I’ve since grown to accept that, as imperfect as the Canadian television industry is, it will always exist in the form it currently exists in. The Big Three – Corus Entertainment, Bell Media, Rogers Media – largely rules the roost in 2016. It is up to them, the CBC, plus smaller players like APTN, DHX Media and Blue Ant Media to chart a course for the future. While Canadian television won’t go away, over-the-top options loom large over the horizon, and Gloryosky doesn’t want to see anyone with their pants down.
I have hundreds of DVD-Rs filled with off-air recordings of programs dating back to 2008. I infrequently look for videotapes in hopes of finding promos and other things relating to Canadian television. I recorded all of the busted pilots I reviewed on URBMN/Gloryosky. With all due respect, most television sites don’t do this. It’s taken me a long time to realize Gloryosky’s true niche isn’t in highlighting the current, but the forgotten. Even shows from ten years ago have dropped off the face of the Earth. Remember YTV’s The Boy (2004-05), for instance? The Internet is more porous than it earns credit for.
Gloryosky deviated into the field of comic book adaptations in 2014. I still keep in touch with contacts I made during my almost eight years of covering Canadian television, whether through URBMN/Gloryosky, TV, eh?, Canadian Screenwriter, Rated C and other places. If I didn’t love Canadian television in some way, I wouldn’t still write about it. The industry has been better to Gloryosky than the site deserves.
That typed, there will be changes to the site as it enters the 2016-17 season. First off, Gloryosky pledges to return to reviews of shows, rather than the live-blog/review hybrid of the past couple of years. There will be more focus on nostalgia, as that feature tests well on Gloryosky’s Twitter. Gloryosky will still live-Twitter post on a rolling basis, and only for a maximum of two to three shows a week. God help Gloryosky, the site might use YouTube again.
The Gloryosky of 2016 is not the URBMN of 2011. It’s time to find a balance that works for the site. The URBMN of 2011 tried to do everything, and ended up accomplishing little. What Gloryosky has that URBMN didn’t is experience. Gloryosky needs to be fun in the end. Whether that means the journalistic aspect of Gloryosky is blunted in the future, I don’t know. It’s a non-stop process.
In 2016, Gloryosky focuses on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for its social media. The other social media sites don’t work well for Gloryosky. The Tumblr had its moments, yet has devolved into a barker channel for the Instagram. Storify never took off for Gloryosky, and hasn’t been used since the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. Social media being what they are, the sites Gloryosky uses will change from year to year, yet social media has been the most fun and rewarding part of Gloryosky since 2014.
While Gloryosky needs to post new content in the future, Gloryosky hopes that it remains entertaining and/or informative, whether in written form or social media. Without going into personal/familial matters, I’ve had a rough few years. For the 2016-17 season, I just want to shoot the shit.
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