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Here Comes the CBC Doughnut Campaign
If last night is the measure, it's gonna be a long one.
Cartoon by Ingrid Rice
The doughnut campaign is underway. This will be a federal election with a big hole in the middle, while the real Santa takes over from the part-timers. Monday, after the government fell in parliament, the CBC offered up the first election edition of The National. Based on "Day One," it could be a long campaign.
CBC-TV has more resources than any other Canadian television entity and will likely remain the first choice for Canadians in search of campaign news. While there's no reason to doubt they will cover the campaign thoroughly, round one had more than its share of cringe-worthy moments. The National, it seems, has caught a bad case of the cutes.
News, by actors
CBC-TV News has never been much for comedy, a point they proved again Monday. An early set-up piece on the coming campaign inexplicably used the nursery rhyme "Humpty Dumpty" as a framing device, complete with tinkly music. Cute.
Later came the debut of a new feature, "Campaign Insider." An anonymous political operator, apparently highly placed in one campaign or another, will compile a twice-weekly account on how things are going. To maintain the insider's anonymity, the reports will be read by an actor. It's an intriguing idea.
Maybe the reports will get better. Episode #1 was a dramatic statement of the obvious ("everybody's worried, everybody thinks the public distrusts their opponents, it's going to be tough") read by the actor in a style reminiscent of the narration from a third-rate detective flick. Again, cute.
'Allabunchacrooks'
Rex Murphy was present to read the blustery e-mails from ordinary Canadians on the eve of political mayhem. Such public feedback is a staple of modern TV news wherever you turn, but like mom always said, just because the other kids are doing it doesn't mean it's right. We already know that Joe from Alberta and Jenny from St. John think they're allabunchacrooks. Little is gained from hearing it ad nauseum through an already-bleak winter slog.
Finally, the big comedic moment. A group called the Content Factory provided an animated segment involving talking portraits of Prime Ministers, trading political barbs. There was a clever line or two, which you may have picked up if you weren't too busy wincing with embarrassment at the Air Farce-level cheesiness of it all. At least Peter Mansbridge and Rex seemed to get a good chuckle out of it, and Mansbridge promised there would be more such hi-jinx in the weeks to come. As if a January election weren't enough to give us the shivers already.
Steve Burgess is a keen hi-jinx analyst who gets shivers just thinking about politics. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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14
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Ron Erwin
6 years ago
Comments on "Here Comes the CBC Doughnut Campaign"
The CBC gets 1 billion dollars a year from the Federal Treasury to maintain a public television network. I am only a little bit suspicious of their Liberla bias.
We need a FOX like truthful network here in Canada. But unlikely with the bias the CRTC has.
Oh, what a country we live in.
no1important
6 years ago
Faux news reports anything but the truth, they are the mouth piece for the neocon right. We do not need a Canadian version of that hate channel.
clubofrome
6 years ago
Don't mind Ron, he's on every thread looking for attention. I would encourage all posters to join C.I.R.E. for the holidays, you've worked hard this year and deserve a break.
Coalition to Ignore Ron Erwin.
gomer
6 years ago
ron, did you slip and bump your head getting your "province"this morning?
Frank
6 years ago
I agree with the article, CBC news has been going downhill for years.
As for Ron, he's willing to do anything it takes to support people outside the country, except leave this one.
Sam Salmon
6 years ago
Why bother with TV at all?
Why do people take up bandwidth posting on the net about TV?
My take is that a lot of people still don't get it about the net.
Coyote
6 years ago
I listened to the downfall of Dienbienphu, when the French were defeated in Vietnam, on good old CBC radio. Not more than a few years after that, I was in Vietnam myself, as the rising US Empire prepared itself to take on the Vietnamese, with the Canadian mission in Saigon running around doing what the Canadian State does best-, be apologisist bootlicks for US imperialism.
Thereafter, I spent a good many years of my working life in isolated rural situations where CBC Radio was all that was available, and then, in some places, only late at night. I still have fond memories of the old CBC, in the connecting and uniting role it played in Canadian society during those times.
Now, I agree with Frank, along with Canadian society it has gone the way of the larger State and ruling class/business institutions, in becoming Yankeefied-, and taking on the shallow, apologist hues and content of that role. This CBC is nowhere the national cultural/education/entertainment institution of its early history. It is more pathetic than that, like the nation as a whole.
It is all taking on and becoming that pathetic Ron Erwin character, walking around with a black plastic garbage bag over its head, trying to act like that's the way things should be, if only one could breathe.
This is what the neoconservative/fascist vision of Amerika transplanted to colonial Kanada looks and feels like.
ROBBINS Sce Research
6 years ago
I enjoyed that Content Factory effort on the Prime Ministers. I thought it was clever, and that little part at the end, where Chretien is grinning at the prospect of Mr. Martin not doing well. Ironically I had made a reference to that in a radio interview back east just before The House vote.
So there must be a vein of thought that there is a feeling that Martin's loss is Chretiens' gain
tessa
6 years ago
Funny, even when the federal cash is flying in all directions, none ever lands with the CBC. And whenever the country is strapped for cash, the CBC's budget is always cut. We can't expect to have an intelligent, insightful public broadcaster without paying for it, and i believe the cost is well worth it.
darcy.mcgee
6 years ago
Burgess also does, or did, work for CBC which really should have been disclosed. But OK Mr. Editor, we get it.....you want to pick and choose your biases.
Anyway, the CBC writes the story of every election. They wrote the story of King Martin, and they're writing this one already.
So far, I like this story. I just wonder if Martin is going to be smart enough to see it coming - he didn't see the last one, despite the earlier in the year preview offered by Howard Dean south of the border.
Strike that. I'm not actually wondering. The man is oblivious.
I'm still calling this one a minority led by Paul Martin but the truth should be obvious to all who are watching....
If that's the result, both Mr. Martin and Mr. Harper are the losers.
Tom Lal
6 years ago
Then the CBC does a poll on which leader would you trust to return your wallet. What a stupid question.
Elliot
6 years ago
'Faux news reports anything but the truth, they are the mouth piece for the neocon right. We do not need a Canadian version of that hate channel.' we already have one. it's called the cbc and they hate conservatives. duh.
fabian
6 years ago
I take issue with the comment "CBC-TV has more resources than any other Canadian television entity and will likely remain the first choice for Canadians in search of campaign news." In my Opinion, CTV News IS the first choice of Candians for news with respected anchors like Lloyd Robertson and Lisa Laflamme. CTV's special election coverage and analysis with Mike Duffy and Craig Oliver is first rate.
CBC-TV is a strong second and Global News is third after the sad death of the knowledgable and respected David Vienneau.
Just me
6 years ago
The CBC was waaa-a-a-a-ay better at humour when it had Steve Burgess after the hockey game, or whenever they had him. Right, Steve? At least the glasses you wore were pretty funny.