Our Summer host today was Maureen Taylor.

Satire

It's Tuesday, July 11th.

Next month, a conference for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police will give companies access to the most senior officers in the country. At a price. For 25 thousand dollars, 'platinum' sponsors can get bigger banners at the conference and VIP seating alongside Canada's top law enforcement officials.

Currently, I'm not expecting VIP treatment, but (rummaging through pockets change falls out) hmmm. I've got like 35 bucks on me. Think that'll be enough to get a chief to show me his gun?

This is The Current.

Police Chief Conference

Ah...the much-maligned business convention when corporations, customers and suppliers, get together under one-roof---usually an enormous hotel complex----one with all the intimacy of a hockey arena. In business, it's called "face time" or "bonding time". And millions, if not billions of dollars, are exchanged along with lots of hearty handshakes. The beds are often lumpy, the food is sometimes bad, and the drinks flow freely.

But in the world of business access to new customers comes at a cost. That's why critics say it's unseemly that the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police is following that traditional model for its convention in St. John's next month. The Association will be offering companies access to senior law enforcement officials for a sliding scale of fees. And private sector sponsors have been lining up, some paying as much as $25 000 to have access to police chiefs from across Canada.

Peter Cuthbert is the Executive Director of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police. He joined us in our Ottawa studio.

Sponsorship Critic

So far, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police have found three so-called "platinum level" sponsors: the Canadian Bankers Association, Aliant -- a communications company in the Maritimes, and Versaterm, an Ottawa company that sells software products to police forces across North America.

Other, lower level sponsors include Canada Post, Taser International, and the Insurance Bureau of Canada. We aired what Sue Langlois, a vice-president of Versaterm -- one of the platinum sponsors -- had to say about why her company forked over so much money for better access.

As we mentioned, for the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, these sponsorships present an opportunity to raise money and allow corporations to express their support. But for critics such as Paul Copeland, who's a lawyer and a member of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, it's a problematic partnership. Paul Copeland joined us in our studio this morning.

The Radio One: Making a Journalist Sing

New this summer, The Current begins its factual entertainment series: The Radio One. CBC Journalists all want to make news. But can they maintain their balanced reporting and carry a tune? When the music starts the news stops and the drama begins.

Follow their journey, right here, on The Current. It promises to be the must-hear event of the summer.

First contestant: World Report's Judy Maddren.

Listen to The Current: Part 1

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

The Current: Part 2

Crowd Sourcing

Never mind that the Canadian economy is still rolling along and unemployment is at a 30-year low, somebody might be eyeballing your job...maybe even by accident. Introducing crowdsourcing, where freelancers blithely outbid and outdo full-time professionals at their own jobs.

Here's how it works. Say you have some good ideas, talent and technical savvy, but are allergic to that soul-destroying nine-to-five grind. You can register with a crowdsourcing web site and troll around for a research and development project that gets your juices flowing.

And if you're on the other side of the desk, with a staff of high-paid engineers who seem stumped by the latest bug in your new product, you can seek out some online tinkerers. Maybe one of them has a solution to your problem for less money and zero benefits.

Jeff Howe coined the term crowdsourcing in a recent article in Wired Magazine. He's a contributing editor with Wired, and he joined us from our New York studio. His website is www.crowdsourcing.com.

You may have heard the term Microserfs which is used to describe Microsoft's own army of faceless software coders. Cambrian House is a Calgary software company that uses a different approach. The company has embraced crowdsourcing, where people outside the company carry out their software coding. Michael Sikorsky is the company's CEO, and he was in our Calgary studio.

Russell Kord is a professional stock photographer. He was in New York.

Last Word: Gammons

In the spring we were focused on hockey. The last four weeks were all about soccer. Now it's baseball's turn. It's the major league all-star game tonight, when the boys of summer from the National League and American League square off in Pittsburgh.

It's also a big week for famed baseball analyst, Peter Gammons, who's just released his first CD called Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old ... a rather bitterly ironic title, since Gammons is currently recovering from recent a brain aneurysm. The CD features cameos by many of his beloved Boston Red Sox---including all-star pitcher Jonathan Papelbon. We ended the show with a song called "She Fell From Heaven".

Music

Artist: Peter Gammons
Cut: CD 2, “She Fell From Heaven”
CD: “Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old”
Label: The Rounder Records Group

Listen to The Current: Part 2

(Due to various rights issues some segments may be edited for internet use)

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