google – mackaycartoons

Wednesday December 6, 2023

December 6, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 6, 2023

Balancing Austerity in Tough Economic Times: CBC’s Cuts and the Future of Canadian Media

December 1, 2023

In the face of economic challenges and calls for austerity, CBC executives recently announced significant workforce reductions and production cutbacks to address a budget shortfall of $125 million in the upcoming fiscal year. While these measures are a reflection of tough economic realities, it is crucial to consider the broader impact on the media landscape, especially on private news media, particularly newspapers grappling with declining ad revenues and bankruptcy.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, in an interview on Rosemary Barton Live, acknowledged the need for the CBC to receive fair compensation for its news content in the digital era. She emphasized the importance of recognizing the value of public broadcaster news for tech giants like Google, which benefit from advertising revenue. However, St-Onge also hinted at a potential cap on CBC’s share of the $100 million fund, expressing concerns about fair distribution.

News: Heritage minister hints at adjusting funds CBC could get under Google deal

April 9, 2012

Critics argue that the recent deal between the government and Google, aimed at compensating Canadian media companies, may disproportionately benefit the CBC. The $100 million figure falls short of initial expectations, leading to skepticism and concerns about public broadcasters competing with the private sector for both ad dollars and tech funds.

In response to the proposed austerity measures, CBC/Radio-Canada announced a 10% reduction in its workforce, amounting to 800 job cuts. This decision comes amid a challenging year for Canadian media companies grappling with shrinking advertising revenues, leading to hundreds of layoffs across the industry.

CBC’s President and CEO, Catherine Tait, outlined the reasons behind the budget cuts, citing higher production costs, competition from big tech companies, and declining revenues from traditional television. The impact extends beyond job losses, with a $40 million reduction in independent production commissions and program acquisitions, affecting both English and French programming budgets.

News: CBC to lay off hundreds, cut production costs as it faces financial strain

November 30, 2016

The government’s stance on CBC’s funding remains a subject of debate, with Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre pledging to cut the budget for CBC’s English services while retaining coverage for linguistic minorities. This raises questions about the Broadcast Act’s stipulations, requiring the CBC to provide programming in both official languages.

As discussions unfold about the CBC’s role and funding, it is crucial to strike a balance that ensures the public broadcaster’s sustainability without further jeopardizing the struggling private news media sector. A transparent and equitable distribution of funds from the recent Google deal will be key to fostering a media landscape that serves the diverse needs of Canadians. (AI)

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro. If you’re creative, give illustration a try:

Friday December 1, 2023

December 1, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday December 1, 2023

A Step Forward, Poilievre’s Stance a Step Back

December 6, 2022

In a recent breakthrough, Google and the federal government have forged an agreement over the Online News Act, marking a significant stride towards fair compensation for Canadian news outlets. The deal ensures that Google will continue sharing Canadian news online, accompanied by annual payments totaling around $100 million to support the news industry.

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, instrumental in the negotiations, expressed confidence in addressing Google’s concerns, emphasizing the importance of finding common ground. The regulatory framework, incorporated into the C-18 legislative framework, is poised to be unveiled by mid-December, showcasing a commitment to transparency and accountability.

News: Ottawa agrees to $100-million deal with Google to keep news on platform

August 4, 2023

The agreement, a product of extensive talks, not only secures financial support for news organizations but also addresses Google’s reservations about the Online News Act’s structural aspects. Kent Walker, Google’s president of global affairs, expressed gratitude for the government’s responsiveness to their concerns, acknowledging the commitment to address core issues.

However, amid this positive development, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre remains a notable critic. Poilievre has consistently opposed the idea of globalist tech firms compensating Canadians for the content they use to generate profits. His stance, epitomized by a proposed “Online News Don’t Act,” raises concerns about the fair treatment of local journalists.

April 15, 2023

While Google embraces negotiations and financial contributions, Poilievre’s reluctance to support the Online News Act suggests a different vision. The contrast between Google’s willingness to engage in fair compensation and Poilievre’s non-act approach underscores the potential implications for the Canadian news landscape.

The government’s success in reaching an agreement with Google sets a precedent for other countries, showcasing the effectiveness of legislation like Bill C-18. This achievement stands in stark contrast to Poilievre’s skepticism and reluctance to acknowledge the positive impact of regulatory frameworks.

News: Conservatives ran on similar media policy as Liberals, but now claim it’s censorship

March 2, 2023

As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hails the agreement as “very good news” and emphasizes the support for local journalism, Poilievre’s dissenting voice seems out of touch with the demonstrated commitment to a thriving news ecosystem. It is crucial to recognize the importance of fair compensation for journalists and the potential positive influence of legislation like the Online News Act.

The deal with Google represents a positive leap forward for Canadian media, demonstrating the effectiveness of legislative frameworks. While celebrating this achievement, it is essential to scrutinize and question opposition voices like Pierre Poilievre, who appear resistant to measures aimed at securing fair compensation for the backbone of our information ecosystem – our journalists. (AI)

Thursday March 2, 2023

March 2, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday March 2, 2023

Google is stealing from Canadian newspapers and advertisers

June 26, 2019

For 15 years, we’ve all been hearing a fake story about why newspapers around the world are dying. It goes like this — the internet killed the news, with old, slothful media companies being unwilling to adapt to new technology. The closer you look, the less sense this story makes. There are plenty of new media companies, everyone from the Huffington Post to BuzzFeed, digitally native firms with deep pockets and clever managers, who can generate huge amounts of web traffic, but aren’t able to sell the advertising to monetize it. And there is still advertising, lots of it. It’s just that the money for those ads isn’t going to the newspapers on whose sites they sit.

The real story of why newspapers are suffering can be found in an action in January by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, when the U.S. Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, along with eight U.S. states, filed a suit to break up Google’s advertising business. According to American enforcers, the search giant has unlawfully engaged in “monopolizing multiple digital advertising technology products,” basically the software plumbing underneath most online advertising, and thus, the revenue that newspapers rely on. Google inflated its profits, redirecting advertising revenues from newspapers to itself.

June 12, 2019

It’s a complex story, but at the heart of it is what looks like theft. Most of us think of Google as a search engine, and it is. But Google has many other lines of business. This particular suit involves display ads on the open web, which are what you find on the Wall Street Journal or ESPN. These ads are bought and sold in an unusual manner. If a user goes to the site of a newspaper, unbeknownst to the consumer, a highly complex financial market kicks into gear. Newspapers no longer sell most of their advertising directly but have become integrated into a giant set of global auctions. In these auctions, advertisers bid for the right to place their ad not into a specific newspaper, but in front of a specific user. Money then changes hands, from the buyer of the ad to the publisher, with a set of middlemen each taking a cut. This happens in a split second, billions of times a day. At this point, online advertising is far bigger than the stock market in terms of the number of transactions.

Well, guess who runs the software to manage this financial market? Google. And guess who takes the lion’s share of the revenue? Google.

March 21, 2018

There’s a decade-plus-long backstory to this scheme. In the mid-2000s, Google transitioned from its role as a search engine into the main intermediary of all online advertising. In 2005, Google had a lot of advertisers that were buying its search ads. It also started to let smaller websites put strips of ads up and gave them a share of the revenue. Ad industry insiders at the time realized that advertising was transitioning from a Mad Men-style set of local, regional and national markets to an automated set of marketplaces.

Google’s strategy wasn’t to remain a search engine, but to expand and control all online advertising. But the firm had a problem. It couldn’t break into the market for the space on big established publisher sites, because that market was already controlled by another near-monopolist, DoubleClick. DoubleClick had 60 per cent market share in the software used by publishers to manage how they sell ads on their site, or what’s known as an ad server. So, Google’s then-CEO, Eric Schmidt, did what every good monopolist does when in a lax policy regime: he bought his rival — DoubleClick — in 2007. (Continued: The National Post)

Map Maniac

September 30, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

When I was a kid, long before I knew the names of any Prime Minister of Canada, or any President of the United States, I drew maps. I loved them then, and I still love them to this day. I’d grab the latest map inserted in the family’s National Geographic and try to squish the name of every town and lake into every traced replica. I’d draw stars in for the capital cities and adjust the font size of my hand writing to match the apparent size of each village or city. For the longest time I thought each map was my training towards becoming a professional cartographer.

And then, I was told I had to stop failing Math.

Swag for sale!

Fast forward a few decades and into my 12th year as a hired editorial cartoonist I finally got to live my childhood fantasy of getting paid to be a cartographer. From November 2009 to May of 2011 I was assigned on a free lance basis to draw maps for a series of features regarding the communities and areas which make up Toronto. Every Thursday, the Toronto edition of Metro would include this in their newspaper available for free throughout the city and aimed at the commuting readers.

Some of the areas were familiar to me as I had spent a few years in the 1990’s living as resident of the College Street Little Italy area. Other areas were and continue to be a mystery place for me. Thanks to Google Street view, I was able to visit each area from the comforts of my own home office here in Hamilton without ever having to see for myself the progress of particular condo developments I was assigned to pinpoint. Because the Google Street view mobiles had only just made their trek through Toronto a few months prior, I was able to identify the condos which were in the process of being built by the huge signs that go months in advance of big construction projects.

The series ran its course in 2011 after covering many different areas of Toronto. Douglas Dunlop, the editor in charge of the series Spaces and Places has put together a nice website which chronicles all the issues we put out.

Today, I’ll be stepping out of my regular gig as editorial cartoonist to draw a similar kind of map for the Hamilton Spectator. This time I get to showcase some of the development boom happening in my own city’s downtown. Look for it to to be featured in the next few days to come.

Downtown Development Map 2013

Key to the map:

1) Mustard Seed Co-op, 460 York Blvd.
2) Metrolinx GO Station
3) Witton Lofts, 50 Murray St.
4) BMO plaza, 275 James St. N. (between Colborne and Barton Streets)
5) Acclamation Lofts, 185 James St. N. (proposed)
6) The Seedworks Urban Offices, 126 Catherine St. N.
7) Costa’s Wine Country, 162 Ferguson Ave. N.
8) Tan Thanh Asian grocery store, Park and Cannon Streets
9) Offices, 123 James St. N.
10) Tivoli Theatre condos, James St. N. (at Vine St.)
11) Empire Times condos, 41 King William St. (at Hughson)
12) Jackson Square, 100 King St. W.
13) King Street West Apartments, 275 King St. W. (at Hess)
14) ORA restaurant, 18 Hess St. S.
15) Bella Towers (150 Main Street West) and Homewood Suites at 40 Bay Street South (Vrancor)
16) Main West Apartment building, 137-149 Main St. W. (proposed)
17) McMaster Health Campus/Family Health Centre, Main and Bay Streets.
18) Gore Park Heritage buildings, 18-28 King St, E. (proposed)
19) Treble Hall Restoration, 21 John St. N.
20) City live/work space, 95 King St. E.
21) Royal Connaught, King St. E. (proposed)
22) Royal Court Offices, 19-21 John St. S. (proposed)
23) Hamilton Grand, 64 Main St. E. (at John Street) (proposed)
24) Townhouses, 152-154 Catherine Street South (near Young Street project)
25) City Square, 85 Robinson St. (also borders Charlton Ave.)

October 2, 2006

October 2, 2006 by Graeme MacKay

	Delegates	Googled with the word ‘egghead’	Googled with the word ‘question-able’	Googled with the word ‘baggage’	Googled with the word ‘boring’	Googled with the word ‘Trudeau’	Googled with the word ‘muffin’
Michael Ignatieff	1,252	2,070	20,300	20,000	19,800	49,200	1,540
Bob Rae	832	1,690	16,000	15,700	12,300	50,600	266
Gerard Kennedy	706	199	641	747	710	17,000	117
Stephane Dion	698	179	850	630	546	48,800	141
Ken Dryden	194	204	873	9,100	9,860	34,900	389
Joe Volpe	193	104	61,700	10,600	796	21,800	543
Scott Brison	163	166	10,600	868	806	33,800	107
M. Hall Findlay	41	33	241	1,100	730	836	22

Above is a tally of delegate votes for each candidate vying for the Liberal leadership alongside a comparison of candidate names googled with various words. The numbers show Ignatieff leads alongside the googled word ‘egghead’, ‘baggage’, ‘boring’, and ‘muffin’. Bob Rae wins next to ‘Trudeau’, and Joe Volpe comes on top next to the googled word ‘questionable’. More googled comparisons will follow in the weeks to come.