Michael Coren spills the beans;
At 6 p.m. on Saturday I received a call from a seemingly embarrassed Ms. Malik. “I’m afraid I have to tell you that we’re cancelling you for the morning. I’m so sorry. I do apologize for the inconvenience.”
I replied that it was indeed rather inconvenient because I had rearranged my Sunday to accommodate her, and that it was purely fortuitous that she had caught me at home. But, I continued, the greater point was why I was being cancelled.
“Well, we’ve just had our meeting and it was decided to change the panel.”
asked if the panel was being changed because of me. There was a pause. And then, “I have to be honest, I’m not going to lie or beat around the bush. Yes, it was.”
I asked how many people were at the meeting and was told there were “about 10.” I asked who some of them were but was told, “it would be unprofessional of me to tell you that.”
When I pushed for a more full explanation, the thickness of the plot became ludicrous. “We have to book panels that work together.” Fine, I replied, you don’t actually have a panel yet and the only person you are cancelling is myself. Mr. Laghi, the other panellist and someone I don’t even know, has not been cancelled and no third panellist yet booked.And, anyway, why would this panel not work?
I had a similar experience during the last week of the election. I was contacted by a producer with George Strombopolous inviting me to be on his show during election night returns. The details had been hammered out and we were setting up flight arrangements – when I was suddenly advised they wouldn’t need me after all. They’d decided to “change the format of the show”. Perhaps that was the truth – but as I was told I was being invited to provide a “conservative viewpoint”, I did wonder what happened to the format that made conservative viewpoints suddenly unecessary.
I have had similar experiences with the peoples network mainly radio. There is always a pre-interview interview and if you are not what they are looking for angle-wise you don’t get interviewed.
The chorus radio shows are different, if you can articulate a postion, any position on an issue you’re on.
The good news is this will all change when the Conservatives win that much needed majority and the mother corporation will be cleansed.
“We have to book panels that work together.”
And that would mean what exactly, Ms Mallick?
Kate,
After I had the Saskatoon Star Phoenix change words in my letter to the editor in an attempt to discredit me, and then offer a weak apology over the phone, nothing that the MSM does surprises me any more. The evidence of a socialist bias is undeniable.
The good news is that now we have the internet. People can protest without being censored by the left-wing media. Although, I am sure they are working on shutting up the bloggers that don‘t follow their “agenda“.
Ralph Benmurgui.
Gian Ghomeshi.
George Strombolopolous.
I love how the CBC selects who’s going to be their “star” and flogs flogs flogs them.
Strombo-bits might be able to get a job with the private media – those that are less moronic than MuchMusic – but Benmergui and Ghomeshi? They’d never get in the door for an interview.
Kill the CBC before it can do any more damage!
….Isn’t it amazing how anywhere the taxpayers money accumulates you will find a nest of lefties gleefully spending it to the benefit of the Liberals themselves,NOT all Canadians. .We can all see this “culture of entitlement” expands well beyond the Liberal politicians themselves.
Kate,
I’ve sent of Coren’s column to the ombudsman, asking him to verify if it’s correct and asking for the names of those who made the decision. I also asked if it’s regular procedure, and indicated that it contravenes some of the CBC’s stated “journalistic policies”
You may be saying, what’s the point of taking such action, I’ll just get some form letter from the ombudsmen. But, I refuse to stop putting the pressure on them. I encourage others to follow suit. If they insist on wasting my money (and the exexutives he forwards my concerns to) as busy as possible.
Sorry for the major typos and ommissions above:
It should have read:
“If they insist on wasting my money on socialist drivel, I will keep the ombudsman (and the executives who receive a forward of my concerns) as busy as possible.”
Write the ombudsman and quote the journalistic principles, when outlining examples of bias:
http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/accountability/journalistic/index.shtml
Angela,good on ya for taking action!
“Kill the CBC…”
Maybe we can at least get the process started. Start a petition to opt out of paying for it at petitions on-line.
On the other hand, I can clearly see the CBC headquarters from where I sit. Does somebody have a spare rocket launcher?
if the implication is that the CBC is censoring conservative viewpoints, it’s absurd. Don Newman has conservatives on his program “Politics” daily. Coren has his following to be sure. They just won’t see him on the CBC,thankfully.
Davidson,
Has your doctor checked you for mad cow disease? I understand that it destroys the brain.
I can only stomach small doses of CBC, however when George S-alphabet comes on, it gets turned off immediately. Too smug by half for my liking.
having a conservative on this or that show is not relevant. What is relevant is that the CBC appears to be run by liberal friendly hacks who can’t keep their political views from influencing their job.
It’s important to point out, as Coren does in the rest of the article, that while he is a social conservtive, his views on economics (the actual point of the alleged panel discussion) are actually to the Left of most non-troll readers of this blog. Who knows, maybe the producer thought they’d have too many economic liberals on the panel 🙂
Coren is also very anti-Iraq War and so on. So he is not easy to pigeonhole (and God knows tv producers hate that — it means they have to think).
I was on Newsworld on Easter Sunday and went through a pair of extremely long pre-interviews, certainly much longer than the real interview turned out to be. Since most media types assume I’m a liberal because I’m female, it often takes them a awfully long time to figure out that I am not. They had me on anyway; what harm could I do in 3 minutes first thing Sunday morning?
I’ve been on other CBC shows — once. I am never on again. Funnily, the shows tend to get cancelled shortly after my appearance (no, I don’t think that is anything more than a coincidence, but it does strike me funny). It is like being Typhoid Kathy.
Did anyone catch this:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060510/budget_vote_060510/20060510?hub=Canada
CTV put a picture of the Alberta Budget in a story about the federal budget.
Hmmmm, are they trying to tell us something????
davidson – Don Newman has the Conservatives on his program as a target to be attacked by the Liberals and NDP who are on his program. Both Mike Duffy and Don Newman have hour long TV programs that are heavily focused on attacking Harper.
They focus on trivia – it’s hard to fill up an hour long show. And above all, they do not provide the viewers with facts or valid analysis.
We hear that Harper is ‘cold’ and that Canada needs a more ‘charismatic’ and emotional leader (Jim Travers). Why? We hear about his weight, his clothes.
We get endless, endless images of Liberal and NDP commentators attacking a CPC MP for accepting a hockey ticket for $150, even though this is within the rules (limit $500), even though the individual checked with the Great Shapiro of Ethics. When it is pointed out that it fell within the ethics – we are informed ‘so what’ – the Conservatives are supposed to ‘do things differently’ (being ethical IS different)…
We get endless assertions that McGuinty is mad at Harper, that Harper is making a serious mistake in ‘insulting Ontario’…that the only reason he is ‘being nice to Quebec’ is not for its own good, but ‘just for votes’.
Remember, the operating infrastructure of the Liberals is simple. Power. Anything they ever did – was to get votes.
The MSM is locked into this mindset. Any political action has only one agenda – not the good of the people. But -power. Votes.
They can’t understand Harper does things for the people…and it’s not just about votes.
We hear about Vellacourt as ‘rogue’ but we don’t get the facts from the MSM that McLachlin DOES advocate, in her published speeches, that the judiciary create, by themselves, new laws that trump legislated laws. No, no. We don’t hear that Vellacourt is right and that we have rogue judges…
So, both Duffy and Newman may have Conservatives on their shows – but – they are set up to be attacked..by NDP and Liberals who sit beside them. That’s what you see – the attack.
And – you are never, ever, provided with the facts.
We don’t hear that the Liberals thought of a softwood agreement that would get them LESS than Harper’s 4 billion.
The public is never, ever, informed about the nature of the dispute – about the reality of low stumpage fees that in essence acted as a subsidy. We never hear of that on the MSM.
All we hear on the MSM – is Evil Bush, Evil America. The fact that maybe they had a point, objecting to our low stumpage fees…hmmm.
And the fact that quite possibly, this fight was extremely useful to maintaining the Liberals in power, for just about the only policy in their platform – was – anti-Americanism. As long as they could fan those flames – they could stay in power.
I found the comments about “the union don’t want you” intriguing. It would indicate that the CBC is basically the mouthpiece of CUPE. It would explain many things.
It’s obvious that the CBC can’t be changed. Their viewpoint is deeply entrenched; it’s a GTA-Liberal and Lefty institution top-to-bottom. Conservative voters shouldn’t have to pay billions a year for this crap anymore.
Taxpayers should get to individually decide at tax time whether they want to want to donate money to this multi-billion dollar propaganda network.
Sidenote: On CBC radio, Mackay’s visit to Afghanistan was treated this way: A cursory acknowledgement of the trip, a brief quote, then “What he didn’t say was…”
Funny – I was on CBC Radio One last night, talking about TV with G&M columnist John Doyle. He let loose the usual stuff – how much he hates shows like The Unit that he considers “jingoistic”, and military and spy shows he considers guilty of this crime. I said I had no problem with jingoism, for a variety of reasons.
He ended the show with a tangential attack on the federal conservatives that he had to really stretch to make. The host seemed happy to let that be the last word. All very casual, clubby, convivial bias at work, as far as I could tell from up close.
Let’s see if I get invited back…
sell CBCpravda to Fox.
simple .
no buyout of employees they will all quit.
lots of the best equipment taxpayer money can buy.
an upgrade on the location of the centre of the universe from Toronto to New York ? he11 -anywhere but Trona.
mississagau matt
the longer CBC remains on the air the harder it is to pronounce the names of the reporters.
I think Patrick Brown is always somewhere he can be killed to he can be replaced with someone with 20 or more letters in their names. expect with the Liberal reporters now being about 30 years old we should be almost getting to quadrupal hyphen names – St.John-Smyth-Batchachacree-TooToo reflecting a great diversity of parentage.
Now be fair, guys! If not for the CBC, where would we get our next female foreign born GG??
Nice point, Kathy.
Just out – note that yesterday’s Toronto Star screamed a headline about Vellacourt’s pointing out that McLachlin is an activist judge..and printed her letter denying this, even though her December 2005 speech is about and only about – judicial activism and how judge-made law overrides legislated law.
And the Globe and Mail today wrote an editorial asserting that we don’t have ‘activist judges’. My god – didn’t they do any research – can’t they even bother to read her December speech?
Now- the MSM have forced Vellacourt to resign his position as chair of the aboriginal committee.
Remember when Ralph Ben- was going to be the savior of late night cbc and go head to head with Carson etc. Lots of hype about the set, and content. First show killed him when he had a mountie riding a horse, sitting backward in the saddle. Then there is George S, who talks too fast for my ears to listen to. Last night he took on Billy Grahams daughter, and lost. He ridiculed everything religious and especially the religious right. Well, I think he is an example of the cbc religious wrong. If we are the rightwing, they are the wrong wing. Quit using left and start using wrong when describing these idiots.
Aussies are coming.
CBC has announced it will ignore this visit. Will run re-runs of Anne…. George Jonas’ most famous work. …
Prime Minister of Australia to visit Canada
May 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that Australian Prime Minister John Howard will visit Ottawa from May 18 to 20, 2006. …
From the Prime Minister’s Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)
Re-inventing the CBC:
May 10, 2006
CBC adding to reality TV onslaught
The new look of CBC Television includes lots of reality programming.
…In this newly created position, she will oversee the development, production, acquisitions and adaptation of talk shows, game shows, lifestyle and reality programs…
…Layfield points to the BBC and its success with shows such as Wife Swap as an example of what the CBC is looking for…
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060510.CBC10/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Television/
March 16, 2004
CBC’s crazy misadventures in reality TV
…Raging Hormones (CBC, 9 p.m.) provides wincing evidence of why Canada should stay out of the reality TV racket altogether….
http://www.cbcwatch.ca/?q=node/view/25/116
These stories remind me of when I was running in a federal election some years back (early 90’s) for the Libertarian Party. I got an interview with CBC reporter John Webb at my home. Curiously, he insisted we do the interview in front of my computer and that I log onto what was then our Libertarian Party website. Then he started asking me about a link on our homepage to freemarket.net and how that website in turn had a link to then-Montana congresswoman Helen Chenoweth’s website. I replied that I had never heard of Ms. Chenoweth. He then mentioned that she had made some favourable comments about the Montana militia movement. I replied that I would not sanction violence as a means to our ends, and thought that was the end of it.
That night, the 6:00 news ran the interview, and I was treated to the sight of me at my computer, followed by clips of an interview with Helen Chenoweth, followed by a clip of a bunch of bearded militia men at target practice. All because of an indirect link on our website. This was obviously John Webb’s idea for “spicing up” what he thought was an otherwise dull story. I suspect he also thought it would be great fun to smear a party whose philosophy he didn’t agree with. I can see that the CBC hasn’t changed much since then.
We complained to the CBC and allegedy John Webb got a talking-to for this idiocy. But I learned never to trust these amoral guttersnipes again.
Years ago, when I was a stay-at-home mom, the CBC asked me if I would be interviewed about my reaction to an outrageous comment a radical feminist had made about government funds going to an organization that supported the choice of women to stay home to care for their children.
I spoke to one of the producers over the phone who, among other things, asked me how my children could be socialized–wasn’t I depriving them?–if they weren’t in daycare with children their own age. I informed him that I didn’t nail their feet to the floor and that my children saw people from two to 92 every day, unlike children in daycare who, essentially, hang out with peers most of the day.
He said he was surprised because his image of a stay-at-home mom was someone who smoked, had her hair in curlers, drank coffee all day, and watched the soaps. I told him he was right on only one count: I drank coffee. He then said that the CBC wanted to interview me in my kitchen with my two children, then six and two. I told him, no way. They’d go across the street to a neighbour’s house.
Lo and behold, next morning, the day of the scheduled interview, the CBC called to say that the interview was off. Why, I asked. “Because the feminist won’t come on camera with you and so we don’t have a story.”
“Oh yes you do,” I told them. “Her comments and my commentary on them are your story.”
No go, said the CBC. And another potential interview with a “conservative” bit the dust, not to mention the fact that the Canadian public would be exposed, yet again, to only one side of a story: the radical, feminist liberal view.
I think a book of a few thousand pages could be written about snubs by the CBC of people and groups with opinions that don’t square with theirs. This is “balanced” reporting?
I DON’T THINK SO. THE CBC HAS GOT TO GO!
Farmer Joe, you said:
“I have had similar experiences with the peoples network mainly radio. There is always a pre-interview interview and if you are not what they are looking for angle-wise you don’t get interviewed.
“The chorus radio shows are different, if you can articulate a postion, any position on an issue you’re on.”
Hear, hear, brother. You put that as well as could be put.
Aside from political beliefs (everyone has political beliefs, even private sector radio show managers), there is one crucial difference: The CBC is taxpayer funded and private broadcasters aren’t.
So the CBC can get away with slanting its coverage (when it’s not encouraging teen sex or something) and survive… a private broadcaster actually has to compete in a real way and make money to survive. So they don’t really care about your politics, they care about providing interesting points of view for their listeners.
Slash the CBC’s funding — to 0.
The Communist Brainwashing Channel needs to be shutdown TODAY!!!!
And to top it all off ….
Michael Coren was not on Michael Coren Live tonight.
That Liberal apologist goof John Moore from CFRB (and self-proclaimed “agent of the people) hosted. It all seemed very hastily arranged.
Has the CBC offed Michael?
“I think a book of a few thousand pages could be written about snubs by the CBC of people and groups with opinions that don’t square with theirs.”
Hey New Kid you have a great idea there. We have many journalists who read this site. Perhaps someone (or you) could pick up on this idea. Sales would likely be very good because non Socialists/Liberals will buy it but also all those CBC employees would buy it. The MSM would slaver over it. This could be a blockbuster Canadian seller. Just set yourself up with a website to receive the stories.
There was a time, when I was less mature, that an article like Michael’s would send me into a orgy of curses and thrown articles.
Fortunately, late in life, I decided to cancel all of my newspaper subsciptions and stopped watching CBC and CNN.
Instead, I started view weblogs such as SDA where I find better quality information and my blood pressure is lower.
ommmmmmmmmm ommmmmmmmmmm ommmmmmmmmmmm
Panels are very unfair on Duffy and Newman shows. There’s usually one Conservative, one NDP, and two Liberals, and when the Liberal rep doesn’t seem assertive enough, the host chimes in to present the Liberal argument–very unfair!!!
Ask Michael Harris (CFRA in Ottawa) about treatment of journalists and authors by the CBC.
I still say the CBC should continue providing exposure for Canadian artists, drama, public interest stories, etc. But politics? No way. They are in a conflict of interest, as their funding comes from politicians. There are plenty of independent and free-market broadcasters to cover politics in this country.
When the Charter was signed, I was working in a kiosk doing taxes in a mall. The cbc was doing a man in the street thing to get peoples ideas. The come into my desk, camera rolling and asked my opinion. I said it was the worst thing to ever happen to Canada and would lead to all kinds of problems. Immediately the reporter said, stop the camera, and talked to my partner. He thought it was great. I took a break and followed the crew around the mall for an hour. Majority said it was bad, 3 thought it great. That night on the late news only positive comments were aired, across Canada. Haven’t trusted them since then. Great idea for a book, get on with it.
HEY HEY, HO HO, THE CBC HAS GOT TO GO!!!
…gee that has a nice ring to it…gosh, almost sounds like a union rally cry.
Perish the thought.
Just came back from a visit with Highschool friends..they were shocked to find out that I support Stephen Harper. So I did a little ‘analysis’ of what Liberal policies they supported…gun control? No…national daycare…No….The only thread I could find in their thinking: they trusted the CBC, and hated George Bush…and they trusted Michael Moore.
And they assumed because I was from Northern Ontario, I was out of touch…They didn’t know you could get news off the internet. I do love them, and we did have a nice visit …after the political discussion.
Sorry to sound like broken record (CD?), but I, too, was dumped from a CBC show at the last minute, e.g, 24 hours’ notice, by an embarrassed CBC underling.
Was the topic of the program changed? No. Was my opponent still the same person? Yes. Was there another person to represent the opposing point of view? No.
The left-wing (wrong-wing, thanks, Mary) guest was given a free ride: The conservative host of the program was given the role of opponent (I sent him lots of info. but it wasn’t his area of expertise) and the feminist, socialist host was given the role of “impartial” moderator. I kid you not.
After dozens of earlier, well documented complaints, always cavalierly swept aside by the CBC apparatchiks, I didn’t even bother to register a complaint about this skulduggery: business as usual. (On two occasions when I happened to be on a CBC program, my audio feeds mysteriously went dead just as my opponents started to speak.)
The political side of the CBC is an utter scandal. This taxpayer funded travesty brazenly breaks its mandate, and even its own professional standards, multiple times every day.
As my uncle would say, “What a crew”!
Miss Vicki, I am amazed that you took time off from the trap line to socialize with the edumakated elite. Don’t you gotta wrassle some bears or something?
Seriously though, having grown up in Northwestern Ontario I have always been amazed at the holier-than-thou attitude by people in Southern Ontario. It must be something in the water because I can recall my cousins who moved to toronto. They had lived all their lives in places so small the Welcome To ___ sign had the message on both sides to save on making two signs. Went to visit them a year later and I was treated like a hick country cousin who had never seen the lights of the big city.
I guess it must be a burden trying to enlighten the rest of Canada from the centre of the known universe.
If it is any consolation to Michael Coren, I do not know anyone, and I mean anyone, who watches the CBC and is under the age of 50. I find, particularly for people under 30, that the CBC could disappear tomorrow and who cares? By cancelling the CBC, I think the CPC just found the money to buy icebreakers. If one had to chose between defending Arctic sovereignty from those pesky Danes or some old CBC dinosaur, I chose Canada!
If it is any consolation to Michael Coren, I do not know anyone, and I mean anyone, who watches the CBC and is under the age of 50. I find, particularly for people under 30, that the CBC could disappear tomorrow and who cares? By cancelling the CBC, I think the CPC just found the money to buy icebreakers. If one had to chose between defending Arctic sovereignty from those pesky Danes or some old CBC dinosaur, I chose Canada!
I must say it is heartening to see so many others expressing their disgust with the MSM in our country,especially those gems at CBC.
I have been aware of this general trend for years,but honestly,it was only recently I really fathomed the depth of it.Subversion is the word that keeps coming back to me.
The Conservatives,led by Mr.Harper,were democratically elected by Canadian voters to lead this country,minority or not.The CBC in particular seems to be actively attempting nothing less than sabotaging our current government.I would call that the very definition of treason!
I understand the MSM is starting to struggle in some areas of it’s support,subscriptions,etc..Are we finally seeing signs of defiance to these regular partisan mistruths?We’ll sure as f**k never find out from current media sources if there are.
Finally,I sense some type of showdown on the horizon.I think we can thank Mr. Harper’s toying with these jackals for helping expose their manipulative agenda and speeding up this inevitable confrontation.Interesting times indeed!
The “vast left-wing conspiracy” strikes again! Perhaps Harper could free up some helicopters…
Canadian Observer, I too have watched the antics of the incredably stupid juvinile reporters and commentators that the MSM hires. I have asked myself “what is in it for the MSM owners to hire and pay these goofs to spout ‘wrong wing’ vomit? It has to be ‘kick backs’ from taxpayers via gument. I do not belive that MSM owners would invest in such losers if they were personally losing money.
Then I read Solzinitzn’s Archipelligo Gulags. The story is right there – as the noose tightens around the neck of the people the press gang demonizes anyone who does not agree with the “King Makers” Communist elitist’s (billionares) agendas. Compare the life style of Stalin to the life style of George Bush. Stalin ‘owned’ Russia as no Tsar ever had – and he did it by hiring a snearing nasty press gang of souless monsters to twist the thoughts of the people. I think the press gang must be ‘watched’ and hauled on the carpet every time they open their collective yaps. Kate, you have given the nation of Canada a voice. We can never thank you often enough but I’d like to thank you again. Thank-you Kate.
Oh, boo hoo hoo! You poor poor conservatives and that terrible terrible “MSM”. What a bunch of whining pussies you are!
It’s not enough that you have the Globe, The NP, Global, FoxNews, The Alberta Report, McClean’s, The Star-Phoenix, and CKOM to spread your horseshit far and wide. If any media outlet does not fall into lockstep and dutifully reproduce your talking points, no matter how fact-challenged, they’re condemned as part of some mythical “liberal media” (LOL).
Face it folks, your time of exclusive hegemony over newspapers, talk radio, and other corporate owned media is coming to an end, and it’s not the CBCs fault, it’s yours. From Bush’s lies about Iraq to Velacott’s lies about the Chief Justice, your unchallenged media free ride is over. The weight of your lies is no longer sustainable. Colbert was right.
The Globe? A conservative newspaper? Sorry ‘R’, but even if that list was anything like an overwhelming monolith of media – The Alberta Report, barely two years old, is hardly a venerable establishment magazine, Fox News isn’t even Canadian, and like most Canadians you don’t even know how to spell Maclean’s – including the Globe suggests that you’re obviously living in some collegiate fantasy world where rich men where morning coats, striped pants and top hats, and the working man’s newspapers are busted by goons in big black cars beating up newsboys. Whatever “exclusive hegemony” conservatives had over the media disappeared before Trudeau “retired” from politics. I actually work in the industry, peachfuzz, and I can tell you that you’re more likely to meet a conservative in a Birkenstock store than in a newsroom.
What IS the plan for the cbc? It is just not going to happen that the cbc will be sold off. Not this term and not in a majority. The senate will block it.
The real target should be the CRTC. To get change happening immediately would be the CRTC opening up licensing to new broadcasters. They currently have a protected market, so get more fresh blood in there.
Next we have regulations considering fairness in views. Heavily weighted to consider left wing views as balanced why not drop any regulations considering this? Reagan dropped theses requirements for FCC licensing which is what caused the explosion of conservative talk radio and the emergence of Fox news.
Use the market against these socialists.
enough
One more thing – The Alberta Report? What were you, ‘R’, or I thinking? It doesn’t exist anymore – and the Standard that replaced it is barely two years old. Pointing to a defunct magazine as proof of conservative hegemony of the media in Canada? It boggles the mind…
Enough has a good idea, and calls for the overhaul of the CRTC are becoming more common now, on both sides of the political spectrum, now that the changing face of media and technology have made the CRTC seem quaint, like a relic from the age of three channels and late editions.