The CBC’s implosion.
To say that this has not been a vintage year for CBC understates the hot mess in which the state-supported broadcaster finds itself. For veterans of CBC who’ve witnessed the numerous purges and fiascos of the past (I toiled there from 1984- 98), 2014 has touched new levels of lunacy.
The spectacular immolation of Jian Ghomeshi—the Corporation’s hip prophet of an urban, progressive future— was the most public symbol of CBC’s self-waterboarding. Ghomeshi’s arrest for his bondage/S&M dating regime was followed by volleys of small-arms criticism between feuding branches of the news and current affairs floors of the Corp’s Toronto headquarters.
Even CBC chair Hubert Lacroix joined the walk of shame when it was revealed that he’d had to return almost $30,000 in living and dining expenses that he’d improperly double billed to the CBC.
Read the full story.
cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
Calls for CBC President Hubert Lacroix to resign
Since CBC President Hubert Lacroix announced plans to "ensure the sustainability" of the public broadcaster by radically reducing staff and shifting its focus from television and radio to various forms of Internet delivery over the next five years, there has been a rising chorus of voices calling on him to resign.
"Focused, smaller, more mobile, more relevant," is how Lacroix describes the new CBC he envisions. He calls it a "public media company [that] focuses on partnering to develop content" as opposed to a conventional public broadcaster. And he says that, in the face of dwindling subsidies from the federal government and now a steep decline in revenue from advertisers, who are moving en masse to the Internet, he has no choice but to continue the progressive dismembering of the corporation.
There are many who see this strategy of continuing to cut expenditures and sell off capital assets to match declining revenues -- survival at any cost -- as antithetical to the continuing existence of what is arguably the nation's most important cultural institution. Hence the calls for Lacroix's resignation, on grounds that he has effectively become a participant in the destruction of the CBC.
Read the full story.
"Focused, smaller, more mobile, more relevant," is how Lacroix describes the new CBC he envisions. He calls it a "public media company [that] focuses on partnering to develop content" as opposed to a conventional public broadcaster. And he says that, in the face of dwindling subsidies from the federal government and now a steep decline in revenue from advertisers, who are moving en masse to the Internet, he has no choice but to continue the progressive dismembering of the corporation.
There are many who see this strategy of continuing to cut expenditures and sell off capital assets to match declining revenues -- survival at any cost -- as antithetical to the continuing existence of what is arguably the nation's most important cultural institution. Hence the calls for Lacroix's resignation, on grounds that he has effectively become a participant in the destruction of the CBC.
Read the full story.
CBC refusing to release details
Last night we told you about the cozy, economically beneficial relationship between CBC and much of the consensus media.
They don’t report critically on this $1.1 billion government department because being nice to the state broadcaster is good for business.
We’ve also told you about CBC refusing to release details on how they spend that $1.1 billion that they get from you and I.
Read the full story.
They don’t report critically on this $1.1 billion government department because being nice to the state broadcaster is good for business.
We’ve also told you about CBC refusing to release details on how they spend that $1.1 billion that they get from you and I.
Read the full story.
Is CBC Senior Business Correspondent in conflict of interest
Amanda Lang took money from Manulife & Sun Life, gave them favourable CBC coverage.
To recap: Lang (a contender for Peter Mansbridge's chair as anchor of The National) is CBC News' Senior Business Correspondent, the top business reporter in the organization. She hosts the CBC's flagship business affairs show, which regularly covers the insurance industry. And Manulife is a giant insurance company.
Yet Lang took their money twice, moonlighting at their corporate events. Then she had their CEO on her show. And then she praised, to him, the specific department of his company that had hired her.
So, how could the CBC possibly explain this as anything but a blatant violation of their own policy?
Chuck Thompson, CBC's Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang's work for Manulife was "grandfathered" in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
Read the full story.
To recap: Lang (a contender for Peter Mansbridge's chair as anchor of The National) is CBC News' Senior Business Correspondent, the top business reporter in the organization. She hosts the CBC's flagship business affairs show, which regularly covers the insurance industry. And Manulife is a giant insurance company.
Yet Lang took their money twice, moonlighting at their corporate events. Then she had their CEO on her show. And then she praised, to him, the specific department of his company that had hired her.
So, how could the CBC possibly explain this as anything but a blatant violation of their own policy?
Chuck Thompson, CBC's Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang's work for Manulife was "grandfathered" in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix heckled
Though there were hecklers and tough questions for president and CEO Hubert Lacroix — one member of the crowd even handed him a pre-written resignation letter and asked him to sign it — the event did not degenerate into complete chaos.
Yes, almost 400 employees got pink slips this week, part of a wave of cuts announced in June. But “no matter what people might think, I find these announcements difficult,” Lacroix said.
Whether that’s true or not, Lacroix’s prepared speech – a dispassionate presentation, some at the meeting thought – about changing technology, failed to persuade the audience.
Lacroix’s lack of overt anger about this situation prompted one member of the audience to ask why the CEO hasn’t gone on a tirade to get the federal government to act.
Read the full story.
Yes, almost 400 employees got pink slips this week, part of a wave of cuts announced in June. But “no matter what people might think, I find these announcements difficult,” Lacroix said.
Whether that’s true or not, Lacroix’s prepared speech – a dispassionate presentation, some at the meeting thought – about changing technology, failed to persuade the audience.
Lacroix’s lack of overt anger about this situation prompted one member of the audience to ask why the CEO hasn’t gone on a tirade to get the federal government to act.
Read the full story.
CBC Executives hid human rights abuses
7 CBC Executives Who Sheltered Jian Ghomeshi
At least 7 CBC Executives hid the human rights abuse of Jian Ghomeshi – Heather Conway, Chuck Thompson, Timothy Neesham, Arif Noorani, Hubert Lacroix, Linda Groen and Todd Spencer.
This article is a detailed account of how CBC management ignored reports of Jian Ghomeshi’s human rights abuse and sexual assault of women. The facts are clear.
Beyond the CBC’s walls, the scandal, and the Crown corporation’s handling of it, has laid bare a complex ecosystem: a labyrinthine bureaucracy that seemed to permit all manner of wrongdoing.
President Hubert Lacroix has been largely absent as the biggest scandal in years has engulfed his organization.
Read the full story.
At least 7 CBC Executives hid the human rights abuse of Jian Ghomeshi – Heather Conway, Chuck Thompson, Timothy Neesham, Arif Noorani, Hubert Lacroix, Linda Groen and Todd Spencer.
This article is a detailed account of how CBC management ignored reports of Jian Ghomeshi’s human rights abuse and sexual assault of women. The facts are clear.
Beyond the CBC’s walls, the scandal, and the Crown corporation’s handling of it, has laid bare a complex ecosystem: a labyrinthine bureaucracy that seemed to permit all manner of wrongdoing.
President Hubert Lacroix has been largely absent as the biggest scandal in years has engulfed his organization.
Read the full story.
CBC cutting newscasts
The CBC is shortening all of its regional supper-hour newscasts beginning in the fall of 2015, the public broadcaster announced today.
The news comes after CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said in June that the broadcaster would be shifting its priorities from television and radio to digital and mobile services. He also said the 2020 strategy would shorten supper-hour news broadcasts, but did not provide full specifics.
Most of the existing supper-hour newscasts run 90 minutes. But on Thursday, the CBC said in a statement that some newscasts would be reduced to one hour, and others to 30 minutes.
Read the whole story.
The news comes after CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said in June that the broadcaster would be shifting its priorities from television and radio to digital and mobile services. He also said the 2020 strategy would shorten supper-hour news broadcasts, but did not provide full specifics.
Most of the existing supper-hour newscasts run 90 minutes. But on Thursday, the CBC said in a statement that some newscasts would be reduced to one hour, and others to 30 minutes.
Read the whole story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix unable to answer questions
The president of the CBC will have one more turn testifying in front of a Senate committee early next year, and in a rare move, he’s been provided the questions for his final grilling.
Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.
A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance. Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the future outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.
“You would think the chairman of the board would have been privy to that information,” said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos.
Read the full story.
Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.
A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance. Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the future outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.
“You would think the chairman of the board would have been privy to that information,” said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos.
Read the full story.
Toxic environment at CBC
Busted: The toxic CBC environment that abetted Jian Ghomeshi
In the past month, public airings of internal CBC dysfunction have become a national spectacle—from current and former Q staffers revealing details of Ghomeshi’s reign that included allegations of abusive behaviour and sexual harassment, to leaked memos that banned (and then unbanned) former CBC-TV host Linden MacIntyre from the airwaves.
On paper, the CBC appears a model of employer enlightenment and best practices. Posters offer help-line numbers to call if people feel stressed.
Such entrenched protocols allowed Lacroix to boast to a parliamentary committee last year of the CBC’s robust system of training and policy, aimed at creating a safe work environment, and responding appropriately if incidents occur.
What Ghomeshi’s case illustrates isn’t that the systems were inadequate, but that they were, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, pernicious, because they allowed awful things to happen.
Read the full story.
In the past month, public airings of internal CBC dysfunction have become a national spectacle—from current and former Q staffers revealing details of Ghomeshi’s reign that included allegations of abusive behaviour and sexual harassment, to leaked memos that banned (and then unbanned) former CBC-TV host Linden MacIntyre from the airwaves.
On paper, the CBC appears a model of employer enlightenment and best practices. Posters offer help-line numbers to call if people feel stressed.
Such entrenched protocols allowed Lacroix to boast to a parliamentary committee last year of the CBC’s robust system of training and policy, aimed at creating a safe work environment, and responding appropriately if incidents occur.
What Ghomeshi’s case illustrates isn’t that the systems were inadequate, but that they were, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, pernicious, because they allowed awful things to happen.
Read the full story.
It appears CBC is violating Canadian law
It appears CBC is violating Canadian law. CBC must obey the Broadcasting Act, a law established by Parliament but the Corporation has failed to fulfill a key requirement of the Act. In particular, CBC has made major, inequitable reductions in the staff and budgets of CBC Radio but failed to reveal the plan for these self-imposed cuts. Over $100 million in funds have been surreptitiously transferred from CBC Radio to CBC TV, both English and French, and the effect on radio programming is palpable.
CBC is no stranger to sidestepping rules and regulations.
The distinction between facts and opinion has gradually been blurred by CBC news, even by Peter Mansbridge, as he not only moderates opinion panels but participates in them. As CBC budgets have gotten tighter, program executives have discovered that facts are expensive to gather, while opinions are free.
Read the full story.
CBC is no stranger to sidestepping rules and regulations.
The distinction between facts and opinion has gradually been blurred by CBC news, even by Peter Mansbridge, as he not only moderates opinion panels but participates in them. As CBC budgets have gotten tighter, program executives have discovered that facts are expensive to gather, while opinions are free.
Read the full story.
Why does CBC still exist
The CBC and its predecessors were created in part to provide a commercial-free option to private radio.
On Radio 2, the CBC will be allowed 4 minutes of commercial time per hour, allowing the government broadcaster to get into the commercial radio business.
The CRTC move, said Ross Porter, head of Toronto’s Jazz-FM, “is very disturbing.” By giving CBC radio commercial rights, the CRTC has essentially created a fourth radio network.
Mr. Porter has a good idea as a counterpoint to the CRTC decision. The CBC has a “ distinct unfair advantage” with its $1-billion in federal subsidy. “I think there’s a bigger issue here. I think the mandate of the CBC needs to be reviewed."
Reviewing the CBC’s mandate should begin with the question: Why does this organization still exist, using government money to compete in a commercial market on commercial terms.
Read the full story.
On Radio 2, the CBC will be allowed 4 minutes of commercial time per hour, allowing the government broadcaster to get into the commercial radio business.
The CRTC move, said Ross Porter, head of Toronto’s Jazz-FM, “is very disturbing.” By giving CBC radio commercial rights, the CRTC has essentially created a fourth radio network.
Mr. Porter has a good idea as a counterpoint to the CRTC decision. The CBC has a “ distinct unfair advantage” with its $1-billion in federal subsidy. “I think there’s a bigger issue here. I think the mandate of the CBC needs to be reviewed."
Reviewing the CBC’s mandate should begin with the question: Why does this organization still exist, using government money to compete in a commercial market on commercial terms.
Read the full story.
CBC is not the public’s broadcaster
CBC reporters and producers affirming their assumed superiority by churning out a constant stream of intellectual bigotry.
With the CBC’s TV ratings down 40% to a specialty channel-like 5% share of viewers even before it lost its NHL contract, according to Canadian Media Research, it’s worth asking again what has gone wrong with the Mother Corp and what should be done about it?
Someone recently observed that the CBC is not about Canadian programming but programming Canadians to its enlightened view of how the world should work. Look at the litany of in-house CBC stars and ask if any are representative of ordinary Canadians and their values?
The result is a chorus of CBC reporters and producers affirming their assumed superiority by churning out a constant stream of intellectual bigotry that alienates its listeners.
The CBC does not present an accurate face of Canada to Canadians.
Read the full story.
With the CBC’s TV ratings down 40% to a specialty channel-like 5% share of viewers even before it lost its NHL contract, according to Canadian Media Research, it’s worth asking again what has gone wrong with the Mother Corp and what should be done about it?
Someone recently observed that the CBC is not about Canadian programming but programming Canadians to its enlightened view of how the world should work. Look at the litany of in-house CBC stars and ask if any are representative of ordinary Canadians and their values?
The result is a chorus of CBC reporters and producers affirming their assumed superiority by churning out a constant stream of intellectual bigotry that alienates its listeners.
The CBC does not present an accurate face of Canada to Canadians.
Read the full story.
CBC misinformation and inaccurate reports
For years CBC has claimed, critics would say whined, that it has suffered from under-funding.
CBC claims to be open, transparent and accountable for the $1 billion dollars in taxpayers' money it receives. The $1 billion is spent on English and French radio and TV and miscellaneous other services.
CBC releases financial and other data to the media which often leads to inaccurate reports.
CBC has also released incorrect information to the media about the number of staff it has and the number cut in the past few years.
Misinformation and cuts to radio have alienated many CBC supporters and caused a major rift between CBC staff and management and CBC radio and TV staff.
CBC cherry-picks data telling the Senate inquiry that its prime time English TV audience is equal to that of a decade ago, when data on the CBC web site demonstrate otherwise.
Read the full story.
CBC claims to be open, transparent and accountable for the $1 billion dollars in taxpayers' money it receives. The $1 billion is spent on English and French radio and TV and miscellaneous other services.
CBC releases financial and other data to the media which often leads to inaccurate reports.
CBC has also released incorrect information to the media about the number of staff it has and the number cut in the past few years.
Misinformation and cuts to radio have alienated many CBC supporters and caused a major rift between CBC staff and management and CBC radio and TV staff.
CBC cherry-picks data telling the Senate inquiry that its prime time English TV audience is equal to that of a decade ago, when data on the CBC web site demonstrate otherwise.
Read the full story.
CBC is a sick animal
It’s been a difficult few months for Canada’s public broadcaster.
CBC is a sick animal and has been so for a long time. It’s not just the Jian Ghomeshi affair that has exposed as much. The nasty internal backlash against Fifth Estate broadcaster Linden MacIntyre, who had dared to remark upon the corp.’s celebrity culture, also showed it.
CBC News Network Managing Editor Jennifer Harwood (and also a couple of rival journalists) reacted vindictively. Her impetuous censoring of MacIntyre was swiftly overruled by CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire, who said Harwood had acted “in the moment” (presumably we pay top flight news executives to exercise good judgment “in the moment”).
The troubles at the CBC are compounded by a couple of other institutional tendencies — the deference, in a competitive marketplace, to celebrity, and, very Canadian in its essence, an inclination towards monopoly.
Read the full story.
CBC is a sick animal and has been so for a long time. It’s not just the Jian Ghomeshi affair that has exposed as much. The nasty internal backlash against Fifth Estate broadcaster Linden MacIntyre, who had dared to remark upon the corp.’s celebrity culture, also showed it.
CBC News Network Managing Editor Jennifer Harwood (and also a couple of rival journalists) reacted vindictively. Her impetuous censoring of MacIntyre was swiftly overruled by CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire, who said Harwood had acted “in the moment” (presumably we pay top flight news executives to exercise good judgment “in the moment”).
The troubles at the CBC are compounded by a couple of other institutional tendencies — the deference, in a competitive marketplace, to celebrity, and, very Canadian in its essence, an inclination towards monopoly.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix criticized for 5 year plan
Hubert Lacroix must fight for CBC — or resign.
There's some good in the CBC's five-year plan, but also a lot of bad, including the defeatism that has marked network president Hubert Lacroix's tenure.
There has been near universal criticism of the new five-year strategy announced recently by CBC. The Star called the strategy foolish. The Globe and Mail poked fun at its bureaucratic jargon and underlying philosophy. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, among others, called for the resignation of CBC President Hubert Lacroix.
So where does CBC, especially its president, go from here? Hubert Lacroix could follow the advice of his staff and others and resign. His record is dismal. In constant dollars funding from government has declined steadily since he was appointed in 2008.
Read the full story.
There's some good in the CBC's five-year plan, but also a lot of bad, including the defeatism that has marked network president Hubert Lacroix's tenure.
There has been near universal criticism of the new five-year strategy announced recently by CBC. The Star called the strategy foolish. The Globe and Mail poked fun at its bureaucratic jargon and underlying philosophy. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, among others, called for the resignation of CBC President Hubert Lacroix.
So where does CBC, especially its president, go from here? Hubert Lacroix could follow the advice of his staff and others and resign. His record is dismal. In constant dollars funding from government has declined steadily since he was appointed in 2008.
Read the full story.
Exposed - CBC Discrepancy
Despite claiming to have undertaken a serious internal investigation of the Jian Ghomeshi affair, CBC executives did not ask a single Q employee a single question, according to an investigation by the CBC investigative program the fifth estate.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, Chris Boyce, head of CBC Radio, said he could not, and that it was a question for Janice Rubin, the outside counsel hired to probe the institutional response.
The finding is the most shocking revelation in an investigation that pokes holes in the official account of how CBC responded over the past year to growing evidence of Mr. Ghomeshi’s behaviour, both within the CBC and in his private life.
The fifth estate investigation does not reveal new alleged victims, and many of the accounts have been previously reported. None are named.
The investigation advances the theory that CBC might have been slow to take action against its most marketable star.
Read the full story.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, Chris Boyce, head of CBC Radio, said he could not, and that it was a question for Janice Rubin, the outside counsel hired to probe the institutional response.
The finding is the most shocking revelation in an investigation that pokes holes in the official account of how CBC responded over the past year to growing evidence of Mr. Ghomeshi’s behaviour, both within the CBC and in his private life.
The fifth estate investigation does not reveal new alleged victims, and many of the accounts have been previously reported. None are named.
The investigation advances the theory that CBC might have been slow to take action against its most marketable star.
Read the full story.
CBC Exposed to hack
Last week, visitors to the cbc.ca web site received a rather rude welcome.
When they clicked a story, the screen went all shadowy and a window opened, advising, “You’ve been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).” There was an “OK” button that, if clicked, brought you to the SEA’s propaganda site.
The CBC person I communicated with informally was quick to claim that “nothing happened” at the CBC site and that they were “not hacked at all,” which is technically correct but completely wrong from a customer relations perspective. The problem may lie with outsourced services but when it happens on your web site, you own it. And amid all CBC’s coverage, I saw no apology to the thousands of people who were frightened by that “You have been hacked” pop-up.
Read the full story.
When they clicked a story, the screen went all shadowy and a window opened, advising, “You’ve been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).” There was an “OK” button that, if clicked, brought you to the SEA’s propaganda site.
The CBC person I communicated with informally was quick to claim that “nothing happened” at the CBC site and that they were “not hacked at all,” which is technically correct but completely wrong from a customer relations perspective. The problem may lie with outsourced services but when it happens on your web site, you own it. And amid all CBC’s coverage, I saw no apology to the thousands of people who were frightened by that “You have been hacked” pop-up.
Read the full story.
Toxic Atmosphere at CBC
Why I Left The CBC And Its Toxic Atmosphere
It's never been much of a secret that popularity and celebrity are potentially dangerous because, along with the illusions of success, they foster artificial hierarchies of power and influence. When egotism and narcissism become factors in success we will invariably find abuse. But abuse is often difficult to deal with. Abuse is part of a continuum. At the extreme manifestations of abuse -- say, assault or homicide -- there's no debate: sooner or later, there will be accountability.
The CBC is not unique in the celebration of celebrity -- of fostering celebrity with all the entitlement and power that it bestows -- in order to enhance the prestige of the institution and the reflected fame and reputations of the people with the real power, the managers. But when an institution is in trouble -- with diminished job security in a workforce that is often young and vulnerable -- celebrity, infected as it often is by egotism and narcissism, creates a workplace atmosphere that is toxic for the many people who feel they must put up with it.
And unfortunately, when the abuse continuum results in the kind of behaviour that normal people normally abhor, the normal people in charge of institutions, and who feel responsible for the appearance of institutional success and integrity, will far too often feel inclined to minimize and tolerate, condone -- and in the worst-case scenario -- cover up behaviour that is abusive.
Read the full story.
It's never been much of a secret that popularity and celebrity are potentially dangerous because, along with the illusions of success, they foster artificial hierarchies of power and influence. When egotism and narcissism become factors in success we will invariably find abuse. But abuse is often difficult to deal with. Abuse is part of a continuum. At the extreme manifestations of abuse -- say, assault or homicide -- there's no debate: sooner or later, there will be accountability.
The CBC is not unique in the celebration of celebrity -- of fostering celebrity with all the entitlement and power that it bestows -- in order to enhance the prestige of the institution and the reflected fame and reputations of the people with the real power, the managers. But when an institution is in trouble -- with diminished job security in a workforce that is often young and vulnerable -- celebrity, infected as it often is by egotism and narcissism, creates a workplace atmosphere that is toxic for the many people who feel they must put up with it.
And unfortunately, when the abuse continuum results in the kind of behaviour that normal people normally abhor, the normal people in charge of institutions, and who feel responsible for the appearance of institutional success and integrity, will far too often feel inclined to minimize and tolerate, condone -- and in the worst-case scenario -- cover up behaviour that is abusive.
Read the full story.
CBC's cult of denial
CBC's cult of denial: heads should roll for ignoring Ghomeshi improprieties.
“According to numerous stories, some published some not, Ghomeshi was a workplace tyrant, yelling at people for headphone levels and other minor crap. Why? because he could. He was inappropriate with women at work. Again, because he could be.
The TV biz is way too tolerant of shitty behaviour by 'stars'. They're allowed to get away with things because applying common standards of decency to them might somehow rob them of their muse, putting everyone out of work.
For the CBC to have 8,599 employees and claim they’ve only had three incidents of sexual harassment in three years, either everyone’s walking around in bubbles or the management has been hitting the crack pipe.
This Ghomeshi saga is becoming a wide-ranging ethics test for CBC. If management was willing to ignore for years this workplace behaviour that’s as sleazy as a misogyny gets, what other “smaller” infractions were routinely ignored? How often? By whom?
Read the full story.
“According to numerous stories, some published some not, Ghomeshi was a workplace tyrant, yelling at people for headphone levels and other minor crap. Why? because he could. He was inappropriate with women at work. Again, because he could be.
The TV biz is way too tolerant of shitty behaviour by 'stars'. They're allowed to get away with things because applying common standards of decency to them might somehow rob them of their muse, putting everyone out of work.
For the CBC to have 8,599 employees and claim they’ve only had three incidents of sexual harassment in three years, either everyone’s walking around in bubbles or the management has been hitting the crack pipe.
This Ghomeshi saga is becoming a wide-ranging ethics test for CBC. If management was willing to ignore for years this workplace behaviour that’s as sleazy as a misogyny gets, what other “smaller” infractions were routinely ignored? How often? By whom?
Read the full story.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix must be first to go
The television fantasy has become reality for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The CBC now is among The Walking Dead.
The Jian Ghomeshi scandal is a death rattle for Canada’s beloved cultural institution. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the undertaker. The CBC has been dying for a long time. Uninspiring leadership, failure to innovate and blueblood attitudes and situational ethics have sucked the life from it over the years.
There is growing evidence that CBC executives knew about Ghomeshi’s sordid personal and working life for months and did not act. They feared losing a star who was building much-needed audiences.
First to go must be CBC president Hubert Lacroix, who has overseen one disaster after another, including his having to repay $30,000 in wrongly claimed living and meal expenses. He and his board of directors said they were not aware of a rule governing expenses. Duh?
Yes, the CBC is wasteful and stuck in times and attitudes long gone. Taxpayers should not be spending $1 billion a year on something the government is not interested in repairing.
Read the full story.
The Jian Ghomeshi scandal is a death rattle for Canada’s beloved cultural institution. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the undertaker. The CBC has been dying for a long time. Uninspiring leadership, failure to innovate and blueblood attitudes and situational ethics have sucked the life from it over the years.
There is growing evidence that CBC executives knew about Ghomeshi’s sordid personal and working life for months and did not act. They feared losing a star who was building much-needed audiences.
First to go must be CBC president Hubert Lacroix, who has overseen one disaster after another, including his having to repay $30,000 in wrongly claimed living and meal expenses. He and his board of directors said they were not aware of a rule governing expenses. Duh?
Yes, the CBC is wasteful and stuck in times and attitudes long gone. Taxpayers should not be spending $1 billion a year on something the government is not interested in repairing.
Read the full story.
Is CBC coming apart at the seams
One night last week, when certain CBC TV somebodies were attacking other CBC somebodies online, I made some remarks on Twitter. Baffled by the adolescent arguing, I was more sarcastic than serious-minded.
In reply, the playwright and actor Michael Healey wrote, “I recognize this from theatre. A starved, stressed culture turning on itself.”
It’s a very useful remark. And it obliges us to ask: Is this what’s happening at the CBC – is it coming apart at the seams? At times, it sure looks like an organization, an institution, that’s unravelling and descending into internal, pointless bickering, posturing and feuding.
Read the full story.
In reply, the playwright and actor Michael Healey wrote, “I recognize this from theatre. A starved, stressed culture turning on itself.”
It’s a very useful remark. And it obliges us to ask: Is this what’s happening at the CBC – is it coming apart at the seams? At times, it sure looks like an organization, an institution, that’s unravelling and descending into internal, pointless bickering, posturing and feuding.
Read the full story.
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