I, as well as many people, artists and non-artists alike, were shocked and disgusted by the recent "interview" with Margie Gillis on Sun News that attacked this Canadian dance icon for the public funding she's received over the course of her 39-year career. Now it's time to respond in concrete ways, so I've compiled and summarized various links and information, in the hopes that by putting it all in one place, people will recognize the gravity of the situation and the importance of taking action. (J'offre mes excuses aux amis francophones pour l'écrire seulement en anglais - si quelqu'un entre vous pourriez la traduire et la faire circuler, ça serait génial !)
I'm also including a link to the interview for those of you who haven't seen it. It's a youtube link, and I ask you to please link to this video instead of the original one, to try to avoid adding any more traffic to the Sun News site.
There have been many responses to this, including Margie Gillis' own plea to not respond with hate. In English, Hatred is Not the Answer, and in French, La haine n'apporte rien.
This reply by Louis Laberge-Côté uses numbers to counter Krista Erickson's position that funding of the arts is a waste of money and should be market-driven. It also includes a list of actions we can take.
And Margie Gillis has posted a call to write to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, in English and in French.
Now, because I know we're all busy people, and might not have the time to read through all of these, here are the key actions we need to take:
1. Send a complaint to the CRTC, asking them to remove Sun TV from basic cable programming. The complaints need to be made IN WRITING (like an actual letter, people)! In your letter, be sure to write out the URL for the broadcast (http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/971454253001), so that they can reference the broadcast even after their four-week deadline for complaints. Scroll down about half-way in this link to find the instructions specific to filing a complaint with the CRTC.
2. Write to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council using this online complaint form. The information you need to include is:
* Television or Radio Station: Sun News
* Name of the program or on-air person: Canada Live with Krista Erickson
* Date of program: June 1, 2011
* Time of program: 4:15PM
* In detailing your concerns, be sure to mention Sun News' clear violation of Clause 5 of the CAB Code of Ethics - thanks to David Mongar for pointing this out!
3. Sign the twitition (petition through twitter) to ask the CRTC to remove Sun TV from basic cable programming.
4. And finally, show your support to Margie Gillis, by "liking" her page. You'll stay up to date with other ways to respond (she always posts in French and English), as well as, of course, what this beautiful artist is up to.
So those are the main ones, but I really encourage you to read Louis Laberge-Côté's note for all 10 of his suggestions.
Thank you, Margie, for being such an inspiration both on and off the stage!
I'm also including a link to the interview for those of you who haven't seen it. It's a youtube link, and I ask you to please link to this video instead of the original one, to try to avoid adding any more traffic to the Sun News site.
There have been many responses to this, including Margie Gillis' own plea to not respond with hate. In English, Hatred is Not the Answer, and in French, La haine n'apporte rien.
This reply by Louis Laberge-Côté uses numbers to counter Krista Erickson's position that funding of the arts is a waste of money and should be market-driven. It also includes a list of actions we can take.
And Margie Gillis has posted a call to write to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, in English and in French.
Now, because I know we're all busy people, and might not have the time to read through all of these, here are the key actions we need to take:
1. Send a complaint to the CRTC, asking them to remove Sun TV from basic cable programming. The complaints need to be made IN WRITING (like an actual letter, people)! In your letter, be sure to write out the URL for the broadcast (http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/971454253001), so that they can reference the broadcast even after their four-week deadline for complaints. Scroll down about half-way in this link to find the instructions specific to filing a complaint with the CRTC.
2. Write to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council using this online complaint form. The information you need to include is:
* Television or Radio Station: Sun News
* Name of the program or on-air person: Canada Live with Krista Erickson
* Date of program: June 1, 2011
* Time of program: 4:15PM
* In detailing your concerns, be sure to mention Sun News' clear violation of Clause 5 of the CAB Code of Ethics - thanks to David Mongar for pointing this out!
3. Sign the twitition (petition through twitter) to ask the CRTC to remove Sun TV from basic cable programming.
4. And finally, show your support to Margie Gillis, by "liking" her page. You'll stay up to date with other ways to respond (she always posts in French and English), as well as, of course, what this beautiful artist is up to.
So those are the main ones, but I really encourage you to read Louis Laberge-Côté's note for all 10 of his suggestions.
Thank you, Margie, for being such an inspiration both on and off the stage!