I've never thought a lot of Kevin O'Leary. He comes on and I change the channel. The little that I've heard from his mouth has left me thinking that he is nothing more than a too-full-of-himself boor. Until I saw this video, I would have readily admitted that I might be wrong.
O'Leary has answered the question, at least for me, of whether or not his talents are worth airtime. They`re not. (If you'd like some confirmation of O'Leary spotty business acumen, read ". . . No Business Whiz" in Time Business or my post on the O'Leary history.)
If you're offended by O'Leary's boorish treatment of Chris Hedges, write the CBC Ombudsman. (I got the idea from a comment below the YouTube video. I thought it was a fine thought.) But, if you do, you are now late. The CBC Office of the Ombudsman has released its findings:
The ombudsman "found the remarks violated CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices policy. While the program acted responsibly in quickly apologizing to Hedges [and] concluded it would have better fulfilled the spirit of its policy by communicating its acknowledgment of error to the audience."
I found the remarks violated CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices policy. While the program acted responsibly in quickly apologizing to Hedges, I concluded it would have better fulfilled the spirit of its policy by communicating its acknowledgment of error to the audience.
One thing that offends me about the interview is that O'Leary clearly does not know to whom he is speaking. A few moments of googling his guest's name would have alerted him to the fact that Hedges is a well respected journalist of Pulitzer award-winning talents. If there is one thing that he is not, it is a "nutbar" as O'Leary called Hedges as the Canadian dipped into his bag of personal insults rather than into his reservoir of knowledge. A good, professional interviewer draws on knowledge and not insults while questioning a guest.
One may or may not agree with Hedges but O'Leary's incompetence brings the interviewer down all by itself. With the CBC facing more staff cuts, maybe it is time to cut O'Leary.
"I don't want him fired for offending me - smacks too much of censorship in a government station, which makes me uneasy. Choosing not to watch this clown wouldn't be a terribly tough decision.
ReplyDeleteBut...gosh, is he always so inept? (First time I've seen him). I mean...if he must be offensive, at least let him be effective! I found him cringe-worthy. Seemed like sheer lousy job performance, to me - lack of skills. And I figure that since I wasn't particularly in sympathy with the viewpoint of the guest, I'm a decent test case. :)"
I write to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail, which I have shared with senior information programmers so that they may be aware of your concerns.
ReplyDeleteAs a result of a similar complaint, I am conducting a review of this matter. It will be posted to my website in the next few days: www.cbc.ca/ombudsman (under Findings).
Sincerely,
Kirk LaPointe
CBC Ombudsman
excellent, ken...
ReplyDeleteNormally,I wouldn't wish to see anyone fired. But, O'Leary is a millionaire. Losing his cushy job with CBC wouldn't hurt him one bit. I certainly don`t want to tread on his free speech. As has been pointed out, he is inept. It is for his incompetence that he should be dismissed and not for his opinions. Oddly enough, I think O'Leary himself would argue only competent people should hold on to their jobs. By his own standards, he should go. (The depth of this present economic downturn is unique in my lifetime. I know so many highly educated people, young and old, who either cannot find work or who have lost their jobs of, in some cases, decades. One young bilingual women, with a number of degrees, lost her job in Europe, moved back to the States, and then lost her job in the States. She is now living with mom. But, mom is struggling as she is now unemployed faces losing her home of many decades. I know photographers, architects, engineers, all out of work. All are more competent at their jobs than O'Leary is at his, thinking of his television gigs.
ReplyDelete