Podcast appearances and mentions of richard stursberg

A lot of the criticisms against Canada's public broadcaster are fair, acknowledges Richard Stursberg, who was the CBC's executive vice president from 2004 to 2010: The programming doesn't always reflect the country outside of downtown Toronto; the CBC competes with private broadcasters for advertising, even though it's government-funded. The problem, which Stursberg says was the case then and remains the case now, is that no one knows what the CBC is supposed to be. And that goes as much for Mother Corp.'s decision-makers as it does for government policy-makers. As Stursberg discusses with host Brian Lilley this week, there remains a distinct lack of vision for the CBC, save Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre's plan to defund it. (Recorded November 9, 2023) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This year, a new coffee table book came out called Sephardi Voices, based on the long-running preservation project that collects stories of Sephardic Jews' accomplishments and survival worldwide. As part of the project, two Canadian researchers have spent the last few years collecting video testimonies from hundreds of survivors of the mass expulsion of nearly a million Jews from Arab lands after 1948. This group, never formally regarded as refugees or given financial help—unlike the Palestinians, as the book frequently notes—struggled with displacement and the destruction of historic synagogues and cemeteries. After the Second World War and the founding of Israel, their homelands' rulers kicked them out or initiated pogroms, despite Sephardic Jews living in Arab countries for 2,000 years. This week, two Canadian men involved in the project—Richard Stursberg and Henry Green, who co-authored the book—are set to donate 80 video testimonies, from survivors who moved to Canada, to Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa, in conjunction with a Canadian book launch for Sephardi Voices happening Thursday night. Stursberg joins The CJN Daily to talk about how the explusion was a catastrophe, but also a story of Jewish resiliance. What we talked about: Listen to The CJN Daily episode "Remembering the Farhud, 80 years later" Learn about Sephardi Voices at sephardivoices.com Learn about Am Shalom Synagogue at amshalom.ca Credits The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To learn how to support the show by subscribing to this podcast, please watch this video.

This week on Exponential, much hand ringing is being done about the decline of Media in Canada. TV broadcasters and print media are struggling in a new environment against new competitors. One possible solution to watching key Canadian cultural institutions go down is being offered in the new book by author and longtime Media industry executive Richard Stursberg called “the Tangled Garden”

Much hand wringing is being done about the decline of media in Canada… Television broadcasters and print media are struggling in a new environment, against new competitors. One possible solution to watching key Canadian cultural institutions go down is being offered up in a new book “The Tangled Garden: A Canadian Cultural manifesto for the Digital Age”…its author is long time media industry executive Richard Stursberg.

Former CBC exec Richard Stursberg tells Jesse all about it, and about his new book, The Tangled Garden: A Canadian Cultural Manifesto for the Digital Age. CORRECTION: In this episode, Jesse says Fox News is not available in Canada. It is. Support CANADALAND: http://canadalandshow.com/join See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Stursberg was the most hated CBC executive in recent history. What advice does he have for Catherine Tait, the CBC's new president? And what does he have to say about his own infamous legacy? Correction: An earlier version of this episode stated that Richard Stursberg lost the rights to Hockey Night In Canada and that he put ads on CBC Radio 2. He did neither of those things. Support CANADALAND: http://canadalandshow.com/join See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Richard Stursberg was appointed Head of Television Services at CBC in 2004. His book "The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets and Success Inside The CBC", is an account of his time there and his struggle to increase low audience figures by broadcasting more populist shows. Although he succeeded in raising audience figures, his controversial ideas lead to his dismissal in 2010.

Richard Stursberg was appointed Head of Television Services at CBC in 2004. His book "The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets and Success Inside The CBC", is an account of his time there and his struggle to increase low audience figures by broadcasting more populist shows. Although he succeeded in raising audience figures, his controversial ideas lead to his dismissal in 2010.

Unlike Britain, which opted to invest in public non-commercial broadcasting in the early '60s, Canada chose a hybrid model that freed the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to augment its Parliamentary appropriation with advertising revenues. Canada's 1968 Broadcast Act prescribed a broadcasting system controlled by Canadians that ‘safeguards and strengthens our cultural, political, social and economic fabric, promotes unity and national identity, and provides challenging, entertaining, informative programming that caters to a wide range of audiences.' This conflicted mandate parked the CBC at a particularly congested intersection, one that today invites more collisions than ever before, what with the significant funding cuts just announced and profits from the Hockey Night in Canada franchise in jeopardy. In addition to the impossible task of simultaneously promoting a single, nebulous national identity and culture, and providing programming for a wide variety of tastes and audiences, the CBC is also under pressure to produce “popular” shows that Canadians will watch and advertisers will support. One solution is to abandon the old commercial hybrid model and fund the CBC not through Parliament, but directly from licence fees  levied on consumers. This way the CBC could, similar to TVOntario, carve out a more distinctive, unique role for itself by eliminating advertising  (and much of the glib, manipulative, audience-spinning crap one finds on commercial television)  from most of its schedule, and delivering ‘high' quality Canadian alternative programming without regard for ‘lowest-common-denominator' audience share. Replacing a chubby old confused mongrel, with a lean, alert purebred puppy dog. Good idea. Perhaps that's why it stands little chance of seeing daylight. Anything that resembles a new tax, or loosens the leash that government holds on public broacasting is unlikely to fly in Harperland, or for that matter in any other party-that's-in-power land. The alternative, one which Richard Stursberg championed as Vice President of English language programming at the CBC (2004-2010), is to focus on audience. ‘ What use are ‘good' television shows if nobody watches them?  Stursberg  asks in his book The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets and Successes Inside the CBC which documents his tenure with the public broadcaster. While ‘Little Mosque on the Prairie' is no ‘Mad Men', it is watched by lots of Canadians. And this is more than can be said of much CBC programming prior to Stursberg's arrival. By pushing one component of a decidedly messed-up mandate he created much controversy during his time at the CBC, and, eventually, got himself fired. One hopes that his book, and his bold efforts will, if nothing else, encourage debate, and ultimately produce from government a clearer mandate for this important, troubled institution. I met with Richard (not Peter) Stursberg in Ottawa to talk about his  book.