The Written Word
for October 15, 2000

The recent fuss at CKNW over the decision to hire Glen Clark as a talk show host brought about the most amazing consequences. I don’t think anyone could have foreseen the tremendous outpouring of anger and bewilderment at what was, after all, only a rumour – though proved accurate in the result.

The massive mail and phone response betrayed a tremendous anger at Glen Clark and held him personally responsible for the ills of the province. I have never ever, in all my years in politics and reporting on it, seen or heard such venom. The second emotion was one of bewilderment that their station, CKNW, could ever contemplate such a move. There was the strong sense that CKNW was "family", and that we proposed to breach a trust. There were also some that thought it a publicity stunt to attract attention.

On the last point, I’m satisfied this was not cupidity but just stupidity.

I think a bit of background is necessary. On the Friday before the Fall rating period began David Berner, with whom the station was in negotiations, suddenly quit on a couple of hours notice. This created a serious problem and Mike Campbell, a man with great talent but not a "show biz’ entertainer was called in to fill the breach. Now Mike has other commitments and this badly upset his life and he would have been the first to admit that he was neither the man for the job nor did he want it.

What to do? I think there were other alternatives but I’m not management with the sort of overview managements possess. The idea of Glen Clark is not, at first blush, a bad one. Other politicians have done reasonably well becoming Talk show hosts – Judy Lamarsh back in the seventies, Dave Barrett and myself in the eighties. After all, successful politicians can communicate and that’s what radio is all about. Also, with politicians there is the curiosity factor – which admittedly doesn’t last long – and the natural base of support politicians have. And it is there that CKNW made its basic error. For, you see, Clark couldn’t even bring the left with him for they were just as mad at him as everyone else was – perhaps more so. For they see Clark as having wrecked the NDP’s chances for re-election and perhaps done serious, permanent damage to the party itself.

Frankly, had I been asked – and strangely enough none of the CKNW hosts were asked their opinion – this is the point I would have made. Having left politics for radio I knew that I brought a following with me and that the NDP, while they might not have liked me or my politics, weren’t outraged at the sound of my name.

Well, it’s over and I am delighted that Jon McComb is the new host. He has earned his spurs and is the perfect man for the post in my view. What remains to be seen is what, if any, lessons CKNW has learned for there are some out there for a radio station that is more than just another radio station to a hell of a lot of people out there.