Guaranteed airtime, guaranteed paychecks
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There really is a CBC world out there.
- Recently, failed musician-turned-CBC-host Jian Ghomeshi was interviewing the actor Billy Bob Thornton who came with his band The Boxmasters, and who explicitly asked that Ghomeshi not mention his acting career. It was a reasonable request. Thornton didn't want his acting to upstage his music. But, Ghomeshi, in true passive aggressive CBC style, started off by introducing Thornton as "an Oscar-winning actor." Thornton remained uncooperative throughout the interview, and the following day, cut his concert tour in Canada short. Of course, the blame fell on "those difficult Americans."
- Despite really low ratings, the CBC still heaves on several shows, for purely ideological reasons. One is The Little Mosque on the Prairie, another is George Stroumboulopoulos's The Hour, where he gets to interview, in his skewed leftist way, celebrities, politicians, writers and other contemporary figures of note.
- A former CBC host, Avi Lewis, now hosts an English language program on Al Jazeera.
- Former Editor-in-chief of CBC News, Tony Burman, was appointed managing director of Al Jazeera English last year.
- And the best for last. An enterprising Quebec singer, Bernard Lachance, who sells hundreds of his concert tickets by going on the streets and getting people to listen to him sing on CD (via earphones), put his performance on Youtube, with an invitation for Oprah to come to his concert at the Chicago Theater. He rented the theater for one night to perform his American debut concert using all his savings of $18,000 (Canadian, as he puts it).
Gail, Oprah's assistant, showed up while he was selling tickets in front of the concert hall and said Oprah would like him to be on the show the following week.
CBC news reported this event in a condescending and unimpressed manner. They didn't consider this man’s singular entrepreneurship, and made comments about hoping that his voice is as good as his hype (which it is). Canadian Television (CTV), on the other hand, had an upbeat, cheerful interview with him, and called him "a real inspiration to people."
That's the CBC in nutshell. Collaborators with the ideological left (and abusers of taxpayers' money). Kowtowers to Muslims. Insulters of guests. And never impressed with people who make their own money and their own destiny.
Addicted to taxpayers' money, they have formed their own clique of leftist Canadians who never have to worry about being fired. Now, doesn't that sound like some other place?
