Canadian Drama at its Best

We’ve seen the final episode of Downton Abbey, but the finales of two real-life Canadian dramas will be aired within the next few weeks.

A verdict in the Jian Ghomeshi sexual assault case comes down March 24. And, decisions on 31 counts of fraud, breach of trust and bribery against Senator Mike Duffy are expected in late April. 

Ghomeshi is a former CBC star, while Duffy was a high-profile CBC and CTV news personality before being named to the Senate.

Their trials concluded over the winter and the verdicts, whether “guilty” or “not guilty,” will generate much discussion. Both involve interesting and important issues.

Three women testified in the Ghomeshi trial, accusing him of physically hurting them while alone with him. The roughing up included slapping, pulling hair, choking and punching.

Ghomeshi, once host of the CBC radio show Q, has admitted in a Facebook post that he enjoys rough sex that some people might find offensive. CBC fired him after executives say they saw evidence he had injured a woman.

However, he said he practices rough sex only with consenting partners. His defence is that any partner he punched or choked consented.

Defence lawyer Marie Henein produced emails and a letter to show how at least one complainant continued to communicate with Ghomeshi after the alleged assault. The letter included a picture of the woman in a red bikini and was put forward as evidence as someone not disturbed about being slapped around.

Ms. Henein ran the complainants through a meat grinder, shattering their credibility. She accused them of lying under oath and of colluding to bring Ghomeshi down.

One of the issues in his trial is how to be less vicious with sexual assault complainants on the witness stand without weakening the accused person’s presumption of innocence. It is a fact that many rape victims do not step forward because they don’t want the trauma resulting from aggressive defence counsel tactics.

In the Duffy case, our corrupt political system is on trial. Specifically, how our prime ministers appoint senators as money raisers and vote getters, instead of working on behalf of citizens.

The charges against Duffy relate to expenses he racked up and whether he cheated in charging the Senate for purely personal items. There also is the issue of Nigel Wright, former prime minister Stephen Harper’s chief of staff, giving Duffy $90,000 to repay questioned expenses.

It is interesting how Ghomeshi and Duffy handled their defences differently.  Ghomeshi exercised his right to remain silent, while Duffy was on the witness stand for eight days, testifying in his own defence.

Duffy gave back as good as he got on the witness stand. He accused the PMO (prime minister’s office) of forcing him to repay questioned expenses that might cause political damage. 

Paying back expenses gave the appearance that he had done something wrong, said Duffy. He did nothing wrong but feared retaliation if he did not accept the PMO’s plan to avoid political problems by repaying the expenses.

Everything Ghomeshi had to say was said before he was charged and on the Facebook post explaining why he was fired. He hasn’t said anything since. 

That decision has been questioned privately, and in the media. Some people feel that the honourable thing for Ghomeshi to do was to take the stand, face his accusers and tell his version of what happened. On the witness stand he would face the same type of questioning his accusers faced – questioning designed to indicate whether a person is being entirely truthful. 

At any rate, the judges in both cases are experienced and well respected and will figure it all out. Their rulings, however, will not end the debates over the issues in each case.

And, whether they are found guilty or not guilty, neither Ghomeshi nor Duffy will ever be viewed by the public as innocent victims.

Email: shaman@vianet.ca
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The Lights Are Finally on at the CBC

The lights finally have come on in the CBC executive suites. The corp’s brain trust has accepted, very reluctantly, that CBC is dying and the life support of taxpayer dollars is running low.

   So out of the executive suites last week came A Space for Us All, CBC’s new-five year plan that details some operational changes instead of simply whining that it can’t do its job properly without more money. The plan sees CBC shifting priority to digital and mobile services. There will be less in-house production, some of its broadcasting palaces will be sold and 1,500 staff will be cut. (In fact, the ‘cuts’ will be through attrition over five years and people who retire etc. simply will not be replaced).

   The whole idea is to shake the mindset of cost cutting to survive, which has been the CBC’s main strategy for the last 10 years.

   The CBC has a long history of making governments and taxpayers feel guilty about not doling out increasing amounts of cash to maintain their most cherished cultural institution. Examples can be found throughout the corp's 78-year history. In 1947, the CBC appeared before a House of Commons committee with the statement that its level of service could not be maintained without more money. In 1974 it told the Canadian Radio and Television Commission that the CBC was pretty much perfect and “needs only more money to make it great.”

   There are reasons to be skeptical about the CBC’s planned new directions. Firstly who follows a five-year plan these days? The communications industry is changing by the minute. Mega-successful Twitter is only eight years old; Facebook 10. Five years is a light year in this digital age.

   Also, the CBC’s plan for change is dripping with syrupy language and buzz phrases. Like the CBC will be the public space for “our conversations and experiences as Canadians.” And, inspiring Canadians “to participate in the public space.” And, providing “distinctive content” to increase “and deepen engagement with Canadians.”

   The CBC also hopes to build a culture of collaboration, accountability, boldness, action and agility. You mean a culture with those attributes doesn’t already exist in one of the country’s larger businesses? Anyone opening a peanut stand would be expected to have those.

   Despite the skepticism, we all should wish the CBC luck. It was once an important part of Canadian life, and if its brain trust can restore it we’ll all be winners.

Savouring the Sweetness of Entitlement

   “Don't hesitate to satisfy your needs; indeed, expand your needs and demand more.”

The Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky expressed that greedy thought in his novel The Brothers Karamazov 125 years ago.

   Dostoyevsky’s words have become a mantra for politicians and others who consider themselves important enough to suck up entitlements as thoroughly as a sewer vacuums. Examples of demanding more and taking more stretch from sea to shining sea, notably in government and politics.

   There is the Canadian Senate expense account scandal, of course, and the outrage about Alberta Premier Aliston Redford’s air travel expenses. The Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police apologized and had to pay back the cost of using on-duty RCMP officers as an honour guard for his marriage to a senior Ottawa bureaucrat.

   A fresh example is found at the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Its president Hubert Lacroix has apologized for claiming $30,000 in expenses to which he wasn’t entitled. He says it was a careless error. If you can’t figure out your expense account, what are you doing running the CBC?

   Also, it’s been revealed that the CBC’s millionaire news reader Peter Mansbridge took big bucks to speak to petroleum producers. The Toronto Sun said the speaking fee was $28,000. In my journalistic world the only people you take money from are your employers. Mansbridge said it’s OK because all his paid speaking engagements are cleared by CBC senior management, which includes the president who can’t figure out his own expenses correctly.

   We live in a country where the elite and people in power have become so blinded by entitlement that they have difficulty seeing the difference between right and wrong.

Fade to Black

Of all the criticisms of the CBC during its continuing deep dive into mediocrity, none is more damning than a recent line from writer Peter C. Newman.

Newman, author 25 books and Canadian icon, in reviewing The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets and Successes Inside the CBC, wrote that when he came here as a refugee from Hungary, the CBC on radio taught him about Canada. Then, he adds:

“While my love of country abides, the national broadcaster is no longer part of that equation.”

What a devastating indictment of the CBC from one of Canada’s cultural elite. CBC, which considers itself at the centre of cultural elite, no longer is a part of most Canadians’ lives.

The Tower of Babble, published last month, was written by Richard Stursberg who was hired in 2004 to resuscitate the English services of the Mother Corp., and was dismissed six years later after losing head butting wars with the CBC president and its board of directors.

It is an interesting book for anyone who wants to know why dwindling numbers of Canadians pay any attention to the taxpayer supported radio and television network. It tells how labour problems have poisoned the workplace, and how refusal to change its CBC-knows-best culture has kept away audiences.

CBC once was a respected powerhouse of news and information. Today it tells us little that we don’t already know. It has lost its ability to tell Canadians in all parts of the country about trends in how we are living our lives. It has reduced itself to telling us what we already have heard is happening in Toronto and downtown Ottawa.

It is a sad story, but as they say nowadays, ‘Hey, things happen.’ There is little point moaning about the CBC, or trying to revive it. The CBC is in palliative care. It’s best now to let it go peacefully.

One of these days Peter Mansbridge will be standing at his teleprompter when the screen begins to fade. In the background, Ottawa reporter Terry Milewski will be trying desperately to get in the last words in his latest rant against the Harper government. Then the screen will go black.

Politicians and a Sick Puppy

The debate is on, and here come the clowns!

Bob Rae, Liberal chief until his party finds a leader people will vote for, now is centre stage shuckin’ and jivin’ for the CBC.

“Hands Off Our CBC” is the slogan in his campaign and online promotion aimed at drawing support from the dwindling number of voters who still think the CBC is important. It’s a pathetic attempt at helping his own party, not the CBC.

Other politicians aren’t much better. The Conservatives are using their dislike of the Mother Corp as a hot-button issue to agitate voters tired of wasteful spending.

They all miss the point. Voters are sick of the political slicks playing games with issues that need thorough fact finding and thoughtful review.

The CBC is a bloated, sick puppy. Its once awesome news operations have lost the respect of many dedicated, longstanding journalists. It has lost its journalistic way with its desperate efforts to win newscast ratings. How many times do you hear Peter Mansbridge, or someone promoting him or his newscast, use the word ‘exclusive’ when referring to CBC news stories? It has become a joke.

Mansbridge is a visible and prominent part of the CBC problem. He wouldn’t recognize a real news story if it jumped up and bit him on the nose. After decades at CBC, he remains just a voice with no feel for the news, or how it affects people.

What’s needed for the CBC is a serious, independent review. Run it under the microscope, identify its problems, then start fixing it. CBC used to be an important part of Canada. It still can be, if the politicians would quit using it as a pawn in their political games.

Reflections on a Train Wreck

Whenever I think about these sad times in traditional journalism I picture a train wreck. A quick peek at the wreckage scene:

• The Sun newspaper conglomerate has withdrawn from the National Newspaper Awards, Canadian Newspaper Association, The Canadian Press news agency, and now the Ontario Press Council. Despite whatever group spokespeople say, it’s all about saving money to boost bottom lines. Read more at: Honderich: Sad time for newspapering in Ontario - thestar.com
• Those are some of the same actions Conrad Black and David Radler took in running their newspaper empire in Canada, Britain, Israel and the United States. Their empire disintegrated.
• Rupert Murdoch, King of Kings in world tabloid journalism, is in so much trouble over the British phone hacking scandal that he might as well bend over and kiss his butt goodbye.
• There no longer is a national news service delivering news to all media outlets throughout Canada. Co-operative news gathering, mainly for the benefit of the people in our far-flung country, no longer exists. News in Canada now is tribal controlled, much like Afghanistan.
• What little remained of radio news is being further diminished by electronic networking.
• Television news continues to transform itself into just another entertainment manipulated for ratings. CBC’s The National has become a disgrace in the eyes of many serious, experienced journalists. One, Tim Knight, writes: “Simply put, the senior executives responsible for The National have gone rotten, abandoned the organization’s mandate and, in their frantic race for ratings, lost their journalistic focus and with it their journalistic integrity.” He calls main news reader Peter Mansbridge “A patronizing chief-anchor-for-life who . . . almost never actually seems to feel the scenes he describes. . . . doesn’t care what’s in the stories, doesn’t see the scenes, doesn’t feel the emotions. Has no genuine human response. As a result, of course, neither does the viewer.” Read more at: "The day I finally lost all respect for The National" | J-source.ca