CBCunplugged: Strikers’ Underground

Mel at c h a n d r a s u t r a (love the name and concept behind it) has a post about CBCunplugged. As you may or may not know the CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation) has locked out 5000 workers over contract disputes. So those workers formed a blog called CBCunplugged (complete with podcasts) to give their side of the story and even broadcast underground versions of their CBC shows.

I love it.

Regardless if you agree or disagree with the strike, the fact that the strikers have used alternative media so fast and so fully is downright cool. Go to CBCunplugged and check it out yourself. Did I mention that I love it.

[zing! to Mel]

One Response to “CBCunplugged: Strikers’ Underground”

1. Mel says:

   August 24, 2005 at 11:06 am

   Hey thanks for the zing Tyrone!
   This is very cool of you to post about the lockout site. I don’t know whether those guys are checking out their stats but I think they’d be impressed that their message is reaching such a wide audience (beyond the Canadian airwaves).

   Our CBC is funded with taxpayer money. It’s a public broadcaster. The citizens own it. Essentially it’s like the BBC. Those of us who support and believe in public media view it as an alternative to private corporate media, which serves the interests of corporations - not citizens. In Canada and elsewhere, it is crucial to have an alternative to corporate media monopolies. While taxpayers may have a hand in funding the CBC we don’t have a say in how the CBC is run. That’s up to the government. And this is where things get murky.

   Over the past five or so years the CBC has been subject to what many refer to as “the death of a thousand cuts”. Our so-called “Liberal” government (liberal is actually a party here and most accurately describes a “centrist” political viewpoint - as opposed to what it means in the US) has cut quite a lot of funding to CBC. This has resulted in a limited budget for “original” programming and lower quality production values. And this results in cheap importans and reruns of crappy shows. Thus, people start to view the CBC as not very worthwhile. Thanks to cuts, citizens may wonder why we should bother saving it at all?

   About a year ago we almost had a federal election. Our rightwing party, the Conservatives, want to privatize the CBC. Our vibrant and powerful arts community challenged the Conservatives and raised public awareness about what privatization would mean for the integrity of Canadian content and culture. No offense, but most Canadians do not want the kind of stuff that is broadcast in the US. We don’t want to watch people being humiliated for money or news programs that better resemble screaming matches. We want something that reflects our culture and our values.

   Now with the lockout there is a chance that the management could have its wish - to start privatising ASAP. Some say it has already happened. The locked out workers find themselves at an impasse. If the workers demands are not met Canadians may lose this most cherished institution to bottom line, corporate economics. We will lose our true Canadian voice.

   This is about more than a strike, it’s about saving the CBC and, by extension, Canadian culture/identity.