Between the lockout, press criticism, layoff talk, attacks from the ultra-right wing of the Conservative party, heritage committee hearings, CRTC hearings and the pressures of a regular work day I thought that all of you working hard for the CBC and Canada all across the country and in the foreign bureaus could use a little pat on the back from the boss.
By boss I don't mean your supervisor, or Mr. Rabinovich, the CBC's Board of Directors, or the government but the people of Canada - the one's you really work for (in more ways than one.)
Please have a look.
Friday, November 24, 2006
A final word on the CBC watch folk.
There have been alot of us thinking and talking for over a year now about how to fix/improve the CBC. As part of this there was this idea that all points of view had to be taken into consideration, that even people like those who post regularly at CBCWatch could be brought on board if we took the time to understand their issues. This, it turns out, is not true.
First of all, there are very few of these people. They are a minority within a minority. They are obviously Conservative. But even Bev Oda, Harper's own Heritage Minister said (in a very nice form letter) "The CBC is and will remain Canada's national public broadcaster, operating radio and television services in both English and French." So, although there is some concern over what changes the Conservatives might like to make at the CBC, it appears a certainty that they're not out to kill it. Even within the minority Conservative party there are not enough of these people to hold sway and if their opinions are not terribly important within their own camp, why should they be important to me?
Secondly, they don't have any issues to address. They don't like the CBC, they believe it is biased and they want it to be shut down. On the last point, as I've said, it's not going to be shut down, so we'll skip that.
As to their belief that the CBC is biased: I know too many CBC people and too much about the organization and how it operates, especially within news, to give this a second thought. I do not know the political affiliations of people in the newsroom. But I do know that they all, first and foremost, believe in truth and common sense and I know that not one of them would pass on a good story because of their own personal politics, nor would any of them fabricate facts in order to push a political agenda (either could mean the end of their journalistic career.)
The accompanying complaint is that they don't want to pay for a government service that they don't like. I've thought about this and decided that that's just too bad. The Government does alot of things, some of which I like, some of which I don't but just because I can get a few friends together who also don't like a particular program doesn't mean the Govt. is going to shut it down.
The number of people who don't want their tax dollars going to fund the war in Afghanistan is considerably larger than the number who don't want to pay for the CBC, but I don't see any swift withdrawal. The number of people who don't want their tax dollars going to fund subsidies for auto manufacturers is considerably larger than the number who don't want to pay for the CBC but the subsidies seem to be there year after year.
I would never argue that because something is a minority position that it's wrong but I would also never argue that because something is a minority position that it's right. I, and many others, have done due diligence on this. We've read their arguments ad-nauseum and they do not have a point, they have nothing constructive to bring to the table and you cannot negotiate with someone who is willing to offer nothing, you don't have to negotiate with someone who has no power and you can't be inclusive with someone who wants nothing but for you to leave them alone.
Every day I talk with Canadians across the country and even Canadians abroad who love, value and treasure the CBC. These are people from across the political spectrum - Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green and more. I even hear regularly from Americans and Brits who love the CBC and learn about Canada through it's web offerings and from broadcasts that spill over the border. These people, I am convinced, vastly outnumber the CBCWatch folk and have just as much, if not more, passion.
So, I won't bother with them anymore. Sure the CBC can stand criticism and I will continue to find and publish criticism from serious folk. But I am removing CBC watch from the digest at publicbroadcasting.ca and I won't waste another breath arguing with them. As I've demonstrated, I think quite clearly, there is no point and nothing to be gained - debating the Flat Earth society would be a better use of my time (and would have a better chance of success.)
First of all, there are very few of these people. They are a minority within a minority. They are obviously Conservative. But even Bev Oda, Harper's own Heritage Minister said (in a very nice form letter) "The CBC is and will remain Canada's national public broadcaster, operating radio and television services in both English and French." So, although there is some concern over what changes the Conservatives might like to make at the CBC, it appears a certainty that they're not out to kill it. Even within the minority Conservative party there are not enough of these people to hold sway and if their opinions are not terribly important within their own camp, why should they be important to me?
Secondly, they don't have any issues to address. They don't like the CBC, they believe it is biased and they want it to be shut down. On the last point, as I've said, it's not going to be shut down, so we'll skip that.
As to their belief that the CBC is biased: I know too many CBC people and too much about the organization and how it operates, especially within news, to give this a second thought. I do not know the political affiliations of people in the newsroom. But I do know that they all, first and foremost, believe in truth and common sense and I know that not one of them would pass on a good story because of their own personal politics, nor would any of them fabricate facts in order to push a political agenda (either could mean the end of their journalistic career.)
The accompanying complaint is that they don't want to pay for a government service that they don't like. I've thought about this and decided that that's just too bad. The Government does alot of things, some of which I like, some of which I don't but just because I can get a few friends together who also don't like a particular program doesn't mean the Govt. is going to shut it down.
The number of people who don't want their tax dollars going to fund the war in Afghanistan is considerably larger than the number who don't want to pay for the CBC, but I don't see any swift withdrawal. The number of people who don't want their tax dollars going to fund subsidies for auto manufacturers is considerably larger than the number who don't want to pay for the CBC but the subsidies seem to be there year after year.
I would never argue that because something is a minority position that it's wrong but I would also never argue that because something is a minority position that it's right. I, and many others, have done due diligence on this. We've read their arguments ad-nauseum and they do not have a point, they have nothing constructive to bring to the table and you cannot negotiate with someone who is willing to offer nothing, you don't have to negotiate with someone who has no power and you can't be inclusive with someone who wants nothing but for you to leave them alone.
Every day I talk with Canadians across the country and even Canadians abroad who love, value and treasure the CBC. These are people from across the political spectrum - Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green and more. I even hear regularly from Americans and Brits who love the CBC and learn about Canada through it's web offerings and from broadcasts that spill over the border. These people, I am convinced, vastly outnumber the CBCWatch folk and have just as much, if not more, passion.
So, I won't bother with them anymore. Sure the CBC can stand criticism and I will continue to find and publish criticism from serious folk. But I am removing CBC watch from the digest at publicbroadcasting.ca and I won't waste another breath arguing with them. As I've demonstrated, I think quite clearly, there is no point and nothing to be gained - debating the Flat Earth society would be a better use of my time (and would have a better chance of success.)
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Kudos to the Den, O'Leary not so much
Congradulations again to Dragon's Den. If the CBC had a hit this fall, Dragon's Den was it. I'm looking forward to next season.
That said, if you lost Kevin O'Leary it would be better. I don't care about O'Leary's politics and I don't care what he does with his money however he lacks basic civility. Perhaps he want's to be the Simon Cowell of finance. But he is frequently unnecessarily rude and belittling to people. If someone presents an idea that you don't like you can do nothing, or you can tell them why you don't like it, or you can tell them that you don't like it but not why but when someone presents you with an idea they love calling them "crackhead" (one of his apparent favourites) is completely uncalled for. It may be a TV show, but these are real people (the contestants that is, O'Leary I'm not sure about)
Perhaps he'll wake up on Christmas morning, glad that he's alive and the ghosts are gone and buy Tiny Tim's family a goose, but otherwise please put someone else in his chair next season.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
What's up with the email lists?
Ok..I've signed up for an account, but when I try to log in the site thinks long and hard before deciding what error message to give me. Beyond that, see if you can pick up some email lists that you are unlikely to get any updates on. Myself, I'm subscribing to 'Disclosure'
Monday, November 20, 2006
1600 and counting
The Friends of the CBC Myspace has crossed over the 1600 mark and is still growing day to day. This message is for those who have a particular interest in the CBC, inside or out but particularly those involved with shows. If you have a message (any message) that you would like to get out to 1600+ CBC viewers, listeners, fans and friends - for free - all it takes is an email. Pass it along to me at contact[at]publicbroadcasting.ca and I'll be happy to pass it along.
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Neither C stands for Communications II
Although I've already commented on the post directly: In response to Paul Gor[b], recent guest writer of Inside the CBC, if there is a communications problem with regard to CBC it is not for lack of resources.
For starters, and these are only what's been made available for inside/outside communications, there are
alt.radio.networks.cbc (google group)
alt.tv.networks.cbc (google group)
CBC@pbca - a blog for ANYONE who wants to talk about the CBC (no takers to date)
The
CBC Blogging Manifesto
cbcwatch - Exposing the Bias
Circles
Around the Square
del.icio.us/pbca/cbc
Inside
the CBC (and a longer list of blogs there)
THE
STROUMBOULOPOULI (a strombo fan site)
The Tea Makers
TV, Eh? What's Up in Canadian TV
the CBC Love Myspace (and you will doubtless recognize some of the folks in the Friends section such as Strombo, Jill Deacon, ...
A brand spanking new Google Group for discussing all things CBC.
There is also this which allows you to view a collection of these things at a glance and/or have them email to you, moved to your Yahoo or Google account, RSS reader etc.,
And any number of other things that you can find by following these links. I'm afraid if you're in the CBC and your message isn't getting out, or if you're outside the CBC and your message isn't getting in - it pretty much needs to be chalked up to lack of effort now. The mechanisms are all there, but few are taking advantage of them.
If, on the other hand, you're waiting for someone 'who's job it is' to get your message in or out: don't hold your breath. I've heard tell of such people, but I think they're a myth.
If there's something going on that people need to know about or things going on that you don't know about - It's time to either get proactive about it, or decide that it's not as important as you thought. Sadly, people seem to prefer the latter.
For starters, and these are only what's been made available for inside/outside communications, there are
CBC Blogging Manifesto
Around the Square
the CBC (and a longer list of blogs there)
STROUMBOULOPOULI (a strombo fan site)
There is also this which allows you to view a collection of these things at a glance and/or have them email to you, moved to your Yahoo or Google account, RSS reader etc.,
And any number of other things that you can find by following these links. I'm afraid if you're in the CBC and your message isn't getting out, or if you're outside the CBC and your message isn't getting in - it pretty much needs to be chalked up to lack of effort now. The mechanisms are all there, but few are taking advantage of them.
If, on the other hand, you're waiting for someone 'who's job it is' to get your message in or out: don't hold your breath. I've heard tell of such people, but I think they're a myth.
If there's something going on that people need to know about or things going on that you don't know about - It's time to either get proactive about it, or decide that it's not as important as you thought. Sadly, people seem to prefer the latter.
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