Monday, September 29, 2008

A mighty wind blows up the arse of the CBC

CBC caves on Heather Mallick's column; promises more rightwing talking points real soon
Jesus freaking baby momma o' god.

The CBC Ombudsman reviews Mallick's column on VP Embarrassment-in-Waiting Sarah Palin, "A Mighty Wind Blows Through the Republican Convention", and cites this quote :

"It’s possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she’s a woman. They’re unfamiliar with our true natures. Do they think vaginas call out to each other in the jungle night?"

Great line that last one, wasn't it? Here's the ombudsman's response:
"Ms. Mallick’s item generally stays in the opinion column but she does offer some flat statements that appear to offer "facts" without any backup. For instance, there is no factual basis for a broad scale conclusion about the sexual adequacy of Republican men."
Yes, there really is nothing more ridiculous than a prissy serious pants deconstruction of snark, is there?
The ombudsman notes, apparently without irony, that Natty Post writer Jonathon Kay "urged readers to write to complain", and gets skittish on the topic of the CBC being "government-owned":

"I even received a phone call from the Fox News web outlet inquiring whether the views expressed represented the position of Canadians and "the Government of Canada."
Oh dear, the Fox is among the chickens again. And speaking of Fox :


"On CBCNews.ca, there does not appear to be a wide range of "pointy" views. For instance, many of those who complained claimed that there is no one of an opposite ideological viewpoint readily apparent on the service. Unfortunately, this appears to be true."

Uh-oh. Cue CBCNewshead John Cruickshank : We erred in our judgment

"Mallick's column is a classic piece of political invective. It is viciously personal, grossly hyperbolic and intensely partisan. And because it is all those things, this column should not have appeared on the CBCNews.ca site …
We failed you in this case. And as a result we have put new editing procedures in place to insure that in the future, work that is not appropriate for our platforms, will not appear."
He also notes the Fox censure, then :

"Ombudsman Carlin makes another significant observation in his response to complainants: when it does choose to print opinion, CBCNews.ca displays a very narrow range on its pages. In this, Carlin is also correct. This, too, is being immediately addressed. CBCNews.ca will soon expand the diversity of voices and opinions and be home to a diverse group of writers with many perspectives. In this, we will better reflect the depth and texture of this country."
Uh huh. CBC : "Fair and Balanced".
Good. In that case I expect to hear a good deal more from the poor, the left, the disabled, prisoners, feminists, First Nations, and people who don't live in Toronto.

And is this the "great wind" of a possible Con majority you're feeling here, CBC?
The ombudman wrote that "Liberty is not the same as license"; maybe Cruikshank is hearing "Liberty is not the same as having a licence."

16 comments:

thwap said...

They call it "the corpse." Now, by bowing to FoxNews shit-monkeys, they're putting nails in the coffin lid.

Alison said...

Over at the Beav where this is also posted, the Rev notes it only took 300 NattyPost driven crayola emails to put the wind up the CBC.
Hell, we can do better than that by noon : CBC Ombudsman
Skdadl's suggestion :
"CBC executives are even more sexually inadequate than Republican men are."

West End Bob said...

My "two cents" to the ombudsman:


The decision by yourself and the CBC to censure Heather Mallick for her column on Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin is extremely disappointing..

As a new Canadian who immigrated from the US, it is particularly disappointing to me. I left the US because of it becoming more and more a reflection of conservative, narrow-minded viewpoints. This tendency was reflected in the political, cultural and media spheres. The stifling nature of the Fox News type media outlets is an affront to democracy.

I had been able to hold the CBC up to my US contacts as an example of what real media should be. Now I will not have that option.

It's a sad day in Canada and the world.

NBDUDE said...

What I’ve noticed is that When Jack Layton is on before he is done talking they have a technical problem and he gets cut short, this has happened a couple of times, that I have seen. While the supreme leader doesn’t seem to have any problems when he is reading his speeches from the teleprompter. As for Dion the CBC should get some new reporters that can understand the green shift, Tax pollution, tax rebates to the public, instead of going out and talking to the public to find people as dumb as they are about not understanding it. I’m not sure it will work quite that simply by the time the bean counters and the bureaucrats get done with it but the way Dion tells it, it isn’t all that complicated. I was a big fan of CBC but lately not so much. One more thing is all there major right wing guest commentators, no balance.

Also Good one Bob

Pale said...

Right On Alison...

I wrote a note as well. I used some big werds such as atrocious. Obviously not the audience that the CBC wants anymore.
Who will they get to be the knuckle dragging mouth breathing Canadian Limbaugh I ask? (they do say they will be looking for someone to appeal to the con side of the aisle...)Course, they already have Bowman....

Sad day. Indeed.

RossK said...

pale--

Indeed.

But it does not have to be all sad.

Why?

Because there is something else we could also do for Ms. Mallick.

Which is.....

We could offer her an exclusive distribution deal with.....

Us!

(and I'm not joking)

.

Lindsay Stewart said...

okay, this time i'm following your lead alison ;-)

Deb Prothero said...

Here's my letter to add to the stack:

Mr. Carlin;

The removal of Ms. Mallick's article from CBC.ca due to the complaints of 300 which included several Americans illustrates that the CBC truly has lost its ability to stand up for itself. Therefore I ask for a review of this drastic form of censorship.

As for your conclusion that the CBC does not have a "wide range of pointy views", I must heartily disagree. As a viewer and life long listener of the CBC and now watching its migration to the web, I have been forced to tolerate the most pointy view in the country: "Rex Murphy".

To remove an "opinion" piece because "its facts are unsupportable", is a dangerous form of censorship in a democracy, especially at the behest of a vocal minority of 300 people, including some Americans. I hope your actions today result in many thousands of Canadians expressing their opinion on the withdrawal from CBC.ca of one of the world's best writers and journalists.

Canadians consider themselves fortunate to not have to rely on Fox News which is the only cable network available in vast stretches of the US. We have the CBC which provides a wide range of opinion for all Canadians. The right, the left and the middle are most heartily available on all parts of the CBC.

I must admit to noticing a profound disregard for some parties and their leaders in coverage of this election campaign. Over the last three weeks I have noticed a shift to the right on all aspects of the CBC, including CBC.ca . Given that the other television network available to Canadians is owned by the right, it behooves the CBC to represent the rest of the country. Has Stephen Harper appointed new management at CBC which is reviewing all aspects of the coverage - that's what it looks like from the viewers seat.

I heartily support a return of Ms. Mallick's opinion piece to CBC.ca without delay.

-------

also added Heather Mallick's home page to my blog under a new heading called: Columnists worth Reading. http://seeingredinthesouthwest.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

here are they going to find a Canadian who actually thinks the Republican choice of Bible Spice AKA Cariboo Barbie as a Vice-Presidential candidate was a good one?

they seem to love her over at the blogging tories

Dave said...

CBCNews.ca will soon expand the diversity of voices and opinions and be home to a diverse group of writers with many perspectives.

The last time the CBC did that they ended up publishing a bigoted and unrestrained racist who offered her bile between airbrush jobs.

Anonymous said...

Faux Noise should be banned!
They DARE to ask Democrats tough questions!
They REFUSE to believe everything Democrats tell them!
They even report the shady shenanigans of the Clintons, The Prohet Al Gore (pbuh), and The Messiah!
And that makes them WORSE THAN HITLER!
Yes it does,
they are pure evil.

Unknown said...

My question: who got the screencap of Mallick's piece?

Can we bloggers republish it on our own blogs,en masse? And dare the wingnuts to try to take us down?

Alison said...

Phyl : The column in question, A Mighty Wind Blows Through the Republican Convention, is still available at her website.
Copying it in full would violate her own personal copyright, Phyl, but Ross has an idea.

Unknown said...

Thanks, Alison. I thought it would probably be a violation, unless she gave permission or something. But as long as it's there to link to (which I'll edit and do on my own blog post), I'm happy.

And I already signaled to Ross that I'm totally in on it, if she'd like us to publish her each week. :-)

Anonymous said...

Didn't CBC.ca give Kate McMillian an election column last go round?

Anonymous said...

Seems we are in the middle of a major push by the shadow men on both sides of the border. These are interesting times indeed.

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