canadian headhunter

Your Career After You Die

It often seems that whenever a young criminal gets gunned down by police his family tells the newpapers that he wanted to be a doctor.

Of course, he'd dropped out of high school already but, in grief, that's beside the point.

I thought of this when I saw that
Bill Cameron had died.

He was a long-time news announcer on the government-sponsored Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). And he always seemed to be a very nice guy.

Anthony and I used to call him The Helmet. Because that was the nickname Frank Magazine gave him for the way he wore his hair.

The Strange Course of The Helmet's Career

The Helmet quit CBC suddenly, when his career seemed to be going well -- and then he promptly disappeared from public view.

Apparently, government cut-backs would have forced him to take a cut in pay.

Here's what he said when he quit the CBC.

Inevitably, you find that what you're doing for a major part of your day is extremely silly," he said. "I've got enough silliness in the rest of my life. I don't need it at work."

So, what did he do next?

Cameron...announced that he was taking a job as vice-president of communications at the Toronto-based American Gem Corp., a sapphire marketer, which then changed its name to Digital Gem Corp.

That sounds strange doesn't it?

A successful journalist says his work life is sillier than his personal life and goes to an online gem marketer.

Bill's Obituary

The Toronto Star published two obituaries.
But you won't find these issues explored there.

As you would expect, they are filled with praise, most of it, apparently, well-deserved (though a lot of it sounds hackneyed all the same).

He was one of the last of the classic journalists," said CBC senior executive documentary producer Mark Starowicz.

His death, "leaves a giant hole in Canadian journalism," he [Peter Mansbridge] said.

The Story Behind The Story

However, a very good article by Mary Murtha describes the Helmet's career without pulling any punches.

And it seems to have had its fair share drama.
Here are some excerpts.

Read the rest of this posting here
(on Canadian Headhunter Long Play)