Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Former Premier Glen Clark's Teenage Daughter, Layne, Lands Newspaper Column


The last time I saw Layne Clark, it was years ago on the evening news. Her father NDP Premier Glen Clark was in the middle of a scandal so a Vancouver news crew went to the airport to meet him. Layne was just a kid and when she saw her father get off the plane, she ran into his arms.
I remember the reporter saying her name was "Layne"; the name stuck in my mind because I thought it was unusual but I liked it.

Well, Layne has grown up faster than a fast ferry. She's just started her first year at Simon Fraser University. I noticed yesterday that she's started writing a Monday column for 24 Hours newspaper called "Campus Life".

This week, Layne wrote about her battle with procrastination. "...I still like to come home and, instead of researching for that essay thesis due next week, I'm more interested in, say, going to McDonalds to eat with my friends before sitting down and watching the newest episode of So You Think You Can Dance."

Layne is no doubt benefiting from her father's connections. When Glen Clark stepped down as Premier, billionaire businessman Jimmy Pattison hired him. When the Pattison Group and Sun Media started 24 Hours as a joint venture, Clark had the job of managing it. Pattison sold his share of the Vancouver edition in 2007.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

and does Clark still manage it?

Anonymous said...

"Columnist." Sounds like something I would have liked to do as well. Unfortunately I had to get a real job. I mean, what does she strive for? A job with Canwest? The organization that killed her fathers political career for no other reason that idealist differences in opinion? Without the Canwest job she will either leave the province or live in her dad's basement until she is 40.

Anonymous said...

Glen Clark owns 24 now. That's how Layne Clark got the gig as a "columnist" although really, it's quite dry in comparison to a lot of the other columns in the paper. I guess that's what you get when you give your daughter a chance like that.

reliable sources said...

anonymous,

I had no idea that Glen Clark now owns 24. That's good to know.

I didn't find Layne's column dry though. I liked the one where she said she and her friends were at SFU looking at one another as if they were all thinking the same thing, 'We can't believe we're actually here, in university!'
And the one where she described her fear of giving a presentation reminded me of how anxious I was about the same thing in a first year university class.

I find her column juvenile but not in a negative sense; she's obviously a teenager writing for other teenagers. I assume that the young, first year university student audience, is one that 24 is targeting.

Thanks for your feedback, though. I will see 24 HOURS differently now that I know Clark owns it.

Anonymous said...

I LOVE HER ARTICLE! whoever said its dry should get off their high horse or go and buy a real newspaper.

Anonymous said...

Just so you know, Clark does not own it. Jimmy Pattison used to own it yet it was sold to Quebecor.

reliable sources said...

anonymous,

A friend told me that he was skeptical of the comment that Glen Clark owns 24, but I didn't have time to look into it.

Thanks for clarifying that Glen Clark doesn't own 24, Quebecor does.