Memoirs of a Media Maverick

Tami Oliphant is a Ph.D. candidate in Library and Information Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

From an inauspicious beginning as a copyholder for The Southland Times
in Invercargill, New Zealand, Boyce Richardson’s career as a
journalist, filmmaker, and activist has taken him to virtually every
corner of the world, including India, England, rural China, every part
of Canada. He has worked as a reporter for The Winnipeg Free Press, The
Montreal Star, and numerous other dailies throughout the world; he has
written thousands of articles and several books, and served as a
filmmaker for the National Film Board of Canada.

Memoirs of a Media Maverick chronicles Boyce’s career, humanistic
philosophy, and criticism of mainstream media, while introducing readers
to the mélange of characters he has met along the way. The book is
packed with anecdotes, character sketches (which are, at times, not
fleshed out enough), and Boyce’s personal opinions on subjects as
diverse as city planning, Aboriginal rights, Quebec separation, the
debate over the atomic bomb in Britain in the 1960s, and criticisms of
media production and journalism. A few highlights include letters from
Jawaharlal Nehru, then prime minister of India; an interview with Fidel
Castro; an account of continuing education classes taught by Edwin Muir,
the Scottish poet, at Newbattle Abbey; and passages on the lows of
unemployment in England, following the Queen on her tour of Canada, and
fighting the general subservience and self-censorship demanded by
corporate bosses.

Throughout his career Boyce refused to compromise his left-wing ideals,
refused to be promoted, and viewed the mainstream press as the
mouthpiece of the status quo. The result was constant tension with
superiors, which was typically resolved by Boyce’s quitting or leaving
to find work elsewhere.

Memoirs of a Media Maverick is a fast-paced, candid, and exhilarating
read. There is much to be admired in this memoir, and it is unfortunate
that Boyce Richardson’s work, whether in films or other media, has not
garnered a wider following in Canada.