Former journalist Bruce Phillips dies at 84

Bruce Phillips

Former journalist and federal privacy commissioner Bruce Phillips has died. He was 84.
A statement from his family says he died of kidney failure on Saturday in Penticton, B.C.
The statement says he suffered a stroke in June.
Phillips worked for a number of media outlets during his career including CTV news in the 70's and 80's.
Among his other duties he hosted the CTV show "Question Period."
He later served as Canada's privacy commissioner between 1991 and 2000.

CBC took $5,000 from Warner Music so Jian Ghomeshi could interview Tom Petty

The Star's Kevin Donovan reports that the CBC violated its rules by accepting $5,000 from Warner Music so that Jian Ghomeshi could travel to Malibu, Calif., and interview American rock star Tom Petty for a Q show “Canadian exclusive.”

“Our policy is to never accept money for booking talent,” said CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson. “That said, we recently became aware of a situation on Q where, after the talent was booked, money was accepted to help defray travel expenses.”

After the Star asked the CBC about the payment for the July 17 show, the CBC said it would repay the $5,000 to Petty’s record label.
Full story

Heads need to roll at the CBC: Paul Adams

Good piece in iPolitics by media veteran and Carleton prof Paul Adams on the Ghomeshsi situation.
Excerpt:
"So here’s a question: From what we know now, if you were a woman working at the CBC, would you have confidence in the judgment of your managers to handle a complaint of sexual harassment? To ask the question is to answer it.
"We know the CBC’s handling of the Ghomeshi affair was shambolic. We know their executives have not been forthright and consistent in their few public utterances.
"It is time now for those responsible to resign or be fired. For the good of the CBC."
The whole column

"Panorama" current affairs show could be split from BBC in shakeup

The BBC is considering moving flagship show Panorama and some of its current affairs out of the corporation into a commercial subsidiary.
In the week that Panorama hit the headlines after its eagerly-awaited exposé of Mazher Mahmood was postponed for a second time, it has emerged that the weekly programme may not be protected from the proposal aired by director general Tony Hall earlier this year to shakeup in-house TV production. It will come as a surprise to media observers that the production of Panorama and parts of current affairs are being looked at as contenders for the new stand-alone subsidiary – dubbed NewCo internally at the BBC. BBC News, which produces the daily bulletins, is exempt from the changes.
Under Hall’s ‘compete or compare’ plan, BBC strategists are looking at how parts of the corporation could be spun off into a separate company that is allowed to make shows for rivals. The proposals are likely to need a change in the BBC’s charter.
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Star columnist muses about Ghomeshi photo

The Star's Christopher Hume calls the photo by Colin McConnell of Ghomeshi leaving court "the first great image" of the fallen star's saga. Excerpt:
"The shot, taken as Ghomeshi, his lawyer Marie Henein and lawyer Danielle Robitaille make their way past a throng of media, isn’t just a study of a man who stands accused, but a portrait of pain and suffering. In earlier times, it might have been a painting by Raphael, Rembrandt or perhaps Caravaggio."
The whole column
(A little over the top maybe?--ED)