The Tea Makers 2005-2010

“He loved Big Brother.”
– George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty Four

Hitler learns of Stursberg’s dismissal

Richard Stursberg fired

“When Richard was appointed executive vice-president of CBC Television six years ago he brought with him a revolution that shook the foundation of the organization and eventually of the whole of our English services. He challenged every premise, attacked conventional wisdom, and uprooted whole parts of the internal culture. Six years later, the institution is better off than it was. I want to acknowledge his success in turning CBC Television around and thank him for his contribution.”

President Hubert Lacroix
Knowlton Nash@cbc_archives via Twitter
Helen Spitzer @helenspitzer via Twitter
john doyleJohn Doyle via Twitter

insidethecbc-2010-08-07-at-9.49.41-AMInside the CBC

One Less Bell to Answer, One Less Egg to Fry

August 6, 2010 – Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president, English services, is leaving CBC/Radio-Canada effective today.

When Richard was appointed executive vice-president of CBC Television six years ago, he brought with him a revolution that shook the foundation of the organization and eventually the whole of our English services. He challenged every premise, attacked conventional wisdom, and uprooted whole parts of the internal culture. Six years later, the institution is better off than it was. “I want to acknowledge his success in turning CBC Television around and thank him for his contribution,” says Hubert T. Lacroix, president and CEO.

We are in the midst of developing a new strategic plan that will guide CBC/Radio-Canada through the next five years. This is the opportune time to bring new leadership to English services and to ensure alignment of the senior team on the future of the public broadcaster.

Kirstine Stewart, general manager, CBC Television, will take on the position of executive vice-president, English services, on an interim basis. As the architect of CBC Television’s current programming success and Richard Stursberg’s official delegate for the past few years, and with the support of a talented team, she’s well placed to ensure that CBC maintains the considerable momentum it currently enjoys.

A comprehensive internal and external recruitment process will be launched immediately.

A love letter from George

Finally, it arrived.  Although, I think it was just bulk mail he sent to every admirer.  Somehow, his light heartedness seems fake and forced.  Here is the love letter.

George drops such literary gems as “fer real”, “doper” and signing off with “Piece”.  He really knows the way to my heart.

Strombo wolf hat

If I may…

Public Figure:1,073 people like this.

George Stroumboulopoulos July 28 at 10:56am Report

Hi,
Hope you’re having a golden summer wherever you may be… Been working like mad on the launch of season seven of the tv show and the radio show. Lots of changes in the works… I think you’re going to dig what the team is coming up with. Including changing the name of the TV show. I’m thinking of calling it ‘The Jeffersons’ but CBC isn’t really going for that.

Regardless, this page is being shut down soon (Fer real). Now, I know people hate to move, but this is an easy one, so if you are up it, I’ll be at a new fb page. Work, life, and horoscopes (kidding obv). And much doper (read: dumber profile pics as evidenced below)

Click the link below.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/George-Stroumboulopoulos/122050631163442?ref=ts

Piece,
GSx.

PS… Don’t go see The last Airbender… That movie made me hate life.
Go see ‘Cyrus’ instead.

George Stroumboulopoulos

Hi, aside from wandering the streets in search of the best Grilled Cheese Sandwhich. This is where you can find me…. The Hour (We’re thinking about changing the name) Weeknights at 11:05 on CBC TV (TV/ONLINE) The Strombo Show. Sunday nights 8p-Midnight on CBC Radio 2 (RADIO/ONLINE)

Another gem George wrote on his page:

George Stroumboulopoulos Hi. Welcome to the new page… Please tell your friends and enemies – well, use your judgement, don’t tell your crazy friends. This is where I’ll be, like TRON locked in this profile. By the by, if you haven’t heard the new album by ‘The National’ you need to get on that (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfySK7CLEEg). Merci/gracias… GSx

PS… I want to start a backgammon tournament and televise it like they do with poker.

– right George, so no one can watch it like with your show … whatever it’s called.

Bad Ideas about urban myths

I would normally call Ideas one of the few good radio shows we have left. But on Wednesday night I was subjected to the third playing in a year of Lynn Glazier’s documentary “It’s a Teen’s World: Wired for Sex, Lies and Power Trips”. Frankly my first reaction was: Huh? Didn’t I hear this just a month ago? (Okay, it was three months.)

Now, never mind that this doc veers toward moral panic or uses fun words like “slut” and “blowjob” over and over, I leave those complaints to the sorts of people whose hobbies include letters to the editor and calling CBC audience relations.

The biggest problem with this doc isn’t that it’s foul-mouthed or sensationalistic, it’s that some of the stuff it’s reporting simply isn’t true.

Wednesday night’s episode made reference to “Rainbow parties”, a now-classic suburban myth (or, at best, a dubious rumour) passed around by worried parents and bored Globe & Mail reporters, which grew largely out of a smutty young adult novel.

Another episode tackles how hip-hop influences teenagers’ ideas about sex. Now this is a genuine issue, but can we at least use examples that are actually correct and make sense, instead of more unexamined hysteria? Part of the show involves a discussion of the Soulja Boy song “Crank Dat”, which contains the line “superman dat hoe”; we’re told, without going into details, that this is coded language for some truly disgusting sex act. The supposed meaning isn’t mentioned on air, but anyone with an internet connection can look up:

“when you ejaculate on a girls back then put a blanket on her so when she stands up the blanket sticks therefore making her look like she has a cape.”

… now, anyone with a whit of critical thinking skills can see that this is easily far too obscure and convoluted to be correct. But again, Lynn Glazier leaves the comments unexamined. Too bad the whole thing was thoroughly dunbunked three years ago.

Ideas is supposed to be about journalism, great docs, and, well, ideas. How did this get through? There’s nothing wrong with pushing the envelope, people, just don’t throw your critical thinking cap away.

The CBC Has Become Synonymous With Fakery


Meritocracy Hasn’t Helped Neil Macdonald


Happy Birthday, Tea Makers


New CBC Anchor To Replace Diana Swain


The CBC has all the integrity of BP


Several Degrees of Separation


Any year now, Jian Ghomeshi will stand up for something. Or maybe not.


CBC-TV News gets pwned


Do you think Jian tweets because he is lonely?

Do you think Jian tweets because he is lonely?


Audience reaction

You are all heroes! Heroes!
- Anonymous

Ouimet is a flame under the CBC's ass and I love him/her for that... The philosophy behind bloggers like Ouimet is simply that conversations are good.
- Matt Forsythe

I'm reading everyone's comments with interest and will continue to do so for the next five years, whether the stuff I read agrees or not with what I am doing or trying to achieve.
- President Hubert

Interesting discussion at The Tea Makers if you can get past the language.
- Joanne (True Blue)

More than any other initiative or internal project Ouimet is demonstrating not only where the future of the organization lies, but also the challenges and obstacles that it will face.
- Jesse Hirsh

... disgraceful, reprehensible and, in so many ways, beyond rebuke
- KFP Payan

S/He is a hero!!!
- Canadian Blue Lemons

Always mouthy but still anonymous CBC navel gazer
- Parkdale Pictures

I make you ill? Great. Vomit away. Get rid of all that pleasing bile. Then go look in the mirror and ask, "hey, what have *I* added to the culture today?"
- Denis McGrath

Being in the employ of a sibling Clown Copulation, it amazes me that talent such as this thrive in the crown corporate cultures. Seems to me the best one can expect are Capons of Management, at worst, saboteurs like these.
- Th'PonyToBetOn

Surreal.
- Neil Sanderson

Feel free to contact us directly if you'd like confirmation / clarification on this kind of stuff.
- Jeff Keay, Head of Media Relations, CBC

I never gave that blogger permission to use our interview… I don’t think asking or being polite and showing common courtesy are in [her] vocabulary either…
- Barbara W

Ouch, these people are harsh!
- Hal Niedzviecki, Globe and Mail

Ouimet, I applaud you. This guy is a douche of extraordinary douchebagginess.
- JupiterPluvius

Much of the [CBC] blogging is banal but the standout is one allegedly written by a CBC manager.
- John Doyle, Globe and Mail
August 23, 2005

During the lockout of CBC staff in 2005, there was a sudden flowering of online commentary about the lockout and the CBC. Some of it made for fascinating reading ... Those that remained descended into the usual anonymously written, infantile nonsense. What passes for humour is often hilariously badly written hatred of real journalists.
- John Doyle, Globe and Mail January 4, 2007

One of [CBC's] best known lockout apologists.
- CBC Watch

You're not a management stooge blogger. You can put that in your sidebar if you want ;>)
- The CBC Drone

An ungrateful rebel.
- Allan Sorensen

Predictably dismissive.
- Small Dead Animals

The best-written exercise in tough love aimed at CBC management and naysayers.
- Guy Dixon, Globe and Mail

Hey Ouimet, fuck you!!!
- Fuck Ouimet