Race To The Bottom

Slawko Klymkiw’s journey through the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is almost movie-of-the-week material, the kind he himself would commission for the Mothers Corps.
And if you believe that, then you will also believe the many accolades bestowed upon the man whose decision “to accept an invitation to take up a new, exciting and very different professional opportunity” happens to coincide with the current lockout that many say is the death knell of the CBC as we have known it.
Or, about the same time senior brass decided the NHL method of labour negotiation, a.k.a. starve the bastards out, was the only alternative to even more years of decaying revenues, self-centred programming and downward-spiralling ratings.
Or, a.k.a. exactly what Klymkiw had delivered in his 9 years as Executive Director of Network Programming for CBC Television.

Though, The Black Rod is more encouraging towards the CBC than most are.

32 Replies to “Race To The Bottom”

  1. Vancouverites are all for a muted NHL season – in fact, are embracing it wholeheartedly. I guess it’s too much to expect this strike to last past the election. I’d love to see the Librano$ try to win without CBC falling in line with whatever Scott Reid tells them. Ought we to start a petition somewhere to the Minister of Librano Lapdogs and/or Canadian heritage urging the dissolution of the CBC? All in favour….

  2. Aye. If that’s a motion I second it. If it’s a petition, put it online and I’ll sign it. The Liberal Party without the CBC. I’d toast just the thought of it.
    Canuck hockey is very big in Vancouver and good for them. But I haven’t attended a game in years. Somehow the idea of paying all that money for a couple tickets and then watching these guys skate circles all night just doesn’t appeal to me. And I grew up with hockey. I knew the Gumper and my dad coached intermediate hockey, including a few ex-NHLers, in Manitoba when I played Pee Wee. I remember trying to skate with an old pair of Boston Bruins pants on so long I couldn’t see my feet.
    When I do watch the Canucks I usually turn the radio to CKNW anyway. In any case, I am a fan. Go Canucks.

  3. Mr. Klymkiw’s departure may be a positive step. Perhaps CBC needs to get OUT of non-broadcast businesses (i.e. non-broadcast cable networks like CBC Country Canada, the Galaxie pay-radio music service, et al) and focus on providing relevant services for and about Canada.
    I will politely salute his involvement in “Canada: A People’s History” programs. Those films have been useful in helping me better understand the scope of Canadian history – though I think it is very strange that the DVDs are not bi-lingual (the French language version of “History” actually is edited differently and tells a different story than the English “History”!)
    Another point: today, why hasn’t the English-language CBC or other English-language media reported on Jack Layton’s announcement that the alliance with the Liberals has ended? I happen to be home today working on projects and, four hours after first seeing the story at Radio-Canada, haven’t seen any English-language MSM pick it up.
    “Le chef du Nouveau Parti d�mocratique, Jack Layton, a confirm� au quotidien Le Devoir, que l’alliance entre sa formation politique et les lib�raux de Paul Martin �tait termin�e.”
    http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/nouvelles/200508/22/001-NPDLIBERAUX.shtml

  4. SpaceNeedleBoy. How are the French and English DVDs different? Might be interesting if you expanded on that a bit. I once had some of my writing in English edited by two French editors, one at UBC and one at the National Art Centre in Ottawa. They were indeed very different, but the thrust of what I said was more or less the same. When you change the emphasis of a word it can indeed change the whole sentence.
    Just give a couple French translators some poetry and sit back and watch the fun. Very funny watching them struggle with what you meant, which sometimes you may not even know for sure.

  5. Has the country fractured in two? My life hasn’t changed an iota since this this holiest of Canadian institutions has been on strike.I daresay all those years of chanting that the CBC was Canada and kept us together, were a waste of time.Plus, screw them, they got rid of the best colour man on HNIC!

  6. Very OT.
    I don’t post off-topic often so I hope I can be forgiven for this one.
    Kate is mentioned on SteynOnline.com from Mark’s Western Standard article. Top of the page! International exposure to Kate! Congrats!

  7. Anybody else smell a rat here? No Layton, new budget, no support – hey, an election! Just what PMPM and Mr. Layton want. Get ready, folks. The end of that marriage signals the beginning of an election campaign. The Librano$ are rolling in our dough – using it as toilet paper, in fact. Jumpin’ Jack should be happy, the Libs should be trumpeting the successful partnership now that they can afford to keep their promise. This has Deal Part II written all over it.

  8. Aye! But I already said so on the previous thread with my brainfart in it… 🙂

  9. Yeah – lets hope this strike is the death of the CBC. Though I supported the NHL owners starving out the players – I hope the CBC just dies. I am sure TSN or someone will show all a those hockey games. The only guys on the CBC worth watching are Ron Maclean and Don Cherry (and I only include Don Cherry ‘cus he is such an idiot you are gauranteed have something to discuss at the coffee station at work)

  10. Blackrod provided one of the best sit-reps on the state of Mother corpse decay I have seen in some time.
    This passage struck me as being chrystal insight into the core cause for CBC viewer bail out:
    “confusing viewers who were not about the change their viewing habits; and they went through a “diversity” phase where every story was about some affirmative action program, dissaffected minority, or a feel-good, do-good, aren’t we wonderful pollyannic tearjerker.”
    I submit the “preachy” advocacy stage has never subsided it has just swaped vehicles….from documentary pollyannaish spew to being deeply imbedded in the script of news programs: which now resemble single minded opinion because of the lack of CBC reporters on the main breaking events…like someone picked up a CP wire report and wrote a partisan passion play around it….this is a total barf out for normal well adjusted folks who don’t need news “interpreted” through an obvious ideological bias.

  11. Of course an election is coming soon. The Libs are back on top according to the polls and it’ll be a little while before Gomery’s report. It’s not beneath Candyman Martin to pull a fast one, after all.
    The going is good right now for the mob. It’s probably better to go now rather than wait till after Gomery’s report, as Paul promised. Of course, did anyone really expect he’d be keeping that promise? Not bloody likely!
    If you want an election, look into the mirror and say, “Candyman” five times. Just like in the horror movie…

  12. WLM, you’re right. Like myself, many Canadians simply got sick of being told what to think. All that PCness, all that stuff about sexuality, all that antiAmericanism, all that outpouring of lightly veilled worshipping of the Liberal Party, all that amazingly respectful treatment of Quebec separatists contrasted with the shockingly hostile treatment of the Reform Party, Preston, Stockwell, Stephen, the CA, the CPC… need I say more?

  13. Just to be clear, I was referring to the stuff the CBC has been spewing forth over the years as content. It is this content which has, in large part, accounted for declining viewership. The last straw for me was when, recently, Don Newman on “Politics” could no longer maintain his famous professionalism and allowed his anti-Conservative bias to come out front and center. Thus ended nearly a decade of my watching “Politics” on CBC Newsworld.

  14. …….Speaking of Don Newman…what did you think of his coverage of the Gomery testimonies????…well, not actually HIS coverage, but his sole, sinle “guest: commentator from the editorial office of the red Star?

  15. Wasn’t it James Travers? Ah, yes, I remember now… the discussions to which you refer were on “Politics”, some of which I checked out, but often tuned out, as I’ve been watching Travers for years and find him to be biased against the Conservatives, as he was against its predecessors. From the Toronto Star, right? The Red Star; I like that moniker for the Star group of leftist bile rags. Reminds me of the USSR!
    Anyway, I got most of my coverage via the internet. No wonder the Libs wish they could control it. But not to worry; they’re too incompetent to do something like that. Can’t even spend properly, no matter how much they make disappear from our paychecks. I’m not worried about that. What is worrisome is that the Librano mob is above the law. And I have received info from a Liberal I know well that the mob, more specifically the Mafia, is far more widespread and even mainstream than we think. Don’t ask me to elaborate. I think you know why. After all, it’s the Mafia and other organized crime gangs. I just want to keep the hell away from them. I fear that may be hard to do as they’re everywhere now. After all, the Libranos refuse to do anything much at all about organized crime. Professional courtesy, perhaps? I better shut up about that now…

  16. BTW, as for the Liberal I know well, I believe the person, as I know how his/her mind works and can tell when he/she is kidding. There was no kidding when he/she told me about actual Mafia activity.
    This is all I can say. Don’t ask for more.
    But keep your eyes open. You may see something right in front of you that looks normal and everyday, but behind it is sinister stuff… this is the nature of the Mafia in Canada today. Very low-profile, blends in, like the terrorists…

  17. I watched CBC last nite. An old black and white re-run of some Godzilla movie was on. Most fun I’ve had watching the CBC in ages.
    “Keep back Sashimi! Here come Godzirra!”

  18. Stephen–there was a lawyer in Vancouver who stated he had proof that the Liberal Party is controlled and has integrated with the Mafia–his office burned. Haven’t heard a word about him since.
    The Mafia is very adept at money-laundering–so are the Liberals–adscam was not even the tip of the iceberg. Everything the Liberals touch costs us money and there is never anything to show for it. We would need 10 AGs to even get started on the scams run by the Liberals. Wait until they can get hold of our cell phones and emails–then they will have everything they need to lock up the dissenters or better yet–just wipe us out.
    Canada is known throughtout the world as a crime-friendly country. There has to be a reason for that–birds of a feather?

  19. Interesting, Stephen, I have a friend with a similar tale… scary stuff, but when you look at the billions that go missing from the federal budget every year, that’s a lot of scratch at risk.

  20. This nugget may only be relevent to those in the Redmonton area, but the Journal’s Scott McKeen wrote in his column today that “…it is undeniable that the CBC sets the bar for broadcast journalism in this country.”
    Seriously.

  21. John C: I purchased and have enjoyed viewing several volumes of “Canada: A People’s History”. It is a very interesting documentary series.
    I was extremely disappointed that the DVDs are NOT bi-lingual (English-only OR French-only releases). I would have bought the less-expensive VHS tapes if I had known that the DVDs were unilingual – there isn’t much chance for me to bone up on my rudimentary French comprehension skills here in Seattle.
    From what I saw on one of the “Special Documentary Edition” films in the DVD box set, at one point the producers explained that the English and French versions of the series ARE different – there are editorial differences in the sequencing of video segments. The francophone releases are labeled as “Canada Une Histoire Populaire”.
    Interesting footnote: these films are unavailable in the USA. Very few retail stores in Canada sell them. However, Wal-Mart Canada stores stock the series – as does amazon.ca

  22. Yep!… here’s hoping for a long strike lasting well into the next election!!!
    you know that long before that the Liberals will find a way to classify CBC as an essential service and legislate the union back to work.
    if they dont’ they risk loosing the election,

  23. Thanks for the link, Candace. I have placed it on my “favorites” pane. I love funny websites. They’re way better than watching TV. What of TV anymore? Why watch it? Nothing but crap these days.
    WRT the link you provided, did you notice the picture of the hooded Sith Lord or whatever he is, with the dollar-sign chain around his neck? Now, that’s what a supreme overlord looks like. There you have it– the Supreme Overlord (Candyman Martin) of the Vast, Left-Wing Conspiracy. Perfect! 🙂 Betcha that’s what Paulie dresses like when he meets the invisible-in-plain-sight underworld of which we were just speaking– shhh! They’re probably monitoring us here…

  24. George, the example of the Vancouver lawyer doesn’t surprise me. Wonder what became of him? Perhaps he was bought off (most likely) or even sleeping with the fishies? Y’know, with concrete overshoes on? Missing a finger, btw?

  25. Well, here I am in the UK, far from the Homeland, and I must say I haven’t even been to the CBC website in a dog’s age…

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