Lucky Sperm Club

THIS POST HAS BEEN UPDATED:

Hey kids! Is your daddy a former prime minister of Canada? Then maybe you too can land a place in the media spotlight, just like Ben and Alexandre and Justin.

All this to say that Catherine Clark, daughter of Joe and Maureen McTeer, is back with a regular TV gig, this time on CPAC. This is from the release:

CPAC's Sunday Sound Off gets a fresh new face this Fall! Catherine Clark will be in the driver's seat when the live, coast-to-coast, bilingual, phone-in public affairs program returns on September 17th in the CPAC studios across from Parliament Hill.

The fluently bilingual Ottawa native is no stranger to the public eye having hosted a live, daily talk show in Ottawa, and occasionally hosting Sunday Sound Off during the last election. "As a young, bilingual broadcast professional, Catherine is keenly aware of the changing world and the importance of engaged citizens," said Colette Watson, President and General Manager of CPAC. "She is very much in-synch with CPAC's ongoing commitment to open and fruitful debate."

"I'm looking forward to speaking with Canadians from one end of the country to the other on topics that concern them and providing a live forum for them to speak directly with key experts," added Ms. Clark. "I hope Sunday Sound Off will become the destination for Canadians who want to voice their opinions about public affairs."

Clark's last national TV job was on the moribund digital i-channel, as one of its inaugural season hosts.

Now I am not suggesting that these political ''kids'' aren't smart or talented. But isn't amazing how they all landed such interesting jobs, jobs that ordinary slugs like us have to kill for? I mean, what are the odds?

UPPITY DATE: Somebody in the comments mentioned Anderson Cooper, son of Gloria Vanderbilt Cooper. A very very rich woman, most famous in modern times for designing tight jeans. I am amazed that nobody yet has brought up David and Linda Frum or Jonah Goldberg, son of Lucianne Goldberg.

Comments

[PhantomObserver]

Actually, it's quite simple to explain.

Senior politicians' children have been exposed to media at an early age. Probably observed their parents prepping for a press / photo op and acting all nervous about it.

Then, when they enter their teenage (i.e. rebellious) phase, they think to themselves: "What one profession could prove to my dad that I'm *not* a chip off the shoulder? And what profession would *really* put them off balance?" Answer: media.

Yes, a famous name will open doors when it comes to hiring, but when it comes to being good that's up to the individual. I don't watch Rogers 22 that much, but I gather Catherine Clark's been doing an okay job there for quite a few years now. So her resume looks good enough for CPAC. (Besides, she doesn't look a thing like her father, for which we are all grateful.)

[martin]

I dislike that David Frum guy. Where do people pick up that kind of conservatism in Canada? The Frums aren't even from Alberta, mais non?

[Carla]

Well, at the risk of sounding naive, I have come to admire the journalism of Anderson Cooper whom I believe (especially after reading,and reviewing his very well written, very emotionally textured book)feels a moral obligation to the people he profiles and the audience (ah, the oft forgotten audience) as much as to his bosses at CNN. It might be easy to think of him as a handsome passing fancy but he really doesn't need to work now does he? Nor does he need to go into war torn and disaster-ridden regions to make a paycheque (which he has been doing since he began his career at 20-something at a youth network. And I don't think its all ego either. I recommend reading the book.

Also, I'm sorry but I cannot put Ben Mulroney in any kind of category next to some of the others mentioned in these comments. Particularly Avi Lewis, who has more than proved he's a smart, well roundedly intellent person on various journalism projects. Again, it's easy to think that sons and daughters of prominent or rich people are priveleged beyond believe, but take into consideration the pressure to live up to parental reputations. I think they feel enough of that on a personal level, let alone opening themselves up to public scrutiny.

Or, maybe I'm just too damn unjaded!

Having said that, I do agree that unless you've got the goods, it's unfair to get special treatment. It should be fairly easy to tell the difference, and I think it actually is. I guess media outlets are not immune to trading on a name.

[estragon]

Blogette says that Junior Mulroney and young Ms. Clark draw regular paycheques, which is somehow respectable, while the Trudeaulet does something that only rich kids can afford to do.

How do you think Junior got the job with a direct-deposit pay stub to begin with?

As for independent filmmaking, it sounds to me like you're just jealous. You know what? A lot of people make a living at it without having a famous last name. Maybe it's because they spend more time working at their craft than writing a blog for their friends, Blogette.

The problem with Sasha Trudeau is not that he's making films. (Sure, he inherited money, but you Tories support that kind of thing.) The problem is that CTV is ready to buy just about anything he comes up with, good or bad, because his famous name is highly promotable.

And as I said before, until you've had the balls to go to Iraq and cover the war, maybe you should go easy on throwing stones.

p.s. Justin Trudeau is not working for CBC. Get your facts straight.

[estragon]

As for Anderson Cooper and the rest of the children of privilege who've been mentioned, who cares? Should having rich or famous parents disqualify you from a career in the media? The are only two relevant questions: 1) are they doing good work? 2) having been given extraordinary privileges, have they done anything worthwhile with them?

[BastardBob]

Stephen and Avi Lewis. If I gave birth to the latter, I'd expect the doctor to slap my face red.

bb

[dave]

Elvid wrote:

Dave, Just shows how nasty the left is when they feel free to attack someone because he shakes hands with his kid. Talk about a low blow mixing overblown moral superiority and pop psychology. Coulterism in its own form.

Elvid, the left doesn't have to make low blows against certain right-leaning politicians, they bring them on themselves (e.g. Harper's leather look). Same thing for a lot of leftist politicans.

Besides, it was a joke. At least until I see some positron transistors revealed when Stepford scrapes his hand.

[Randy]

We're all missing the big picture here, folks... how is it all these octogenarians like Trudeau still had enough juice left in the flesh balloon to produce more offspring at such an advanced age? The late Dalton Camp was another one who had a kid when he was already quite old.

Maybe there's something special in the water fountains on Parliament Hill that increases spem count? Especially the fountains marked "Liberal" and "Red Tory"?

[t11]

Hi Estagon. An example of the lucky sperm club is Leah McLearen at the Globe. Her columns are a waste of newsprint. The issue is why does the Globe not give other young writers a chance instead of wasting space with Leah? There is not many spaces for writers in Canada and it is a shame to waste one of the few on Leah.

And thank God the Globe got rid of Ken Wiwa. There was another example of wasted newsprint.

[estragon]

For someone who is so widely derided, Leah McLaren is certainly widely read.

As for Ken Wiwa, the Globe didn't get rid of him; he left, to take a job in his native country.

[Allan Sorensen]

estragon,
did you say "the balls to go to Iraq and cover the war ..."? Did you see the the documentary??

[Kerry]

Zerb,

Someone over at Daifallah's blog thinks you should add Kinsella to that list too.

[estragon]

What? He didn't go to Iraq? I haven't, as it happens, seen the documentary.

[Non-Observer]

Trudeau had four children, not three.

Don't the Van Dusens also have a leg-up on entering journalisms' chattering classes?

[Randy]

The one that burrows under my skin and lays bitter eggs in my soul is Linda Frum. Where does one start when critiquing the offspring of the late, lamented Barbara, stalwart of the CBC? Could it be daughter Linda's self-congratulatory tome, "Linda Frum's Guide to Canadian Universities"? I had to read that thing for a book review, and thinking about it still gives me the shivers! Anyone who feels like criticizing the Maclean's university guide (when it was still headed by Ann Dowsett Johnston, that is) should turn to this...thing by Frum first, and see what crapola writing and "research" reall is.

[sooey]

ms zerb? i notice you say "that ordinary slugs like us have to kill for". i'm just, you know, wondering... by the way, is peter worthington's plug really stuck in there, or could it, like, slip out easily...

[Erica Basnicki]

You'd kill for a job at CPAC? I thought you had to be half-dead to work there...

[Mason]

No mention of the awful Jacob Richler or the mediocre Daniel, sons of Mr. Mordecai?

[Aaron]

Best blog entry title I've read in a while.

Nice work.

[drunken welfare man]

Damn. Somebody beat me to mentioning the Richler kids.

For the first one who makes his bones, I have respect; for the brats that follow–if they don't blaze with talent, I'd like to see them fall into a wood chipper.

[estragon]

Just watched Sacha Trudeau's "documentary" about security certificates... and I have to say, he's not much of a filmmaker, not much of a journalist, and a terrible writer. Had anyone else sold such a project to CTV and then come back with this, they would have been laughed out of the building. Lucky sperm indeed.

[billybob]

Doesn't Ben Mulroney have a law degree and a history degree from
Duke? There is a waste or US $30,000 per year. Anyone who has a pulse can cover the red carpet at the Academy Awards.

Brian has to think that Ben is not quite the son/legacy he was hoping for. Maybe if Brian didn't live in Palm Spring, his son would not be so star struck. At least the Trudeaulets "appear" to be trying to do some good.

If you want Ben’s job, go to Ryerson and focus on being on camera. If you are good looking enough you can get a job in entertainment TV... but why would you want to do that? So you can interview Paris Hilton? Not Pulitzer-type stuff

The lucky sperm factor helped ben get $400,000/y. If he didn’t have daddy’s lawyer, he would be making $125,000/y