The last generation of CBC News

[This message is a translation of Richard Stursberg, executive vice-president, English services.]

October 21, 2009: We’re in the final stretch – in five days we reveal not only the last generation of CBC News but the last generation of news in this country.  And today at 2:15 PM E.T., we’ll “peel back the curtain” for a sneak peek at the death of news, beginning next Monday.

This has been a long journey, and because of the financial and technical challenges we’ve faced (in addition to your inability to get the job done), we have achieved a new low when it comes to the quality and integrity of the journalism we’ve produced, unmatched by any other Canadian broadcaster.

I hope you know that your efforts are not going unnoticed. Everywhere I go people are exhausted and cynical about the relaunch of CBC News and they can’t wait to see it fail. You should know that the entire corporation – from the Board, to the President, to your colleagues across the country – is watching you, ready to lay blame anywhere except where it belongs.

The new direction for CBC News is the talk of newsrooms across the country, not just our own, but our competitors’ too, who snicker in the hope we fall flat and fail.  So much so that some of Canada’s lamest talent – enticed by promises of money and fame – have come to join our team, knowing full well that expectations are low, and therefore performance bonuses easy to obtain.

Welcome to our new colleagues. We are excited to have you on board and look forward to grinding you down and crushing your spirits, which is how we do things here at the CBC. In particular I personally recruited Kevin O’Leary promising him he could phone-in his contributions via Skype, this morning doing so in a towel from his health club. If that’s not the future of news I don’t know what is.

Finally, I want to recognize the success we’ve had corrupting the Geminis this week. On Monday evening CBC News bought six of the seven awards on offer in the News category and last evening one for Best Cross-Platform Project on a night devoted to arts and entertainment programming. These achievements belittle not only our past successes but provide solid rationale for the last generation of CBC News to be replaced by canned American content and personality-driven fluff. Hence why we spent a lot of money recruiting Anne-Marie Mediwake.

October 26, 2009 will be a moment of infamy for our organization, and I want to mock you again for your half-assed work and lacklustre commitment. I know that each one of your skills and talents will be wasted in news content that is built on a foundation of conformity, passivity, and commitment to abandon a standard of journalism faster than anyone else in this country.

– Richard Stursberg

3 Comments

  • Dizcussded says:

    CBCnn advertized the Enron movie and instead reruns the news with the Bilderburger Bonehead Mansbridge doing what he is told.
    Totally pathetic. Totally unbelievable. Total bullshit.

    I for one will never cone back.

  • Anonymous says:

    I tried to post this on CBC/BC’s website after hearing of the new awards. The system wouldn’t allow me to even submit it. Must have a name filter. But, here it is in its poorly edited and not spell-checked state.

    Okay, as a former CBC journo. All I need say is that Paisley Woodward
    is the only deserving person mentioned. The others, as of most of the
    CBC, a bunch of pathetic twerps looking to suck as much falice as
    possible to merely spin out a half decent story every now and then.

    Let me tell all of you who’ve noticed the most recent downturn who the
    real culprits are in this shameless pile of dung that is CBC
    reporting.

    A: Liz Huughes. A completely inept moron behind every failure the CBC
    ever had. INlcuding Canada now, if I’m correct.

    B: Wayne Wiilliams. There’s something wrong when a man who you’ve never
    heard of is put in charge of news at CBC Vancouver.

    C: Natalie Claancy; Natalie somehow suffers from the delusion she is
    good at what she does. She’s a poor journalist and was FIRED from
    newsworld because of her bad attitude. I can stomach a reporter with
    an attitude. But if that reporter is a bimbo it kinda kills the
    tolerance.

    D: Miyooung leee…. cause she’s brain-dead. I once saw her flat-out LIE on air.

    Sad thing about the whole CBC mess is that you have Justine Ma, Teresa
    Tang and such. Young Fresh-as-a-daisy types who will never learn a
    thing cause they have been put where they are cause Wayne WIlliams has
    a thing for Asian girls and will hire any of them who are attractive
    cause it helps fill his pocket book for the diversity bonus.

    Meanwhile, CBC continues off your tax dollars giving you bad news
    cause they hired a hack outta the states to tell them to become
    “eye-witness.”

    Why? Cause CBC TV and CBC radio were merged. WHY? Cause CBC TV Can sell
    ads and realize it would do well on CBC radio pimping its CRAP news.

    I’d be SHOCKED if CBC printed this. But, it’s going to my MP and the
    CRTC no matter what. Like that ill make a difference Canada is messed
    anyway.

  • leon says:

    I left CBC Vancouver with a bad taste in my mouth after seeing how the “New” CBC is. Get ready for CRAP people. Ambulance chasing bullocks.

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