The Globe and Mail did a nice little bio piece Saturday on the latest Vice President of CBC English program services Kristine Stewart, asking whether or not she can save the network. A fortune teller once predicted she'd become Prime Minister and she has already "taken out a layer of management". Aside from that, the highlight of her bio, she once dated George Strombolopolis and later gave him a reality TV show that was cancelled after two weeks. Just like her predecessor, Kristine is engaged to be married to CBC on air talent. Her current fiancee is the "star" of Little Mosque on the Prairie, so it might be a stretch to call him "talent", but I'll bet his show isn't cancelled anytime soon. Do I think she'll save the CBC? It's unlikely, but at least we're getting some acknowledgment that the CBC is heading in the wrong direction and in need of salvation.
Kristine's predecessor Richard Stursberg is married to Carole MacNeil (she was "moved" from her Sunday Show with Soloman to the big news desk not long after saying I do). Needless to say it is quite the family affair over at the public broadcaster. Evidently if you want to "hook up" with someone on CBC television (male or female), your best bet is to try and become a CBC executive.
Billions and billions and billions of dollars is given to the state broadcaster and the journalistic frauds to misinform the taxpayers of Canada.
ReplyDeleteWhat a miscarriage of truth it all is!
I say it’s “times up” for this gaggle of Toronto and Montreal snots.
Oh my gosh! Nepotism in the canadian media? How can you say such a thing?
ReplyDeleteEveryone knows Paul Berton became editor of the SUN newspaper because of his talent not because his father was PIERRE BURTON and a wealthy member of the artsy fartsy media set in Toronto.
As well evryone knows that Eric Francis became a sportswriter and broadcaster because of his hard work, not because of his rich mommy Dianne Francis (former editor of the Financial Post).
Naahh nepotism in canadian media? Doesn't happen at all.
Bloody hell these people are slime!
The CBC's 75th anniversary special is being exec produced by her fiancé Zaib Shaihk. He has no qualifications for that job. She has also put tens of thousands of dollars towards developing a new TV project for him after Little Mosque ends this year. It is well known throughout the Canadian creative community that if you cross Zaib Shaihk you will no longer be employable at CBC. I'm continually amazed that none of this ever makes it into the media.
ReplyDelete"Needless to say it is quite the family affair over at the public broadcaster."
ReplyDeleteYes,but if CBC was a Conservative leaning broadcaster,the MSM would call it "incestuous".
CBC gets $1.1 billion from the taxpayer,plus earns $700 million in advertising revenue,that's a lot of money for a network that has such low viewer ratings.
The only reason I ever watch CBC is HNIC. If they lose that franchise,the whole corporation might as well be sold off,or the taxpayer will be on the hook for another few hundred million bucks.
Can this "insider" turn CBC around? Not very likely,as she's from the same school as the old management. It's like they've appointed a new Captain on the titanic just after it hit the iceberg.
btw,does anyone here know a website where we can get TV ratings of Canadian shows?
Maybe this is totally irrelevant ... but Power & Politics today is a recycled program. There was a repeat of a debate which aired last June, between Bjorn Lomborg and Tom Rand here: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/1221258968/ID=2028332761. I guess it's because it's a holiday in Ontario (1st Monday in Aug. ?).
ReplyDeleteShouldn't the fact the program is a repeat be made clear?
Or maybe they figure no one is watching anyway, so no one is going to notice the repeat?
-- Gabby in QC
CBC would be better if they just reran "The Beachcombers" and "Don Messer's Jubilee" in between News programming,with the occasional break for HNIC,until they lose that contract.
ReplyDeleteTechnically,Little Mosque on the Prairie isn't in bed with the CBC. The show is produced by outside "private" people and CBC simply pays for the episodes. In the west, CBC really only produces news & the odd little local show. If you think about ti that is what privat stations do except they spend way less money.
ReplyDelete