Monthly Archives: June 2006

Inside the CBC

Tonight the CBC gets serious about sanctioned corporate blogging by launching inside the CBC, a news/gossip/hype blog. But it’s not written by a committee or by a communications flunkie. It’s written by lockout blogger, podcast visionary, dot-com millionaire, high school dropout, CBC freelancer, and CMG member Tod Maffin. They’ve given him free reign to write […]

All Day I Dream About CBC Sports

I hate the Olympics. I find them boring. I find the heavy-handed commercialism sickening. I find the jingoistic nationalism creepy. I find the doping and judging scandals sap any possible interest I may have left in the competitions. There, I said it. If I spoke that aloud in public, I would be considered weird. If […]

Masters of reality

Did you read this yesterday? “We recognize some people may be uncomfortable with it. We recognize that,” [CBC spokesman Jeff Keay] said. “We are trying to accommodate everyone’s needs. In a perfect world we wouldn’t need to move things around, but given the strengths of the new program, we thought it was applicable under the […]

The International Academy of Wiggers

I’m a big fan of those couches in the Atrium. They first showed up during the Olympics, along with a huge projector-screen TV. Sure enough, when Olympic hockey was on, it was impossible to get a seat. Remember hearing all those cheers and jeers while you were working? And it wasn’t just truant CBCers, either. […]

A George for the other side too

A surprising bit of ink this week on ‘The Canadian One,’ the CBC’s Idol-killer for next season, leading Stursburg to write to the GaM this morning to defend himeslf. That the show is being made should not be a surprise to anyone. Many have talked about the possibility, and I suggested it myself last year. […]

Match the viewer praise with the CBC-TV program

THE PROGRAMS Royal Canadian Air Farce This is Wonderland Newsworld (general) The Tournament Hatching Matching and Dispatching DaVinci’s City Hall Politics (with Don Newman) THE PRAISE Exactly the kind of programming that draws me to the CBC. If I want undemanding fluffy programming I can watch Global. I would like to see the CBC develop, […]

Match the viewer complaint with the CBC-TV program

THE PROGRAMS: Royal Canadian Air Farce This is Wonderland Newsworld (general) The Tournament Hatching Matching and Dispatching DaVinci’s City Hall Politics (with Don Newman) THE COMPLAINTS: Repeated use of the “F” word on this delightful family show is very disappointing and inappropriate. While living in St Tropez, Brigitte Bardot took offense to the noise a […]

Is the CMG even paying attention?

Regular readers of the Tea Makers are aware that it was part of a larger wave of blogging during the 2005 CBC Lockout, when CBC blogs were the new porn. And if Tod Maffin was its Hugh Hefner, I was probably its Bob Guccione. I learned a very important lesson about blogging during that time. […]

I admit that these terrorists are making me a little uncomfortable

Ever since September 11th I’ve been a little jumpy. The CN Tower is across the street, and while authorities assure me that it can withstand a direct hit from a jumbo jet, I find that hard to believe. I mean, just look at the thing. The TBC has the ability to broadcast live across the […]

Happy birthday CBC.ca

Knowlton Nash wrote the definitive book on the CBC with The Microphone Wars, which I have read several times and would recommend to anyone interested in topic. It ends, however, in 1994. I asked Knowlton if he was interested in bringing the story up to date, and he said he wasn’t. So for a time, […]

Rest in peace, Krista

I think everyone was pretty shocked when they heard the news about Krista Harris on Monday. I know I was. It was only a few weeks ago that I was praising her as one of the bright lights. Regular readers will know I don’t do that very often, but this was the second time for […]

Write for us