(this one is for you Strombo) I have a problem. I don't believe that News or Entertainment is the domain of government. I believe in public health care, the Police, Firefighters, the Military, and a whole host of government services that facilitates a free and fair society.
I could be convinced that the CBC fits into this category. Chantal Hebert once said that the CBC provides national unity. She was quite animated when she said it (because she was probably talking to me), but I think she meant specifically that removing the cultural lifeline of the CBC from Quebec would be a disaster for everyone. I agree. Its too big to fail, even if it only produces mediocre results on the national unity objective in Quebec.
So we've established that the CBC is impossible to get rid of and its even sort of useful sometimes. Should it not be impartial then? As the effective Ministry of Culture, should they not be as impartial as the RCMP or Revenue Canada? I mean we pool our money to do all these useful things and then it gets funneled into party politics.
Don't believe me? But they are impartial? Don't wear out your rolling eyes because I have proof.
This night on The Hour, Strombo looked directly into the camera and said "We deserve better." He said so three times, like some kind of Liberal hypnotist. You can see him just aching for some kind of traction. The words are no mistake either. "We deserve better" is the bastard step child of "we can do better." The Liberal slogan that made everyone think: no you can't, you actually suck hard.
I remember on the night before an election the cast of Royal Canadian Air Farce got together and actually said to the camera "vote liberal". Aren't there frigging rules about that kind of thing? There should be! Who decides what show gets aired and when? Who picks the cast and to what end? This is where the sinking suspicions about the CBC bias come from. Say what you will about Mike Duffy, but CTV is still a private entity last time I heard. They can do and say what they want and they should not get a bail out if they mess it up. CBC gets a bailout no matter what happens. The Continual Bailout Corporation (CBC). Why can't you guys make some money or die like a real business huh? Can you at least do it fairly then? I don't see them pleading "vote conservative" on Dragons Den, or "vote green" on Dr. Fruit Fly's show (yet). And this is just what I've caught in passing and can remember right now. Imagine what else is out there.
Anyway. I've got some ideas on how to change the CBC for the better without losing the good things it does sometimes. More on that tomorrow.
(Note: The government disagrees with me of course. I have zero say in what goes on in either my party or my government. I'm just a loud mouth idiot with a talent to complain. So don't take it out on them please. Don't take it personal either. Its my country you're messing with.)
9 comments:
Amen brother! I'm one of the dozen Canadians that watches CBC Newsworld, and I wrote probably 20,000 words this year complaining about it. So long as they get my tax dollars, I feel like I as an opinionist have a moral obligation to pay attention. I've decided to put CBC "blogging expert" Kady O'Malley near the top of my shit list for 2010. Where Kady leads, Soloman and Barton follow. At least Don Newman pretended to be non-partisan.
They ended up with a pretty sick organization at the CBC. You had to be what a lot of Canadians would consider sick as hell to get a promotion and those that did have a bias as big as all outdoors. Because they all hang together, they don't get the feed back that they've got their heads up their collective asses and they continue with their BS reportage.
The only thing to do is to starve them out. Work tireless towards getting the budget to the CBC cut. Everytime I hear one of these news creators spouting their biased opinion as news and then cluttering it up with outtakes from areas not even involved in the story at issue. It's crazy making.
What to do with the CBC? Make it the only channel available on television. Eliminate competition, and the country will prosper.
But Local TV Matters.
Doesn't it?
Gimme my on demand universe now!
Put everybody on fee for carriage and let them sink or swim.
TV lost it's gatekeeper information monopoly a long time ago.
It's only living on inertia.
But the CRTC will not recognise that.
Maybe they do realise that they can't control my internet connection as much as they'd like. (Hello, CanCon!)
But this isn't effing China, either.
The CRTC should mandate the CBC to provide the local programming and leave the rest of the field clear.
Except for hockey.
I'm sure they make money on that one.
I think the issue actually is that journalism is not a profession. Anyone can be a "journalist", there are no licenses required, no minimum educational requirements, and no self-regulating professional body. The long term solution is to fix those problems, and the rest will cure itself.
CTV is a private broadcaster. However, It received a public licence.
As a lifelong CBC listener/watcher, I'm sorry to say that I doubt that the CBC can be salvaged. If I were the Minister responsible, I'd give them a flat ultimatum: either be scrupulously unbiased, or be fired. Instantly. I'd put them on permanent probation to show they can do their jobs competently and professionally, and if they can accomplish that, they can keep their jobs. Frankly, I doubt they can manage that.
Oh, to hell with it- will someone please just pull the plug on this taxpayer funded embarassment?
If Canada had a legitimate, small-c fiscal conservative Prime Minister and/or Heritage Minister, they would eradicate the complete far-left bias CBC TV and its equally pathetically hopeless radio network.
In an age of numerous Canadian television and radio networks, satellite networks, and of course the internet, there is no longer any requisite for a government-owned, and tax payers paid for, TV and/or radio network; especially one ran by left-wing affirmative action bimbos and watched/ listened to mostly by the far-left, but paid for my people who actually work for a living and pay taxes.
If Harper was a genuine small-c fiscal conservative he would immediately eradicate, change it to a private pay for view, or sell the complete far-left bias CBC and force the bimbos to get a real job.
---machiavelli
I agree with all of you. (except Marx) Thanks for the good comments. (including Marx) I'll be posting more on the CBC right now.
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