In this piece, Byron York writes about a plan this year to stop all federal public funding of National Partisan Public Radio (NPR). Hopefully Conservatives in Ottawa are following this very closely with respect to the CBC.
If you’ve ever wondered how on earth the CBC wasted consumed $1,017,587,000.00 last year in taxpayer dollars, take a look at the number of producers for The Current, a little radio show on CBC 1.
While a typical private sector radio program will have one or two producers, this show on CBC has 17 (Seventeen):
Lisa Ayuso – Associate Producer
Willy Barth – Senior Producer/Studio Director
Pam Bertrand – Exectuive [sic] Producer
Aaron Brindle – Senior Producer
John Chipman – Producer (Off on Secondment: Sunday Edition)
Howard Goldenthal – Producer
Kathleen Goldhar – Producer
Nicola Luksic – Producer (At Tapestry for 2010/2011 season)
Dick Miller – Senior Producer/Documentary Producer (Halifax)
Kristin Nelson – Producer
Lara O’Brien – Producer
Ellen Saenger – P/T Producer (Vancouver)
Pedro Sanchez – Producer
Idella Sturino – P/T Producer
Joan Webber – Senior Producer (Vancouver)
Gord Westmacott – Producer
Chris Wodskou – Producer
Update: I asked Charles Adler, one of Canada’s most prominent private sector talk show radio hosts, if he had any comments on this. Here’s what he wrote back:
Government should raise taxes for services that are essential for the public and are not or cannot be provided by the private sector.
I don’t know how many Canadians would call today’s CBC an essential public service. This has nothing to do with the ideological striping of the CBC decision makers. I don’t think the majority of taxpayers, if consulted, would support the current model.
The Byron York amended NPR model is a good one. The members of NPR and PBS feel connected to the services they are paying for voluntarily. I would support licensing a voluntary not for profit model for Canada. And I think a majority of Canadians would favour that approach. (republished with permission)
Like flies on a steaming pile of sh**
Holy crap…
Hey! I’m a producer too, you know. In the last 40 years of my life I produced the following (at least):
– Two daughters and one son
– 40 years in the financial services industry growing my own business
– employment for several people full time and some part-time
– a crap load of money sent to governments of all levels in taxes, fees, levies, licences, registrations……and did I mention taxes?
– employment for untold hundreds of people with what was left over after paying the above, taxes, fees, levies, licences, registrations…..and did I mention taxes?
Where the hell is my recognition?
Indeed – just where do we get our reward for what we have “produced”?
Time to gas that black hole once and for all!
Gormley kicks their butts in ratings every day and always had. How many people work on his show?
My guess is 3 or 4 including him.
I suspect that the reason they are all ‘producers’ is for salary reasons.
That is, each person has been around the CBC for a long enough period of time (5 years? less?) that, they get to be called a ‘producer’. And thus entitled to the salary and benefits of that rank.
The actual work they do could be trivial to non-existent. It’s all about money, and since the CBC is not accountable to anyone – because it’s a public institution – then, the focus is only on money and benefits for the CBC employees.
An infinite number of monkeys typing at an infinite number of typewriters will eventually produce the CBC’s Financial Review document, subtitled, “a steaming pile of sh**”.
Adler failed to mention how many Producers he has for his show. If the number is right up there with CBC,I have no complaint, but if CBC needs a substantially higher number,then …..WHY?
Over a billion to produce the dreck I hear whenever I listen to CBC,pity.
I suspect that you are correct ET. Good questions, a different bob. CBC, an arm the dysfunctional Liberano/Dipper mindset, preached in schools and universities; in cities, in Canada (I am not making this up!) is nothing but a stable of overfed cattle, chewing their cuds and eating oats.
Canadians need not hope that they will get much for the fat, old, cattle in the barn but if the herd is sold at least we won’t have to spend a fortune feeding them. We (taxpayers) should cut our loses and get out of the broadcasting business.
I view the CBC as just one more socialist rip-off I’m stuck with, no different than the HST, windmills, or my provincial taxes going to pay for the TTC in Toronto.
I don’t watch TV. Or listen to radio other than Sirius and Rush Limbaugh once in a while. If they shut the CBC I wouldn’t even know about it unless I read it on the web.
I’m happy to keep ignoring the CBC, but I’m not happy to keep paying for it. Shut it down.
Received an email from my MP directing me to the following web site:
http://www.fin.gc.ca/prebudget-prebudgetaire/1-eng.asp
It’s a pre-budget consultation form, where you can input your ideas for the upcoming budget.
I think a downsized CBC is acceptable to a majority of Canadians. They’ve done a few good things over the years. They’ve just lost the incentive to produce programs that can stand on their own. Programming seems to be disconnected from the tastes of ordinary viewers. A voluntary donation system might bring them back to earth.
Time to sell the CBC! Buy a bumper sticker & show your support!
http://tinyurl.com/46yoqg3
I haven’t owned a television for 20 years so I am not familiar with the CBC and the type of programming they produce. It seems redundant to me that a modern first world country like Canada would require a state owned broadcaster, expecially in the 1000 channel universe.
I own an xm satellite radio – the U.S. version. Sirius in Canada is largely or perhaps wholly owned by the CBC (why would that be). I also have an internet radio that has virtually every radio station in the world available.
I think that those who want to listen/watch the CBC should pay for it. They should purchase a suscription the same as they might for a magazine, newpaper or satellite radio. The rest of us should be let off the hook. Individuals support all kinds of causes, belong to clubs and organizations including religions. Those that feel they cannot live without the CBC should step up to the plate and put their money where their mouth is.
Makes you chuckle when you think of how often the CBC questions the gov’t on its spending choices and whether those choices are *cough* value for the taxpayer. We know what Kevin Page thinks on those issues… wonder what he thinks on this one. Since the CBC has quite an affection for the budget officer — considering how often they interview him — perhaps they’ll ask him… ermmm, then again, maybe not.
Thank god Sun News TV is coming. No doubt they’ll ask him. And he’ll be more than eager I’m sure — as he is with the CBC — to grant numerous interview requests from Sun News TV reporters and commentators, and state to Canadians that they’re not getting value for tax dollars from the CBC.
If Sun News TV was on the air today, Adler, Levant, etc. and their news reporters could’ve asked Page if he will bring the matter up on his next CBC appearance and if he doesn’t that he risks being seen in the back pocket of the Liberals and their propagandists at the CBC, not to mention doing damage to his own credibility as simply looking out for taxpayers.
With that said, you can kinda see why the CBC had such disdain for Sun News TV’s bid for a channel. Canadians are finally going to get the truth about them.
The government makes old people waite and suffer in pain while on surgical waite list. This is criminal. Meanwhile the CBC gets 1 billion dollars . We the people have let our Government do this to us.
Sell Hockey Night in Canada, scrap the rest, sell the hard assets and issue pink slips.
Hi SDA
the Current is the worst, most pathetically one-sided program on that crap channel. It really has to be heard to be believed.
And to think it has been belching its vile lefty noisome mind-smog since ’02. And with a staff of nearly 20!
Niall from Winnipeg
You have to take a look at one of the “Issues” THE CURRENT is spending time on.
they call it PLANT INTERVENTION , no kidding , here is a clip…….
After our interview on The Current, celebrated conservationist Jane Goodall sat down at our couches beside The Current’s very sorry-looking plants. As an optimist, Ms. Goodall was determined to do something about their dismal state. So she asked producer John Chipman for a watering can and a pair of scissors and gave hope to our neglected office plants sitting on the windowsill.
Well … chastened, producer John Chipman looked up how to care for an African violet, and has vowed to see if he can nurse ours back to life. After all, The Current is all about accountability, even our own!
We named our African violet Jane in honour of her undertaking to rescue our plants and we will continue to update monthly photos on our website to track its progress.
You have to take a look at one of the “Issues” THE CURRENT is spending time on.
they call it PLANT INTERVENTION , no kidding , here is a clip…….
After our interview on The Current, celebrated conservationist Jane Goodall sat down at our couches beside The Current’s very sorry-looking plants. As an optimist, Ms. Goodall was determined to do something about their dismal state. So she asked producer John Chipman for a watering can and a pair of scissors and gave hope to our neglected office plants sitting on the windowsill.
Well … chastened, producer John Chipman looked up how to care for an African violet, and has vowed to see if he can nurse ours back to life. After all, The Current is all about accountability, even our own!
We named our African violet Jane in honour of her undertaking to rescue our plants and we will continue to update monthly photos on our website to track its progress.