The CBC's Mark Critch is a D-bag and should be fired.

[Boges]

Exactly - funding or de-funding the CBC is for a separate thread.

This thread is about conservative's hurt feelings and the need to find justice in a cruel, cruel world of bad humour.

Or about a comedian who put up a picture on Instagram as a joke and then deleted it when called out on it.

It's most certainly about how the CBC is funded. If a comedian on the CTV made a similar joke, people would be free to boycott or avoid such programming. The CBC doesn't have to respond to such market pressures however.

Or about a comedian who put up a picture on Instagram as a joke and then deleted it when called out on it.

YES! because deleting tweets or Instagram posts immediately makes things disappear and should be removed from public awareness.

Edited August 29, 2016 by Boges

[msj]

But if I didn't like this type of humour I'm free to not support it, if he was being paid with private funds. However in the case of the CBC, this form of humour gets funding on the back of the taxpayer and people who did vote for the PM that's being made fun of.

CBC shows, whether produced by CBC or by private production companies and then purchased by CBC for broadcasting, make fun of politicians of all stripes.

Those politicians were voted for by tens of thousands of Canadians (in each riding - we do not get to vote for our Prime Minister unless the PM lives in our riding).

Get over it - it was a bad joke.

He deleted it after a tweetstorm and discussion with a CPC member.

All's well that ends well.

[msj]

It's most certainly about how the CBC is funded. If a comedian on the CTV made a similar joke, people would be free to boycott or avoid such programming. The CBC doesn't have to respond to such market pressures however.

Then write the CBC and ask them to not renew any further production for This Hour has 22 Minutes and its production company.

See how that works? It requires a little more effort than complaining on a forum.

[msj]

YES! because deleting tweets or Instagram posts immediately makes things disappear and should be removed from public awareness.

No, but it is certainly an important part of context.

Just like the CPC FB page finally deleting inappropriate comments about Trudeau being assassinated: they finally did the right thing and that's the end of the story unless it happens again and again in which case it won't be.

[Boges]

CBC shows, whether produced by CBC or by private production companies and then purchased by CBC for broadcasting, make fun of politicians of all stripes.

So that can raise the greater question of why a taxpayer funded entity should be in the business of deciding what's funny and no to the Canadian public.

[Boges]

No, but it is certainly an important part of context.

Just like the CPC FB page finally deleting inappropriate comments about Trudeau being assassinated: they finally did the right thing and that's the end of the story unless it happens again and again in which case it won't be.

So debate in that thread has been halted then, I trust.

[GostHacked]

So that can raise the greater question of why a taxpayer funded entity should be in the business of deciding what's funny and no to the Canadian public.

Has Air Farce gone off the air yet?

[msj]

So that can raise the greater question of why a taxpayer funded entity should be in the business of deciding what's funny and no to the Canadian public.

Why not take that to a different thread?

Or, more appropriately, why not have a thread about what CBC purchases from production companies?

So debate in that thread has been halted then, I trust.

No, the usual suspects are still finding things to say, in slightly different ways, over and over and over again.

[PIK]

People died that day. This ''joke'' never should have been done. It shows what a poor human being he and his handlers are. If it was a lib, it never would have happened.

[segnosaur]

CBC shows, whether produced by CBC or by private production companies and then purchased by CBC for broadcasting, make fun of politicians of all stripes.

Uhh... so?

Is your argument is "everybody is criticized so its ok"? If so, how do you know whatever criticism they received is balanced? Do you count the jokes made against each party to make sure there are an equal number of Conservative and Liberal jokes? Do you weigh that against other factors like the number of viewers?

The argument "they make fun of everyone" doesn't mean that they can't still be biased, nor does it mean that some of their jokes can be more distasteful than others.

I'd rather avoid the whole mess by just privatising the CBC. Then their performers can be just as biased as they want.

[overthere]

The CBC remains extremely popular and it would cost any party votes if they tried to dismantle it. But that's a different topic altogether for a different thread.

The reality is that there is a publicly funded broadcaster, like ABC, BBC, and even PBS.

What I find most funny, and quite ironic, is that conservatives want someone fired because they're offended by a joke. Conservatives... the new Social Justice Warriors!

By what measure is the CBC 'extremely popular'? I think you had a big typo there and meant CBC was 'extremely expensive' and 'almost entirely ignored by Canadian TV viewers'.

CBC TV is not popular in any large markets in Canada. Period. What is funny and sad and yes ironic is that defenders of CBC TV just gloss right over how insignificant, and how expensive, CBC TV is for the very few who actually tune in.

If this comedian/clown is on CBC TV, it is a certainty that few Canadians have heard of him. Include me in that group.

[The_Squid]

If this comedian/clown is on CBC TV, it is a certainty that few Canadians have heard of him. Include me in that group.

You've never heard of "This Hour has 22 Minutes"?

Are your feelings hurt? Should he be fired for hurting your feelings?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Hour_Has_22_Minutes

Recognized with 24 Gemini Awards and 11 Canadian Comedy Awards, 22 Minutes is broadcast on the CBC Television network.

Edited August 29, 2016 by The_Squid

[segnosaur]

You've never heard of "This Hour has 22 Minutes"?

Are your feelings hurt? Should he be fired for hurting your feelings?

I don't think its that uncommon for people not to know details about the show.

This Hour has 22 Minutes attracts ~800,000 viewers. This means less than 3% of all Canadians will be tuned in to the show.

Even if someone has heard of the show, they may not necessarily be a viewer. I have seen one or 2 episodes over a decade ago, but they didn't really entice me to continue viewing. I have no idea who any of the current performers are.

A few years ago there was a controversy because someone was given government funding to publish a "dumb blond" joke book. This situation seems remarkably similar... government funding going to "the arts", to produce something that few people will use.

As for the awards the show has won, keep in mind that that probably says more about poor quality of Canadian shows in general. I would gladly watch an episode of The Daily Show over 22 Minutes or Air Farce... both shows feature political satire, but it is much better done on the Daily Show.

[SpankyMcFarland]

You're right! Nobody will ever cover Canadian issues without the CBC.

First of all, there is no guarantee that such viewpoints are actually worth being heard.

Secondly, as I pointed out, we have a wide range of sources, many which give different viewpoints along the political spectrum. There is little risk that less popular viewpoints won't have at least some outlet. (unless of course they're totally insane.)

Lastly, you may have heard of this thing called "the internet".

Aren't we on that Internet machine right now?

As journalists and reporters are culled, the news outlets will increasingly concentrate on the happenings of a few urban centres plus human interest shots from around the world. News stories from smaller Canadian towns will not be investigated and covered in the same way. In any news story I have been involved in, the only people who have interviewed me were CBC reporters.

[Bryan]

This Hour has 22 Minutes attracts ~800,000 viewers. This means less than 3% of all Canadians will be tuned in to the show.

This is the thing that CBC supporters don't get: statistically speaking, it has no viewers. It's the Green Party of Canadian broadcasting, in more ways than one.

[SpankyMcFarland]

I must say I miss the old CBC Radio 2 of Jurgen Gothe and Co. It was my introduction to Canada and classical music. Whatever the presumably tiny ratings, its transformation was a loss to Canadian culture. So much for elitist nostalgia. These days, on the comedy and drama front, CBC really does need to move on. The BBC is streets ahead and I can't recall a TV series as good here as the Irish show Love/Hate, produced by their national broadcaster RTE.

On the issue of choosing what we want to see, there are costs to that too. I dip into NRO and Taki magazine to see very different perspectives to my own and am often pleasantly surprised by what I find.

Given global trends, the CBC is probably doomed. I, for one, will not be cheering.

Edited August 30, 2016 by SpankyMcFarland

[SpankyMcFarland]

You're right! And multiple on-line sources, some of which are uniquely Canadian, others which are offshoots of International media groups but still have Canadian reporters/sources (like Huffington Post.ca). So yeah, if you ignore all those Canadian sources, you have nobody to cover Canada.

How much original investigative reporting does HuffPo do across Canada?

[Guest]

Coming late to this one, so I can't read all the posts. I'll just say that sometimes comedy is offensive, and that's okay.

[BubberMiley]

It was kind of funny but people getting upset about it made it hilarious.

[Guest]

It's like the guy who was fined by a HRC recently for insulting a disabled person. The idea of sanctions for such a thing is ridiculous.

[msj]

Uhh... so?

Is your argument is "everybody is criticized so its ok"? If so, how do you know whatever criticism they received is balanced? Do you count the jokes made against each party to make sure there are an equal number of Conservative and Liberal jokes? Do you weigh that against other factors like the number of viewers?.

It means stop being a conservative justice warrior....

[BubberMiley]

It's like the guy who was fined by a HRC recently for insulting a disabled person. The idea of sanctions for such a thing is ridiculous.

He wasn't disabled or terminally ill. He was just unattractive. That was the joke that warranted the fine. I think if you choose to become a public figure you have to withstand humour, even when it is funny.

[Guest]

A comedian was fined for making a joke about an unattractive person? That's amazing. I agree about the public figure. Goes with the territory.

[SpankyMcFarland]

I guess it's all about national priorities in the end. Look what BBC Radio produces:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio

What a range.

Edited August 30, 2016 by SpankyMcFarland

[cybercoma]

It means stop being a conservative justice warrior....

social injustice warrior