Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption, and Yes, Happiness by Jan Wong (2012). Click to buy this book from JanWong.ca: Out of the Blue

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Jan Wong joins me again. For over twenty years she’s been one of Canada’s most famous and infamous of journalists. Her reporting won her awards, and her famous ‘Lunch with. . .’ column in the Globe and Mail was legendary. In 2006 covering the Dawson College shooting in Montreal, what she wrote set off a controversy that marked the beginning of the end of her relationship with the Globe and Mail. After receiving many death threats, being denunciated in Parliament, and outright racism, it was the abandonment of her newspaper that caused her to fall into severe clinical depression. She has just written and published a new book, Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption, and Yes, Happiness. It’s a captivating book wherein Wong narrates her spiral from the heights of journalism in Canada to the depths of depression. Throughout the book, she cites books and people that had helped her along the way. It’s a terrific bibliography if you’re interested in reading more about depression and grief. The book is also a chronicle of her battles with the Globe and Mail; Manulife, the paper’s insurer; and Doubleday, which had been contracted to publish this book, before deciding otherwise, prompting Wong to self-publish. Virginia Woolf once said, “Take notes, and the pain goes away.” We’ll ask Ms. Wong if she took this to heart, and whether writing this book has helped her. I suspect it’ll help a lot of people define depression, notice its signs, and perhaps challenge the stigma associated with it. It’s also got the sort of media gossip that’s interesting. Jan Wong was last on for her previous book Beijing Confidential. Her previous books include Red China Blues, Jan Wong’s China, and Lunch with Jan Wong. She’s won many awards, was at the Globe and Mail for 20 years, and is currently a columnist at Toronto Life and the Halifax Chronicle Herald, and a professor of journalism at St. Thomas University in Fredricton, New Brunswick, where she splits her time with Toronto. The website for more is at www.janwong.ca; that’s where you can buy the book. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program in Toronto today, Jan Wong; Ms. Wong, good morning.

The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets, and Successes Inside the CBC by Richard Stursberg (Douglas & MacIntyre, 2012). Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: The Tower of Babble

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

That the CBC is Canada’s largest and most important cultural institution is without question. Whether it’s relevant and subsequently useful is something that’s always debated by Canadians wherever they are on the political spectrum. A new book has put the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation into focus, The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets, and Successes Inside the CBC. In a way this book validates how one feels about the CBC, whether you wish its demise, or whether you will its survival. Richard Stursberg is the book’s author. He is the former head of CBC’s English services, overseeing television and radio. He was once executive director of Telefilm Canada. He chaired the Canadian Television Fund, was CEO of Star Choice, and was president of the Canadian Cable Television Association. He was in government too, serving as assistant deputy minister for culture and broadcasting. He was at the CBC from 2004 until 2010. We’ll ask him about his experience at the CBC, his successes and some of the failures. It’s a great view onto this institution we either love or loath. The book is published by Douglas & McIntyre. It’s candid and telling. The website for more is at www.towerofbabble.ca. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, in Vancouver today, Richard Stursberg; Mr. Stursberg, good morning.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

I’m really pleased to have Alexandra Gill on now. She is the Globe and Mail’s West Coast restaurant critic. I’m a fan of her work, because the reviews are lively, cogent, fair, and thoughtful. Others have described her reviews as scathing, bitchy, and have left many a restaurateur to cringe. Everyone though seems to read her. We’ll find out what it’s like to have such a reputation, how she does her job, and is being a food critic in Vancouver as glamorous or gluttonous as some might see it as. We’ll look at the restaurant scene in Vancouver, as well maybe reflect on some of the trends seen in our restaurants. She joined the paper in 1997, and moved here from Toronto to cover the arts scene from 2001 to 2007. She was nominated for a National Newspaper Award in 2005. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Alexandra Gill; Good morning, Ms. Gill.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Joining me now is the journalist and historian Stanley Karnow. He was a long time correspondent in Asia from the 1950s through to the 1970s for such organisations as Time, Life, the Saturday Evening Post, the London Observer, the Washington Post, and NBC News. His coverage of the Vietnam War led to his writing of, Vietnam: A History, one of the definitive books on the war. It also led to a critically acclaimed and award winning PBS series, Vietnam: A Television History. In an effort to learn more about Philippine history and politics, I had read another of Mr. Karnow’s books In Our Image: America’s Empire in the Philippines. It’s easily one of the most comprehensive books on the Philippines and its relationship with the United States up to the late 1980s. The book received the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1990. It also inspired another PBS documentary that I saw recently, that’s just a great companion to the book. We’ll talk to Mr. Karnow now about his career, focusing on his time in the Philippines. We’ll discuss some of the historical figures he had encountered in his years of journalism, Douglas MacArthur, Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, Ninoy and Corazon Aquino, and others who figured so prominently in Philippine and American history. Stanley Karnow served in the United States Armed Forces during the Second World War. He graduated from Harvard, and attended the Sorbonne, and the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. His other books include Mao and China: From Revolution to Revolution and the memoir, Paris in the Fifties. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Society of Historians. He joins me from his home just outside of Washington, in Potomac, Maryland. I’m very pleased to welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Stanley Karnow; Mr. Karnow, good morning.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Chris Gailus joins me now. The Global BC personality anchors the landmark News Hour broadcast weekdays at 6.00pm here. He joins me today to talk about news, being the anchor, BC’s anchor if you see him across town on billboards and the sort. He began his career in Calgary and went to work in Dallas, anchoring there, before co-anchoring the morning program Good Day New York, in well, New York City. He returned to Canada in 2006 as a weekend anchor, and transitioned in as the lead anchor around 2009-2010 when Tony Parsons left Global BC. He’s a new dad too, his wife Jane Carrigan, also at Global, have recently adopted. The website is at www.globaltvbc.com. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Global BC News Hour anchor Chris Gailus; Good morning, Mr. Gailus.

Oliver’s Twist: The Life and Times of An Unapologetic Newshound by Craig Oliver. (Viking, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Oliver’s Twist

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

This has been a heavy season for political books, what with the major biographies on Macdonald, King, John Turner, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, among four major releases this fall. There are also popular political books, like Peter Newman’s on the Liberal Party, as well as memoirs; the one from Allan Fotheringham was a notable read. The one that I found a great read, not just because it had analysis of politics and media over the last couple of decades, but also because it has gossip is Craig Oliver’s book. In Oliver’s Twist: The Life and Times of An Unapologetic Newshound you get funny, candid, and fascinating stories, but you also get the deeply personal story of the famed television journalist. You read the heartrending story of Mr. Oliver’s childhood in Prince Rupert, BC, about his bootlegger father and his alcoholic mother. You read about being abandoned as a child, his beginnings in broadcasting, right up to today where he’s one of the most recognised, respected, and beloved journalists in Canada. He lived this remarkable life having to deal with failing eyesight. In those passages about finding out about losing his eyesight, you glean courage, but also lessons in not feeling self pity. It’s a great book, and published by Viking. Craig Oliver is the chief parliamentary correspondent for CTV News, and the co-host of Question Period. He’s won a multitude of awards. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program in Ottawa this day, Craig Oliver; Good morning, Mr. Oliver.

Boy From Nowhere: A Life in Ninety-One Countries by Allan Fotheringham. (Dundurn, 2011) Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Boy From Nowhere

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

It was Dalton Camp who said that because of my guest now, people read their issues of Maclean’s magazine from back to front. For 27 years from 1976 to 2003, Allan Fotheringham was the back page columnist, skewering as he did and shining a light on the politics and culture of this country in his winning and witty way. Before that he was a long time columnist in the Vancouver Sun and in a number of Southam newspapers, and he’s also appeared regularly in the Toronto Sun, the Globe and Mail, and the National Post. He’s the author of eight previous books, and he’s just come out with his memoirs: Boy From Nowhere: A Life in Ninety-One Countries. He was born in Hearne, Saskatchewan nearly 80 years ago, a town so small, he writes, that they didn’t have a village idiot, everyone took turns. He’s lived in Toronto now for 30 years or more, where he joins me from this morning, but he’s identified as from these parts, being from Vancouver, from British Columbia. I grew up reading Fotheringham in high school in the mid-to-late 1990s, idolising his style on the page and off. I don’t dress as well, and I don’t write anymore, because he does both seemingly so well and so effortlessly, it’s mind-boggling. This new book is a wonderful reminder of what a terrific writer Allan Fotheringham has been for well over fifty years, and how much he’s missed from the regular pages of our press. We’ll discuss this charming book, and this charmed life and career, the recent medical disaster in his life, and how he views the country today. I’ll also get him to remember some giants in this country, namely Jack Webster and Marjorie Nichols. The book is published by Dundurn. I’m very pleased to welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Allan Fotheringham; Good morning, Mr. Fotheringham.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Gary Bannerman died on Monday, 11 July 2011. The broadcaster, journalist and author is being remembered as an iconic radio host. That he was. From 1972 to 1988, he was the premiere talk show host on radio station CKNW, going head to head with the legendary Jack Webster. He bested Webster in the ratings, and raised the bar for talk shows in this town and this province. He held politicians to account, reported on big stories in British Columbia and around the world, and not to mention was an advocate for the consumer. He negotiated a hostage taking, and covered the 1973 Middle East War. He left CKNW in 1988 amidst some acrimonious contract negotiations and some personal health issues. He sat on the BC Ferries board for a time, and with his wife Patricia, established Bannerline Corporate Communications, a consulting firm that kept him busy. His Wikipedia entry states that his consulting and writing work kept him so busy, his media appearances were restricted to rare guest appearances. He appeared on this program twice. He was a welcome guest, and a gracious, generous friend to the program. We exchanged emails from time to time, and up to this past April, we were planning another interview. Alas, we never got to it. I regret very much never following up and having him on again, and I feel bad that I never got to tell him, how much I appreciated his support early in the life of this program, for the kind words he had for my work, and for the lessons he imparted both conspicuously and simply in the way he comported himself. I never met Gary Bannerman, and I never really heard Gary’s shows, because I was only four when he left CKNW in 1988. But if one availed themselves of history, picked up a book say, it wasn’t difficult to see how much of giant he was in broadcasting, and how prodigiously talented he was. And later, in the conversations on the telephone, the emails, and the sort, I got to know him best as a person who was generous and kind.

On the program now, I’ve called on some of Gary Bannerman’s friends and colleagues, who join me to remember him, acknowledge what we’ve lost, and what his impact was on his business and our province. First is Gary’s long time producer and friend, the legendary radio producer Shirley Stocker. I’ll also talk to an old friend of Bannerman’s former premier Bill Vander Zalm; a former colleague and competitor, Rafe Mair; and the political commentator Alex Tsakumis, who has on his website a very fine tribute to Gary. And throughout this program today, I’ll play a couple of cuts from Gary Bannerman’s appearances on this show.

When I sketched out a list of the people I wanted to talk to about Gary Bannerman, one name was at the top of the list. I’m delighted she’s on the line now. Shirley Stocker was Gary Bannerman’s producer at CKNW. She was the executive producer for many of the great talk shows on the station. She is currently the Executive Director of the CKNW Orphan’s Fund, and will retire from that position shortly. Please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Shirley Stocker; Good morning, Ms. Stocker.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at TheCommentary.ca.

Ezra Levant joins me again. He is the bestselling author of Shakedown, his book on Canadian human rights commissions, and Ethical Oil, his last book, which was on Canada’s oil sands. He’s a conservative firebrand and activist, known for his strident political views. They’ll have a new home next week on the Sun News Network. He’ll host a nightly primetime program on the network. We’ll ask him about that, as well as the current federal election campaign; what’s he watching, and what does he think we can expect. www.ezralevant.com is his website. The website for Sun News is at www.sunnewsnetwork.ca. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, Ezra Levant; Good day, Mr. Levant.

Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver at THECOMMENTARY.CA.

One of my favourite reads online is the Savvy Insider. It’s a terrific newsletter you can read on their website at www.savvyinsider.ca, or you can read it in your e-mail which I do. You can subscribe to it on their website. I like the restaurant reviews—there’s a regular feature called Cheap Appetite, where we read about affordable eating in Vancouver. There are product reviews, the watching of trends and more. If you’re interested in sales, there are alerts as well. The Savvy Insider’s editor, George Froehlich joins me now. He is a veteran journalist and television executive. We’ll check in today about some of the recent stories on the Savvy Insider, as well as catch up with George, his recent travels and other things on his radar. Please welcome back to the Planta: On the Line program, George Froehlich; Good morning, Mr. Froehlich.