The Canadian talk-show superstar's programme tackles the issues head on – as exemplified by his look at how Mexico's drug cartels are exploiting social media
Q with Jian Ghomeshi
A bleak week for CBC, the home of public service broadcasting in Canada, where 650 jobs are being cut over the next three years to make up for a $115m (£66m) funding black hole. "It's been a very difficult day," tweeted Jian Ghomeshi, the nation's radio superstar, on Tuesday, before dutifully promising: "We will never give up on a commitment to the best programming possible." The day before, his show Q – one of the most popular on CBC – had aired a segment on Mexican drug cartels and their prolific use of social media. Later in the week, he took in Steely Dan, abortion, the rise of the street drug krokodil, the oil industry, and alt-rock Brooklynites the National. It's an appealing brief; part pop culture, part news-mag journalism, with an authoritative, affable host.
But back to Instagramming drug lords. While his guest, Mexican cartel expert Antoine Nouvet, took an incredible story and bogged it down with jargon, Ghomeshi cut straight to the point: why are hardened, violent criminals posting incriminating selfies online? Can blingy photos of cartel members posing with Lamborghinis, AK-47s, wads of cash and pet tigers (yes, truly) really resonate with ordinary Mexican people? Are they even supposed to?
Nouvet, who is working on a book on the subject, talked a lot about representation, engagement and strategy. Which is, perhaps, the most tedious way to explain that cartel members can be as narcissistic as your average teenager with a Facebook account, and are using social media as another way to spread fear and intimidation and commit more crime. There is, apparently, no shortage of images online uploaded by the cartels showing slain bodies, tortured and decapitated. This, alongside the "positive" PR: a glossy video of one cartel distributing aid after Hurricane Ingrid; a rousing speech by the leader of another that went viral and scored 60 times more views than an inaugural address from the Mexican president.
And as for the sophisticated stuff – hacking, cyber crime and the set-up of a telecoms network just for cartel use – the cartels' techniques are frighteningly simple. They kidnap engineers to get the work done – 36 of them in the last year. Reported by guardian.co.uk 22 hours ago.
Q with Jian Ghomeshi
A bleak week for CBC, the home of public service broadcasting in Canada, where 650 jobs are being cut over the next three years to make up for a $115m (£66m) funding black hole. "It's been a very difficult day," tweeted Jian Ghomeshi, the nation's radio superstar, on Tuesday, before dutifully promising: "We will never give up on a commitment to the best programming possible." The day before, his show Q – one of the most popular on CBC – had aired a segment on Mexican drug cartels and their prolific use of social media. Later in the week, he took in Steely Dan, abortion, the rise of the street drug krokodil, the oil industry, and alt-rock Brooklynites the National. It's an appealing brief; part pop culture, part news-mag journalism, with an authoritative, affable host.
But back to Instagramming drug lords. While his guest, Mexican cartel expert Antoine Nouvet, took an incredible story and bogged it down with jargon, Ghomeshi cut straight to the point: why are hardened, violent criminals posting incriminating selfies online? Can blingy photos of cartel members posing with Lamborghinis, AK-47s, wads of cash and pet tigers (yes, truly) really resonate with ordinary Mexican people? Are they even supposed to?
Nouvet, who is working on a book on the subject, talked a lot about representation, engagement and strategy. Which is, perhaps, the most tedious way to explain that cartel members can be as narcissistic as your average teenager with a Facebook account, and are using social media as another way to spread fear and intimidation and commit more crime. There is, apparently, no shortage of images online uploaded by the cartels showing slain bodies, tortured and decapitated. This, alongside the "positive" PR: a glossy video of one cartel distributing aid after Hurricane Ingrid; a rousing speech by the leader of another that went viral and scored 60 times more views than an inaugural address from the Mexican president.
And as for the sophisticated stuff – hacking, cyber crime and the set-up of a telecoms network just for cartel use – the cartels' techniques are frighteningly simple. They kidnap engineers to get the work done – 36 of them in the last year. Reported by guardian.co.uk 22 hours ago.