Update: Read various theories on who’s behind Canadian Economic Press (CEP News) and why they’re funding it.
Two new players in the online business news market
I first heard of Canadian Economic Press or CEP News when one of my former journalism students mentioned he was applying for a job there. Curious, I checked out its site, which mentions bureaus in Montreal, Ottawa, Washington, London, Frankfurt and Australia, and describes CEP as “one of Canada’s most established sources for global economic and financial news.” It goes on to say:
Our online services, daily reports and real-time newsfeed are where the global investment community turns to for unbiased and timely reporting of breaking and developing economic news and information…Our experienced correspondents deliver breaking macroeconomic news and thorough reporting on events affecting the global fixed income and foreign exchange markets around the world.
It all strikes me as very curious given that this kind of business news is a market with high barriers to entry, thanks to well-established international players like Dow Jones, Bloomberg and my former employer, Reuters.
What’s more, googling and a quick scan of some subscription magazine and newspaper databases left me none the wiser as to what kind of niche this Montreal-based organization could have carved out for itself. And the sales director who told me she was the spokesperson and promised to call me back with the requested information never did. Oh well, maybe this post will bring some information my way other than the fact that CEP’s apparently been around since 2005.
Meanwhile down the 401 in Toronto, Brookshire Media, a subsidiary of Toronto-basedBrookshire Raw Materials, Brookshire and Company Ltd., which also owns Brookshire Raw Materials, has also entered the internet business news market, having recently stealth launched DEX.tv.
A spokesman for Brookshire said it didn’t want to provide any more information than what’s already out there before the official launch in April, but promised an interview then. In the mean time, check out the DEX.tv site, which sounds a bit like Fox Business with its “Main Street” approach:
DEXtv prides itself on bringing market reports that are not found on your run-of-the-mill financial news channel. With daily exclusive interviews combined with reports on everything from global to under-the-radar markets, it is no wonder our viewers keep coming back.
There is more to business news than what happens on the eight blocks of Wall Street. Every region, every exchange, every index; we have the in-depth reports you need.
As far as I can make out Brookshire, which is in the business of commodity-related investment products,” has no media background. Stay tuned.
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Update: More on Canadian Economic Press and yet more
Update: Brookshire never provided the interview despite a second request, but here’s some more info.
AnnBrocklehurst.com 
Word on the street Brookshire Media has closed it’s doors after 10 months, the employees were not paid for 2 months.John Marshall of the managing company Gonzeco Inc and Brookshire Raw Materials has quit.Parent company Brookshire Raw Materials has also closed it’s doors.There were close to 100 employees that were shut out without being paid for over 6 weeks.
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Hi. My name is Kosuke Takahashi, a journalist in Tokyo. I am afraid I also became a victim of their irresponsible management…Late September, I got invited to appear in their TV show by its producer, Anna-lise Ford, who at that time said it would be a full television channel in January 2009. And I’ve actually appeared on DEX. tv 10 times in total since mid-October through their telephone interviews with me. I was supposed to be paid at $150.00 U.S. per hit, but so far I have got no payment from them. Recently they never responded to my inquiries about the company’s status quo and their payment for me. They gave me no explanations on what’s going on around DEX.tv and Brookshiremedia.I plan to write stories in both English and Japanese about DEX.tv and Brookshiremedia for Asia Times or Asia Sentinel and Japanese media.So, if you have any infomation and, even rumors, on DEX.tv and Brookshiremedia, please drop me a line. My email address is letters@kosuke.netThanks and regards,Kosuke
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