Monthly Archives: July 2008

This just in: Your job sucks

“Everybody knows” that CBC is a hostile work environment in the same way “everybody knows” Igor was a bicycle thief. It took a while for authorities to back up the latter allegation, if still unproven; backing up the former allegation took even longer. The facts, however, are in. Almost half of CBC’s 10,000 employees suffer […]

Who are you calling a Newfie?

More accurately, who called whom a Newfie? Why, CBC News Online did. Briefly. In the context of an aphasia patient who suddenly started speaking with a Newfoundland accent. (It’s purely apocryphal – there’s barely a detectable accent and it sure doesn’t sound like a Newfoundlander’s.) CBC had posted then pulled the story… and it reappeared […]

Rogge elements

(UPDATED)    I was going to hold this one until the “OlymBics” started, but I see that circumstances have overtaken me. Contrary to assurances but consistent with experience, yes, the Beijing Olympic organizers are going to censor journalists’ Internet access. But guess what: CBC is doing something similar. We begin with Jaques Rogge, who is […]

The Ryan problem

Canadian host of Canadian public broadcaster’s celebrity-interview show asks Canadian-born U.S. celebrity which U.S. game show he prefers. Both of those U.S. game shows are set to appear on the Canadian public broadcaster. And you thought the “cross-platform” shilling for Maria was bad.

Who designed the Corpse font?

My Own Boring Shit Alert: Who designed the CBC’s custom commoncase font?

Spirited defence of Jeremy Harris

I acknowledge that several of you are not, by any stretch of the imagination, launching into a personal attack on poor Jeremy Harris in various of your comments on this blog. You don’t even know his name. You just know him as PromoGit, or the asshole who reads the billboards and upcoming-show notices on CBC […]

Battle of the network iceblonds

Sixth and last in a series. Regrettably, we have a winner. What is the deal here? There’s a Cold War underway between the Borg and humanity. We’ve put our house iceblond out there over and over again – on Jonnovision, on Live at 25:00, on a bunch of things – and it’s just not getting […]

DROP THE BEAT!!!111!!!

There’s a group “on the Facebook” entitled DAMN! I miss “Drop The Beat” & “Straight Up”!!! (sic). Forgive the overenthusiastic spelling. Can we talk about the sentiment? Maybe this is false-memory syndrome, but I remember Drop the Beat and Straight Up (“Oh-oh-oh!”) as daringly original and almost pitch-perfect “youth” shows. I still remember the Straight […]

Battle of the Network Iceblonds

Nº 5 in a series.

Most contemptuous CBC personality

On-air personality, I mean.

‘YPF’ on CBC

If CBC is all about ratings and making shows that people want to watch and “Would it kill us to have a hit?,” then isn’t a golden opportunity staring us full-frontally in the face? Shouldn’t CBC scoop up the broadcast rights to Young People Fucking? I’m talking first window here – never mind this pay-TV […]

Spreading ourselves a bit thin?

We’re doing Chinese news now? I know CBC mandarins are always telling us the Corporation works in English and French “and eight aboriginal languages” – apparently Cree, Inuktitut, Gwich’in, Dogrib or Tli Cho, North Slavey and South Slavey, Inuvialuktun (which is not Inuktitut), and Chipewyan or Dene Suline. (Nine languages are used on RCI, which essentially […]

Battle of the network iceblonds

Nº 4 in a series.

A winning combination!

Whenever CBC shops south of the border, Ian Morrison waits for his phone to ring. “ â€˜Is this the best CBC can do? I hope not…. The public broadcaster should be running Canadian programming all the time – particularly in peak viewing periods like 7 to 11.’ […] Morrison compared the decision to run Jeopardy in […]