum, who professes a wish to return to the good old days of Queen Victoria, although she missed her by a good seventy years or so, has ventured (unwillingly) onto the net.

“Dear Ryan,” said one email regarding her first excursions onto the web, “NONE of this is easy . Now I am going to cut the grass . Love MUM.”

The fact is in a day and age when people regularly cross continents (at least the people I know), I like to check up on the comforting regularities of life on Facebook. It’s impossible to avoid our reliance on the electronic world: news, shopping, socializing, banking, sex. The Internet is an environment that increasingly mirrors our own.

So I’m going to put aside my mum’s criticisms, which in so many words amount to “get a life.” Yes I am a bit sad and yes some of my friends probably are too, but our sadness does not takeaway our choice of what to present on the net.

Excepting those too young to make decisions for themselves, we should have enough common sense to know what to put into the public domain and what to take from it.

And at least those that don’t can sometimes provide us with a good laugh or an interesting news story.