a letter to CBC's The Current
Oct. 17th, 2005 08:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iamomFrom: Dustin LindenSmith
To: thecurrent@cbc.ca
Date: Mon Oct 17th 2005
Subject: regarding Anna-Maria's interview today with Robert Rabinovitch
Dear Anna-Maria,
I'm so happy to have you back on the air. I've deeply missed hearing your show and the insightful questions it raises each day. Your interview with CBC President Robert Rabinovitch this morning was excellent.
To paraphrase some of Mr. Rabinovitch's comments:
-- We need to constantly be looking for new audiences with the CBC.
-- Ratings are not important; audiences are.
-- We need to create new, audacious programming.
-- The shows that are winning the awards are all intellectual, audacious shows.
If I suspected that Mr. Rabinovitch should have been dismissed from the CBC during this lockout, that suspicion was confirmed during this interview. I don't doubt that the man is a reasonably effective business manager per se, but he demonstrated no clear vision for the CBC going forward. The leader of our national public broadcaster was bland and businesslike, full of business clichés, and unable to describe any specific plan he might have for the future. I just don't think he gets it, and I doubt that he has anything further to contribute to our beloved CBC.
Of course, now I wonder if he wouldn't make a good fundraiser, especially if his claim of $65-million annually in revenue generation for the CBC is true. Seems like he might be good at that.
With thanks,
Dustin LindenSmith
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Update: Only hours after I sent this, the producer who reads The Current's mail on the air each week, Lisa Ayuso, sent me an appreciative reply with her support. If I'm lucky, she'll read my letter on the air this week!
Incidentally, someone at the CBC produces an excellent blog-style synopsis of each day's show on the CBC website. Today's synopsis, along with RealAudio excerpts, is located here.
To: thecurrent@cbc.ca
Date: Mon Oct 17th 2005
Subject: regarding Anna-Maria's interview today with Robert Rabinovitch
Dear Anna-Maria,
I'm so happy to have you back on the air. I've deeply missed hearing your show and the insightful questions it raises each day. Your interview with CBC President Robert Rabinovitch this morning was excellent.
To paraphrase some of Mr. Rabinovitch's comments:
-- We need to constantly be looking for new audiences with the CBC.
-- Ratings are not important; audiences are.
-- We need to create new, audacious programming.
-- The shows that are winning the awards are all intellectual, audacious shows.
If I suspected that Mr. Rabinovitch should have been dismissed from the CBC during this lockout, that suspicion was confirmed during this interview. I don't doubt that the man is a reasonably effective business manager per se, but he demonstrated no clear vision for the CBC going forward. The leader of our national public broadcaster was bland and businesslike, full of business clichés, and unable to describe any specific plan he might have for the future. I just don't think he gets it, and I doubt that he has anything further to contribute to our beloved CBC.
Of course, now I wonder if he wouldn't make a good fundraiser, especially if his claim of $65-million annually in revenue generation for the CBC is true. Seems like he might be good at that.
With thanks,
Dustin LindenSmith
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Update: Only hours after I sent this, the producer who reads The Current's mail on the air each week, Lisa Ayuso, sent me an appreciative reply with her support. If I'm lucky, she'll read my letter on the air this week!
Incidentally, someone at the CBC produces an excellent blog-style synopsis of each day's show on the CBC website. Today's synopsis, along with RealAudio excerpts, is located here.
