Left Overs: The Best Media I've Ever CBCeen Left Overs Iain Reeve, OP Columnist With the CBC in lockout, the programming of our proud, public-media giant has been reduced to previous- ly aired content, American films, and feeds from the BBC. As with most things of greatness, we rarely realize how great they are until they’re gone. While columnists in various media outlets throughout Canada have been calling for the demise of the CBC, I can assure you that not only is the CBC here to stay, but it is going to con- tinue to be the best media corporation in our fine country. The strongest sources of criticism for the CBC are directed at the television wing, If we look first at the CBC flagship channel, we find that the most. common criticism is that the programming is incredibly, ' well...Canadian. The fact that this.has become at tive thing is somewhat unfortyaaas ech not groundless. For years people have Fideuled everthing from production quality to the relevance and “coolness” of _ CBC programs. Well kids, you gee from i it whatyot into it. One of the painful cycles Cipidies film aad televi sion has gone through has been trying to make interest- ing programs when there is little interest and thus too few dollars to fund them. It has also been difficult to attract young people while still maintaining some stan- dard of integrity—the CBC has never been willing to stoop to the same lows as private media to get kids to watch their programs. produced TV has become edgier and more relevant. alyst of t So what good is this publicly funded dinosaur? 2 Well, _. for one thing there is a trend oceurring in Canadian film, television, and music in recent years—it’s becoming a lot a cooler. Canadian films have become contenders in film festivals around the world, not to mention two interna _ tionally renowned film festivals that we host. Canadian- Attempts have even been made to reach Canada’s politi- time that talked about “how to find the NDPer in your office.” The list of clues included things like sharing cally disenfranchised youth with programs like The Hour nd many of the documentaries on The Passionate Eye. \C Radio 2 and 3 have been launching pads for ~ Canadian musicians of all styles and have been a big cat- profile of the Canadian indie rock at the CBC carries a left-wing bias, and having a copy of Mao’s little cover story. necessary to balance off against the right of center bias ..ef£,the majority of Canada’s other major media. ntegrity, respect, and giving attention to the unheard ssues—this is the mantra of the CBC I know. I will patiently await her return. Right Hook: Just kill the damn GBC alread ( Right Hook > ve J.J. McCullough, OP Columnist _ If I had to name the single biggest underlying problem with Canada—the one root cause of much of this nation’s social and political turmoil—it would be our country’s stubborn tradition of hanging on to tired, broken institutions long after they have outlived their useful- ness. Our entire nation is, in many ways, just a jumble of political anachronisms and relics, a motley collection of worn- out bureaucracies and dated ideas we . hold on to year after year, despite the fact that few can remember exactly why. Perhaps it’s a result of traditional Canadian apathy. Maybe it’s just laziness. Either way, we’ve let a lot of useless stuff pile up over the years. The list is long and vast. As I dis- cussed last issue, the office of Governor General is a pointless relic, as are the provincial Lieutenant Governors and the Senate. Much of our parliamentary sys- tem likewise remains tied to countless traditions that even Britain has long since reformed. Almost everyone seems to be in agreement that our national health care system is essentially a broken institution—the contemporary debate has shifted from admitting a problem to finding a solution. Many would argue Quebec is an anachronism within 21st- century Canada, and I think even more would question the fact that wee Prince Edward Island is still granted full provin- cial status. But of all the tired, worn out crap this country clings to, perhaps no institution is more annoyingly irrelevant than the CBC. What makes the CBC so uniquely irritating is not simply the fact that it’s a colossal waste of time and money, it’s the fact that the network is routinely cele- brated by the left-wing political elites of this country, despite, or perhaps because of it. Holding on to failed institutions is one thing, but to openly praise them is quite another. If there were ever a case of mediocrity being unduly celebrated, it would be the CBC. If you are reading this column, it’s most likely that you don’t watch the CBC—and that has nothing to do with their delightfully obvious left-wing bias. Study after study routinely turns up mea- ger single digits when it comes to the percentage that actually tune in to the network on a regular basis. It’s really not hard to see why. We only get so many hours of prime-time per night, and when the choice comes down to watching an award-winning, big-budget action drama like 24 or an under-funded, poorly-writ- ten, no-name actor, six-episodes-and-it’s- cancelled, CBC production like This is Wonderland, well, it’s not too hard a decision. The CBC is a relic from a time when everyone only got six channels, and thus expected at least one of them to be Canadian. CBC supporters may point to Britain’s BBC as a successful role-model, but it’s worth bearing in mind that a large part of the BBC’s popularity is due to the simple fact that the majority of Britons continue to live in a six channel universe. In today’s thousand-channel, cable-TV Canada, CBC offers practically nothing viewers can’t find elsewhere. If you want to watch left-wing documen- taries you can watch A&E, PBS, or the Documentary channel. If you want to watch local news you can watch Bill and Pamela on CTV, Tony on Global, or even that new Vancouver Island network. If you want humour, you can watch The Trailer Park, Boys on Showcase or Air Farce reruns (for whatever reason) on Comedy Network, and so on. Continued on page 10