Heritage committee launches review of CBC
After waiting months for the Conservative government to launch a review of the CBC, the House of Commons heritage committee has decided to start without it, passing a motion on Monday to look closely at the public broadcaster.
The motion to initiate the review was put forward by NDP heritage critic Charlie Angus, who first called for a review of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the spring.
He has also demanded that Ottawa commit to "stable and improved funding" and a "clear mandate" for the public broadcaster.
The standing committee on Canadian heritage had been expecting Heritage Minister Bev Oda to launch a review of the CBC and its role as a public broadcaster all year.
Instead, Oda asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in June to look at new broadcasting technologies and how they'll affect all broadcasting policies.
Speaking to the House of Commons, Oda committed to looking at the CBC but said an overall look all broadcast platforms was a priority.
Angus told the Globe and Mail the heritage committee is tired of waiting for the government to act.
"There's been rising frustration at the committee. Basically, nothing's been done at this committee throughout this session," he said.
The committee met in September with CBC executives, who have also been calling for a review of their mandate.
Among the issues expected to be dealt with are questions of the overall mandate of the broadcaster and the amount and kind of Canadian content it should produce.
Richard Stursberg, CBC executive vice-president of English television, said in an October speech that government support on a per-capita basis for the CBC is one-third of what the BBC gets from the British government. He said taxpayer dollars account for just 45 per cent of English-language television's total revenue.
The review is scheduled to begin in February, committee spokesman Jacques Lahaie told CBC Arts Online. After hearings with witnesses, the committee will prepare a report to be tabled in the House. Oda will then have 125 days to respond to any recommendations made in the report, says Lahaie.
The advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting welcomed the announcement of the review and called for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to participate and explain his stance on the public broadcaster.
"Stephen Harper's agenda for CBC remains hidden. We hope the heritage committee calls the prime minister as its first witness to explain his position on the future of CBC," spokesman Ian Morrison said in a statement.
Romber's Amazing Return
It definitely worked for Survivor. It sort of worked for Big Brother. Now, The Amazing Race is getting in on the all-star act.
CBS has confirmed that the 11th edition of the round the world reality show will bring back some—though not all—of the series' biggest names, for The Amazing Race: All-Stars. And the excluded teams have had no qualms in expressing their outrage.
Perennial reality show also-ran Rob Mariano and former Survivor champ Amber Brkich have been tapped to return for yet another shot at unscripted glory, as has Amazing duo David and Mary Conley, aka Team Kentucky from the most recent edition of the Emmy-winning series.
Strongly rumored to be joining the foursome are season five faves, couple Colin Guinn and Christie Woods (that season's runners-up) and cousins Mirna Hindoyan and Charla Faddoul.
Generating far more reaction, however, is who has not been chosen to compete.
The perpetually bickering season six couple Jonathan Baker and Victoria Fuller, who landed their own Dr. Phil prime-time special such was the interest in their relationship, will not return, nor will season nine winners BJ Averell and Tyler MacNiven, or season five winners, married couple Chip and Kim McAllister, arguably one of the most popular teams from the series' 10 seasons.
At least to hear them tell it.
A video post to their joint MySpace blog last month, which was removed after less than a day, lashed out at Amazing Race producers for excluding them from the all-star installment.
"I don't want to sugarcoat this or anything, there is definitely going to be an Amazing Race: All-Stars, they will be starting within the next few days and Kim and I never got a phone call from anyone, not from [the executive producers], not from CBS, not from anyone," Chip said.
"We have run the gamut of emotions. I hate to be one of these kind of people that thinks he's entitled to be an All-Star—I may not actually, Kim and I may not be All-Stars material—but to be completely forgotten by CBS and the CBS decision makers...it really doesn't feel good. We could have been contacted."
While he may have got the sentiment right, his timeline was slightly off.
According to Variety, Amazing Race: All-Stars began filming just last week in Miami. But Chip and Kim weren't the only non-invitees to express their disappointment.
Season nine winners BJ and Tyler, who incidentally sent fan forums into a frenzy this spring when homoerotic photos of them with fellow Racers Jeremy Ryan and Eric Sanchez were leaked online, sounded off on their exclusion via CBS.com's Former Racers Blog, where the duo were meant to be offering commentary on the show's 10th season.
"What would be ironic is if someone were putting together an all-star version of the race and contacted teams like [season seven teams] Lynn & Alex and Brian & Greg, but did not contact us, the most popular and amazing team of all time, about it," Tyler wrote in a post last month.
"Trust me, if they were doing that, they would contact us," BJ added. "We were the most well-liked team ever to compete on the Race...I'm sure they wouldn't just pick a gimmicky team like Rob & Amber, or a 'competitive' team like Colin & Christie, and turn their backs on friendly winning teams like us and Chip & Kim, leaving us to find out about it from some gossip site."
Richards apologizes, hires crisis expert
LOS ANGELES - Michael Richards is doing damage control. In the aftermath of his racist tirade against two black hecklers during a standup comedy routine, Richards on Wednesday hired a publicist with strong ties to the black community who set up calls to the Revs. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton.
New York publicist Howard Rubenstein took on Richards as a client, then arranged for the actor to call the black leaders.
"Michael apologized profusely," Rubenstein said. "He wants to heal the tremendous wound that he's inflicted on the American public, and on the African-American community. ... I think it was a positive discussion."
Jackson said Richards called "expressing his remorse and his confusion."
"He's embarrassed. He got caught on tape. That's a big part of his anxiety now," said Jackson.
"Clearly he needs some race sensibility training, and some psychiatric help. His anger is volatile and dangerous to himself and others," Jackson said. "I hope he gets the help he needs. But the culture that's producing this kind of animosity toward blacks must be addressed. ... We're increasingly facing cultural isolation in Hollywood, in the movies and in TV."
Calls to Sharpton's home and to his National Action Network on Wednesday were not immediately returned.
Richards, who played kooky neighbor Kramer on "Seinfeld," lashed out at the hecklers last week during a performance at West Hollywood's Laugh Factory. A video of his rant then appeared on TMZ.com.
The video shows him calling one of the hecklers a racial epithet, and repeating it over and over again.
In a subsequent satellite appearance on the "Late Show with David Letterman," Richards said his tirade was fueled by anger, not bigotry.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People said in a statement Wednesday that Richards' comments and anti-Semitic ones by Mel Gibson this year point to a trend in American culture, and that Richards' declaration "is indicative of the type of denial that too often accompanies racist rhetoric."
Rubenstein, whose media relations firm specializes in "crisis management," according to its Web site, said he had never met or spoken to Richards before the actor called him.
"He convinced me that he was sincere in his repentance and would do what's right," Rubenstein said.
"I've been very involved in the African-American community for 25 to 30 years," Rubenstein continued. "It would be a tragedy if this exacerbated our race relations. I hope I can help. ... It's always been an effort on my part to improve African-American and Jewish ethnic relations."
As for reports that Richards shouted out anti-Semitic remarks during another standup comedy routine in April, Rubenstein confirmed that Richards did, but that he was only role-playing.
"He's Jewish. He's not anti-Semitic at all. He was role-playing, he was playing a part. He did use inappropriate language, but he doesn't have any anti-Semitic feelings whatsoever," Rubenstein said.
"Michael says that he has a very hot temper, and that he says inappropriate things from time to time. Yes, there's no excuse for that."
Canadian Performer John Allan Cameron Has Died
John Allan Cameron, who helped spread the gospel of Celtic music across Canada and beyond, has died after a lengthy struggle with cancer.
He was 67.
His brother, John Donald Cameron, says the legendary Cape Breton entertainer died on Wednesday morning in a Toronto hospital.
A native of Mabou, Nova Scotia, John Allan Cameron was diagnosed five years ago with bone marrow cancer and leukemia.
Known as "Mabou's ministering minstrel," Cameron tirelessly promoted Celtic music long before the Rankin Family, the Barra MacNeils and Natalie MacMaster became known to Canadian listeners.
Cameron began his career with the Don Messer Show and Singalong Jubilee, then as the opening act for Anne Murray, and again with his own half-hour show.
In 1970, Cameron got a standing ovation at the Grand Ole Opry.
He was a resident of Pickering, Ontario when he died.