Boyce Richardson
Encyclopedia
Boyce Richardson, CM
(born March 21, 1928 in Wyndham
, Southland
, New Zealand
) is a Canadian journalist, author and filmmaker. While he was just a boy his family moved to Invercargill
, a city noted for its feisty, independent characters like Burt Munro
, The World's Fastest Indian and its current Mayor Tim Shadbolt
.
It was here that Richardson began his career in journalism at the Southland Times and later the Southland Daily News. After a brief stint as a reporter in Australia, and inspired by Nehru he went to India to live and work at Nilokheri
, a utopian community north of New Delhi
. In 1951 he moved to Britain, where in the depressed still rationed postwar economy, he had great difficulty finding any kind of employment. Of this period in his life he subsequently wrote in his autobiography:
Serendipitously he answered an ad in the New Statesman
that landed him at Newbattle
Abbey College where he studied writing under the great Scottish poet, Edwin Muir
. In 1954 Richardson emigrated to Canada
, first joining the Winnipeg Free Press
then the Montreal Star
. From 1960 to 1968 he was the newspaper's correspondent in London
. He returned to Montreal
but as noted in his Memoirs:
His outrage at the Stars failure to support civil liberties and journalists harassed and arrested during the October Crisis
; as well as his increasing disenchantment with corporate media in general eventually caused him to resign and become a freelancer
in 1971.
Richardson supported aboriginal peoples seeking justice in their struggle against the massive James Bay Project
. In films made with the National Film Board of Canada
(Cree Hunters of Mistassini
, 1974) and books (Strangers Devour the Land, 1976) he created "a chronicle of the assault upon the last coherent hunting culture in North America, the Cree
Indians of Quebec, and their vast primeval homelands". He did prescient work on anti-globalization
like the NFB documentary Super-Companies in 1987. This explored the role of multinational corporations such as Alcan
; scooping films like The Corporation by more than a decade. When an article he wrote: Corporations: How Do We Curb Their Obscene Power? was rejected by a "progressive" periodical he posted it to the Internet in 1996, to worldwide interest. It was an early instance of distributing writing which might not otherwise see the light of day in mass media
. Indeed, in that same year Richardson began what he described as his "sounding off pages": Boyce'sPaper as an alternative means of publishing his views. Years later it may be one of the oldest continuing examples of what has become the ubiquitous Blog
.
In the words of Catherine Dunphy, journalist and author:
Today he resides in Ottawa
. His wife of 56 years, Shirley (née Norton) teacher and poet who "kept the home fires burning and the wolf from the door" died in 2007. His Memoirs are dedicated to her. He is the father of three boys and a girl.
His work has won a number of awards, including co-winning a 1961 National Newspaper Award for a series of articles on Canada and the European Economic Community, published by the Montreal Star. Cree Hunters of Mistassini won the Flaherty Award for 1974, from the British Society for Film and Television Arts, for the best documentary in the tradition of Robert Flaherty, and a special Award from the Melbourne Film Festival, 1975. Super-Companies won the Golden Apple Award at the 1990 National Educational Film and Video festival in the US; and the Red Ribbon Award at the American Film and Video Festival in 1990.
Boyce Richardson was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada
in 2002, his adopted country's highest civilian honour.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(born March 21, 1928 in Wyndham
Wyndham, New Zealand
Wyndham is a rural town of 550 people in the South Island of New Zealand in the Southland region, 45 km east of Invercargill and 25 km south of Gore. The original Māori name of the locality was Mokoreta .Wyndham was named for General Sir Charles Ashe Windham who fought in the Crimean War...
, Southland
Southland Region
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region and is also a district within that region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island / Rakiura...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) is a Canadian journalist, author and filmmaker. While he was just a boy his family moved to Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
, a city noted for its feisty, independent characters like Burt Munro
Burt Munro
Herbert James "Burt" Munro was a New Zealand motorcycle racer, famous for setting an under-1,000 cc world record, at Bonneville, 26 August 1967. This record still stands today...
, The World's Fastest Indian and its current Mayor Tim Shadbolt
Tim Shadbolt
Timothy Richard "Tim" Shadbolt is a New Zealand politician. He is the Mayor of Invercargill and was previously Mayor of Waitemata City.-Early life:...
.
It was here that Richardson began his career in journalism at the Southland Times and later the Southland Daily News. After a brief stint as a reporter in Australia, and inspired by Nehru he went to India to live and work at Nilokheri
Nilokheri
Nilokheri is a city and a municipal committee in Karnal district in the Indian state of Haryana. The town is located about 145 km from Delhi on National Highway 1....
, a utopian community north of New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. In 1951 he moved to Britain, where in the depressed still rationed postwar economy, he had great difficulty finding any kind of employment. Of this period in his life he subsequently wrote in his autobiography:
"I suppose this experience of unemployment was valuable for me. I discovered that it is almost the most debilitating experience a person can have in life, totally sapping one's self-esteem, and plunging one into a maelstrom of depressive thoughts and feelings from which, eventually, one despairs of ever emerging. It certainly gave me a respect for the problems of laid-off workers, so airily dismissed by the media and their consulting economists, during times of what they nowadays call 'economic downturn'. Full employmentFull employmentIn macroeconomics, full employment is a condition of the national economy, where all or nearly all persons willing and able to work at the prevailing wages and working conditions are able to do so....
should be the first social good of any decent government."
Serendipitously he answered an ad in the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
that landed him at Newbattle
Newbattle
Newbattle is a village in Midlothian, in the ancient Roman Catholic Diocese of St. Andrews, about seven miles from Edinburgh. There was an abbey there founded about 1140, being the second of the six Cistercian Monasteries established by King David I of Scotland.-Newbattle Abbey:Newbattle Abbey was...
Abbey College where he studied writing under the great Scottish poet, Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir was an Orcadian poet, novelist and translator born on a farm in Deerness on the Orkney Islands. He was remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry in plain language with few stylistic preoccupations....
. In 1954 Richardson emigrated to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, first joining the Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg Free Press
The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....
then the Montreal Star
Montreal Star
The Montreal Star was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It folded in 1979 following an eight-month pressmen's strike....
. From 1960 to 1968 he was the newspaper's correspondent in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. He returned to Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
but as noted in his Memoirs:
"I had also come to some conclusions about my profession. I had a strong distaste for the myths that most journalists seemed to believe about their importance. I had found journalists motivated more by vanity than by a lust for public service, and they tended to be childishly susceptible to flattery from men of power. So far as they believed they were free to write what they wanted, and that they were the first line among defenders of freedom of expression, I thought they were suffering from a massive occupational delusion. I had concluded that freedom lies only with the rich men who own the media, who hire sycophants to do their bidding.
The idea of journalists being better informed than your average citizen is a big part of the myth. A daily newspaper, written by these supposedly super-informed people, gives at best a sketchy view of what is really happening; and that view is fatally deformed by the interests of the media owners, and by the intimate relationship that journalists maintain with men of power. In addition, I knew that journalists do not have the influence they pretend to have. The media at large do have a huge influence in setting the political and social agenda, and they form one of the main barriers to improvements in the quality of human life. But individual workers within the media have limited influence on anything, in my experience. My opinion of the profession I practiced had become, then, slightly anarchistic."
His outrage at the Stars failure to support civil liberties and journalists harassed and arrested during the October Crisis
October Crisis
The October Crisis was a series of events triggered by two kidnappings of government officials by members of the Front de libération du Québec during October 1970 in the province of Quebec, mainly in the Montreal metropolitan area.The circumstances ultimately culminated in the only peacetime use...
; as well as his increasing disenchantment with corporate media in general eventually caused him to resign and become a freelancer
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
in 1971.
Richardson supported aboriginal peoples seeking justice in their struggle against the massive James Bay Project
James Bay Project
The James Bay Project is a series of hydroelectric development with a combined installed capacity of over 16,000 megawatts built since 1974 for Hydro-Québec by the on the La Grande and other rivers of Northern Quebec....
. In films made with the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
(Cree Hunters of Mistassini
Cree Hunters of Mistassini
Cree Hunters of Mistassini is a 1974 documentary film co-directed by Boyce Richardson and Tony Ianzelo, chronicling a group of three Cree families from the Mistassini region of Quebec, as they set up a winter hunting camp near James Bay and Ungava Bay...
, 1974) and books (Strangers Devour the Land, 1976) he created "a chronicle of the assault upon the last coherent hunting culture in North America, the Cree
Cree
The Cree are one of the largest groups of First Nations / Native Americans in North America, with 200,000 members living in Canada. In Canada, the major proportion of Cree live north and west of Lake Superior, in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories, although...
Indians of Quebec, and their vast primeval homelands". He did prescient work on anti-globalization
Anti-globalization
Criticism of globalization is skepticism of the claimed benefits of the globalization of capitalism. Many of these views are held by the anti-globalization movement however other groups also are critical of the policies of globalization....
like the NFB documentary Super-Companies in 1987. This explored the role of multinational corporations such as Alcan
Alcan
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. is a Canadian company based in Montreal. It was created on November 15, 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..Rio...
; scooping films like The Corporation by more than a decade. When an article he wrote: Corporations: How Do We Curb Their Obscene Power? was rejected by a "progressive" periodical he posted it to the Internet in 1996, to worldwide interest. It was an early instance of distributing writing which might not otherwise see the light of day in mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. Indeed, in that same year Richardson began what he described as his "sounding off pages": Boyce'sPaper as an alternative means of publishing his views. Years later it may be one of the oldest continuing examples of what has become the ubiquitous Blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
.
In the words of Catherine Dunphy, journalist and author:
"Before there was a Naomi KleinNaomi KleinNaomi Klein is a Canadian author and social activist known for her political analyses and criticism of corporate globalization.-Family:...
and before there was an international anti-globalization movement, filmmaker and journalist Boyce Richardson was taking on the multinationals, his own bosses in the media, and the culture of greed and hypocrisy. He still is..."
Today he resides in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. His wife of 56 years, Shirley (née Norton) teacher and poet who "kept the home fires burning and the wolf from the door" died in 2007. His Memoirs are dedicated to her. He is the father of three boys and a girl.
His work has won a number of awards, including co-winning a 1961 National Newspaper Award for a series of articles on Canada and the European Economic Community, published by the Montreal Star. Cree Hunters of Mistassini won the Flaherty Award for 1974, from the British Society for Film and Television Arts, for the best documentary in the tradition of Robert Flaherty, and a special Award from the Melbourne Film Festival, 1975. Super-Companies won the Golden Apple Award at the 1990 National Educational Film and Video festival in the US; and the Red Ribbon Award at the American Film and Video Festival in 1990.
"I am with the Indian novelist Arundhati RoyArundhati RoyArundhati Roy is an Indian novelist. She won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her novel, The God of Small Things, and has also written two screenplays and several collections of essays...
(the finest polemicist in the English language), who wrote recently: "What we need to search for and find... is the politics of resistance. The politics of opposition. The politics of forcing accountability. The politics of slowing things down. The politics of joining hands across the world and preventing certain destruction. In the present circumstances, I'd say that the only thing worth globalizing is dissent!""
Boyce Richardson was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
in 2002, his adopted country's highest civilian honour.
External links
- Boyce'sPaper Provocative progressive Weblog.
- Memoirs of a Media Maverick Autobiography
- National Film Board of Canada NFB filmography
- Internet Movie Database Complete filmography
- 'Cree Hunters of Mistassini' Film online at the NFB
- 'For Future Generations' Film online at the NFB
- Interview at 'Between the Lines' Interesting viewpoint on 'objective' journalism.
- Corporations: How Do We Curb Their Obscene Power? A classic of Internet SamizdatSamizdatSamizdat was a key form of dissident activity across the Soviet bloc in which individuals reproduced censored publications by hand and passed the documents from reader to reader...
! - Trailer Park Boys An appreciation of Bubbles & The Boys.
- Official Citation: Order of Canada Governor General of Canada