J-Links: Bell-Astral CRTC hearing primer; On saving Homicide Watch; Death of the article?

In Canadian media:

The biggest story in Canadian media today surrounds the CRTC hearings now underway on the proposed Bell-Astral deal. Get caught up with this short primer and follow the hearings on Twitter with the #crtc or #bellastral hashtag, or by following @CRTChearings or the reporters covering the hearings in Montreal such as Steve Ladurantaye or Steve Faguy.

What the CRTC hearings will discuss

This Canadian Press story on the beginning of the hearings can serve as a primer as to what the issues are that are being discussed at the CRTC hearings in Montreal. The biggest question to be answered: What percentage of the viewing market would Bell end up with if the deal is approved?

Bell would have too much power: competitors

This article in The Hamilton Spectator explains the perspective of the opponents to the proposed Bell-Astral deal. What it boils down to is essentially: Bell would have too much power, and the only losers would be the consumers.

Bell proposes Netflix-like service

The Globe and Mail’s Steve Ladurantaye reports from Montreal that if the proposed sale of Astral Media to BCE Inc. is approved, Bell will launch a Netflix-like service, offering content from HBO and The Movie Network. Bell made the announcement during the first morning of hearings.

In international media:

A hefty price to pay for innovation in journalism

The New York Times’ David Carr explains the latest on Homicide Watch, an innovative program launched to record, track and follow every homicide in Washington D.C. It’s been lauded as a journalism innovation success story, but the husband and wife duo who run Homicide Watch are now “with the tin cup out on Kickstarter looking for money to sustain the site.”

Today’s read:

Is the article still the atomic unit of journalistic storytelling?

Last week, we linked to a Columbia Journalism Review piece about geometry. This week, it’s about the atomic unit. This CJR piece focuses on the idea of the article – with its traditional components of lede, nutgraf, quotations by main players, broader context – in the age of web and whether or not we should be rethinking how we tell stories.