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ATKINSON FELLOW TO STUDY CANADIAN MEDIA IN GLOBAL AGE (JULY 13)
Atkinson Fellow to study Canadian media in global age Kate Taylor, an arts columnist at the Globe and Mail and award-winning novelist, has won the 2009 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy for her project entititled: Maple Leaf Rag: Canadian Cultural Sovereignty in the Digital Age, she will study how a national culture can survive the forces of digitization and globalization.
The daughter of a Canadian diplomat, she was born in France and raised in Ottawa and Europe. She studied history and art history at the University of Toronto, and completed a Masters in journalism at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. She worked at the London Free Press and Hamilton Spectator before joining the copy desk at the Globe and Mail in 1989. She became an arts reporter at that paper in 1991 and served as the Globe’s authoritative and provocative theatre critic from 1995-2003, winning two Nathan Cohen Awards and a nomination for a National Newspaper Award with her reviews. Since 2003, she has worked as a columnist, critic and feature writer in the Globe’s arts section, with a special interest in the programming and policies of both television and museums. Kate Taylor is also an award-winning novelist. Her 2003 novel Mme Proust and the Kosher Kitchen won the Commonwealth Prize for Best First Novel - Canada/Caribbean region; the Toronto Book Award and the Canadian Jewish Book Award. Her second novel, A Man in Uniform, is a detective story set in late 19th-century France and will be published by Doubleday Canada in 2010. As part of the terms of the Fellowship, Taylor will receive a stipend of $75,000 plus an expense budget of up to $25,000. The Atkinson Fellowship is an annual competition open to all full-time Canadian journalists in print or broadcast media. Preference is given to those applicants who have already achieved some distinction in reporting on policy issues. The Fellowship is sponsored by the Atkinson Charitable Foundation, the Toronto Star, and the Honderich Family. 1. To be considered, all that is required is a THREE PAGE maximum LETTER of INTENT, along with your curriculum vitae, that summarizes your topic, its importance, brief outline of proposed articles, and treatment/approach to be received by Monday, January 11, 2010. 2. The Fellowship Committee will choose three to five Finalists who will be invited to submit a full application and proposal for consideration for the 2010 Fellowship award. Each finalist will receive an honorarium for submitting a proposal. Send 4 copies of your Letter of Intent and CV to: Elizabeth Chan Coordinator, Atkinson Fellowship Committee The Atkinson Charitable Foundation 1 Yonge Street, Suite 1508 Toronto, ON M5E 1E5 416 869 4034 telephone 416 865 3619 fax
Arts columnist Kate Taylor will delve into thorny Canadian cultural issues at a pivotal moment as the recipient of the 2009 Atkinson Fellowship in Public Policy. Taylor's project, "Maple Leaf Rag: Canadian Cultural Sovereignty in the Digital Age," was announced at the Canadian Journalism Foundation's 12th annual awards gala last night at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel in Toronto. She will examine the role of public policy in film, television and new media at a time when broadcaster CTV is selling local TV stations for $1, and the federal broadcast regulator has decided not to subsidize Canadian content on the Internet. Taylor is an arts columnist at The Globe and Mail and an award-winning novelist. The fellowship allows a senior journalist to study a public policy issue for one year. John Honderich, chair of the Torstar Corp. board and former Star publisher, said this is the first time cultural sovereignty will be studied under the Atkinson Fellowship, and it is the perfect time to do so. "It's in the news, it's on people's minds and (it is) more germane than ever." He called Taylor "one of Canada's foremost and most distinguished culture commentators and critics." Taylor said she has always found Canadian television "odd," with its plethora of American content and few Canadian shows. "One thing I want to look at is whether we're using the right regulatory tools, whether we're using the right kind of subsidy," she said. "And if you look back at the success of the music industry, on a really simple level, why can't we replicate the success in film and television?" Taylor will also study the duelling philosophies that plague the CBC – highbrow or populist? – and Google's recent settlement with American authors and publishers to determine whether Canadian researchers would get access to the digital library the Internet giant will create. Canadian culture and its role in fostering a creative workforce is another area of interest. "Just like your sports team winning can give you a pride of place, I think seeing yourself reflected back in your own popular culture ... is not just socially important but economically important." As part of her research, Taylor hopes to visit Ireland, where homegrown television shows are popular, and France, where ads are being removed from the public broadcasting system.
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