Hey guys, lay off a little, eh?

Hot sunny weather here in Toronto, and while some were outside enjoying the weekend, others were busy sticking it to the CBC.

The Globe in particular has been vigorously hammering us lately, with stories true and false, and while Tod thinks it’s about media consolidation I’m not totally convinced. I think they just want us to be better.

The indefatigable Joe Clark wants same. Despite being passionate, driven, and 100% right, he’s still being stonewalled by CBC. To my mind he has a lot in common with guys like Russ Germain and Blair Shewchuck, sticklers for detail who take the quality of CBC programming seriously and are rightly lauded for it. So why is there no room for Joe?

If you didn’t read the Globe’s exposé on the “Trouble at CBC” you didn’t miss much. That there is trouble at CBC is not news, and certainly not for regular readers of The Tea Makers, which wouldn’t exist if not for that trouble.

It continues this morning, with lines likes this: “Sources say The One was both too large a bet for CBC and a very unlucky one.” Wow, those sources must be pretty deep. Like, maybe, everyone in the fucking media.

If you are still not tired of talking about it, the Globe is a having a live chat with kate Taylor today. Keep in mind that the Globe’s version of a “live chat” is “email,” which makes for slow going and much refreshing. I tried to “chat” with John Doyle once, but fell asleep at my desk.

Speaking of Doyle, how much vacation time does that guy have?

Blake Crosby stumbles into the snakepit with a post about Windows Media Player, of all things. Now, you might think “who cares,” but regular readers of the Audience Reaction Reports will know that people have been vigorously complaining about formats for years.

And tied up into it are issues of rights management and copying and filesharing (known as “stealing” by the ill informed).

Now joining the other side in the holy war are Michael “50% right” Geist and Cory “Boing Boing” Doctorow, who gave a lecture to CBC webheads earlier this year on just this topic. I’m told he was applauded at the time with much vigor. I guess those ideas never made the transition from well-paid and fawning admiration to real-life, on-the-website application.

Lastly, the Chronicle Herald was so anxious to skewer us in their online edition, they ran this in their sidebar.

Who would’ve thought that after 2 weeks in L.A. George would have put on so much weight, added so many years, and developed such a smarmy shiteating grin?

4 Comments

  • Anonymous says:

    Yes Ouimet, this is when I love you, at your sarcastic best.
    You’ve been grumpy lately, so I’m glad those hazy lazy days of summer are here, and you’re at your fighting best. ‘Cause the G&M taught everybody was on vacation or too drugged by the smog to notice their latest attack, but nooooo Ouimet is there. Go get ’em O. At least someone’s fightin’ back. Doubt they’ll ever apologize though….

  • Anonymous says:

    George surrounds himself with quite the cast of sycophants. They’ll stand by Fonzie when nobody else is interested in his hipster blatherings.

  • Anonymous says:

    Why is Kate Taylor considered some sort of CBC expert?

  • Anonymous says:

    The media has been rather generous. “The One” fiasco has finished Georgie as an asset. He was playing the part of a young, hip, outsider. With which audience do you suppose that character any longer has credibility? Maybe, in five or six years, he might be able to re-invent himself, but I suspect it’s over on television.

    Are there unsubstantiated rumours of a thorough housecleaning on Front?

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