CBC in turmoil -update

We want a name

Actually we have a name. We want CBC to confirm if we have it right. We will then be able to see what that reporter’s career path will be at the CBC or elsewhere.

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Krista Erikson, who it is suggested by a number of sources is the CBC reporter who crafted questions for a Liberal MP to ask at the Ethics Committee ( see our previous post for background and also posts by The Black Rod who has been following this story), will be either looking for a new job, or on Jock Watch, or on stress leave so Stephen Taylor has heard. Whatever.

We would like to see an apology from her but this is unlikely, as unlikely as some kind of admission from the Liberal Party that this incident was inappropriate behavior on their part also.

But can you believe that there is another scandal bubbling over in the hallowed halls of our esteemed national broadcaster? We saw this story in the Globe this morning and naturally we were curious what was behind it.

The CBC’s low-profile pre-Christmas sale of its taxpayer-funded international sales catalogue to a foreign buyer is drawing the ire of some of the biggest guns in Canadian television, who question why homegrown distributors weren’t invited to bid.

Even some members of the CBC board of directors privately complain they weren’t properly informed of the sale of a significant chunk of the public corporation’s international sales arm last month to Britain-based ContentFilm for an undisclosed sum.

“At issue is the cloak-and-dagger nature of the transaction …

The below-the-radar deal saw 135 titles and 700 hours of CBC’s international sales catalogue, including new dramas such as The Border and Heartland, sold to ContentFilm just days before Christmas.

The CBC has released few details of the deal, which allows ContentFilm to sell the rights to the CBC shows to broadcasters around the world.

“This is a public trust that every Canadian taxpayer has contributed to in this library,” veteran actor Paul Gross said. “The fact that it appears to have been sold with absolutely no open bidding, discussion, or presentation to the public is bizarre. This is a question of national ownership. What’s up for grabs next? Algonquin Park? PEI?”

We know in our gut that the paper story isn’t the whole story so we looked at Inside the CBC to see if there was any explanation there. Useless. Instead there is stuff about switching to Firefox ( like duh!) They might as well have just put up a post saying “NO COMMENT” .[see comments] So we looked at the Teamaker and voila – there it is not beyond comment.

There we see that the CBC sale of assets plan had been announced quietly before Christmas so easily missed. There they commented on the confusion over who knew what when and who approved.

Steve Billinger says no Canadian distributors wanted the package. Robert Lantos said he would have taken it. Billinger says the Board of Directors knew about the deal. Some Board members say they learned of the sale after the press release was issued.

There we learned that reporters don’t like ellipses.

“The board was informed that we were in discussions with them. I don’t know if they gave a stamp of approval to the deal … but we’re proceeding with it, so …”

The extremely rare trailing quote means one of 2 things. The Globe is leaving something out, or Billinger trailed off wistfully, perhaps dreaming of happier times.

There they commented on Content Films being sold to a Toronto Firm Peace Arch

and on the Star’s intriguing questions:

But there are a lot of other intriguing questions. Wouldn’t it have been in the CBC’s best interest to invite competing bids?

Terms of the deal – including whether the CBC is getting any fast cash when it closes – have not been revealed. The 135 shows have not been named.

Common assumption: the player behind the deal is really Richard Stursberg, chief of the English network.

A titillating footnote: Just two months ago Gary Howsam, the CEO of Peace Arch, had to take an extended leave of absence because he’s facing fraud charges in the United States.

[ in connection with a U.S. Federal Investigation into certain transactions between Comerica Bank and Mr. Howsam prior to his joining Peace Arch in 2003. The Board has emphasized that Peace Arch is not a party to the investigation and that these activities occurred in a time period preceding Mr. Howsam's involvement with the Company.]

A lingering question: If the CBC knew that Peace Arch was going to be taking over ContentFilm, why negotiate a sale to the British instead of waiting to deal directly with a Canadian company?

Stay tuned for the answers.

If the network does manage to score a winner with MVP in the game of TV ratings, maybe the CBC could concoct an equally steamy, provocative series about the twists and turns in the executive suite of a public broadcaster.

Indeed. But the Teagranny had only this to add to the Press material:

I have absolutely nothing to add to this except that if The Globe or The Star are looking for something untoward, or a juicy story, they will surely find it. This deal was weird from the day it was announced, and many people have emailed me about it.

I don’t know any more than you do. Which is why I don’t have a headache. [emph ours]

Whereas someone at CBC may need a large dose of analgesic. As taxpayers we don’t think the sum should be “undisclosed”. We can guess that if investigative reporters (are there any around?) can follow the money (as one commenter at the Teamaker also suggested) more will be revealed eventually.

Later: Peace Arch’s stock value.