With the CBC’s TV ratings down 40% to a specialty channel-like 5% share of viewers even before it lost its NHL contract, according to Canadian Media Research, it’s worth asking again what has gone wrong with the Mother Corp and what should be done about it?
The answer to the first question is that it no longer represents ordinary Canadians to themselves in a way they like or even recognize. So when its funding comes under scrutiny, it is not surprising that most Canadians collectively yawn while watching any of the myriad other channels available to them on various media platforms.
Read the full story here.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Thursday, September 21, 2017
CBC workplace is psychologically unhealthy ...
A survey conducted for CBC in the summer by Gallup showed that “pride of association” has plummeted from 92 per cent of employees feeling proud to be CBC journalists and support staff in 2012 to 69 per cent in 2015.
“Psychological health and care for individual well-being are significant concerns,” says a report released internally to CBC and obtained by the Star. The results show 43 per cent of survey respondents said they would not describe their workplace as psychologically healthy.
Read the full story here.
“Psychological health and care for individual well-being are significant concerns,” says a report released internally to CBC and obtained by the Star. The results show 43 per cent of survey respondents said they would not describe their workplace as psychologically healthy.
Read the full story here.
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Why is CBC still in the advertising game?
CBC has boasted that 50 per cent of the cost of its TV services is paid for by advertising revenue. No more.
In the year ending August 2015, CBC English TV ad revenue fell off a cliff and was barely $100 million, well under 20 per cent of TV revenues. Funding from taxpayers is now four times greater than ad revenues, an outcome that was predicted here.
To make matters worse the cost of selling ads and promotion on CBC TV represented $62 million last year. Administration costs, some of which are for sales, were another $78 million.
After deducting these overheads, there is no meaningful profit to be made from advertising, which begs the question: why is CBC still in the advertising game?
Read the full story here.
In the year ending August 2015, CBC English TV ad revenue fell off a cliff and was barely $100 million, well under 20 per cent of TV revenues. Funding from taxpayers is now four times greater than ad revenues, an outcome that was predicted here.
To make matters worse the cost of selling ads and promotion on CBC TV represented $62 million last year. Administration costs, some of which are for sales, were another $78 million.
After deducting these overheads, there is no meaningful profit to be made from advertising, which begs the question: why is CBC still in the advertising game?
Read the full story here.
Tuesday, September 19, 2017
CBC Staff Demand Changes
Last summer, CANADALAND published a story on the lack of diversity among CBC staff, citing an internal company survey taken between 2011 and March 2016 showing that about 90% of its employees were white.
In June, the union’s Joint Employment Equity Committee published a bulletin stating that over the previous year, the CBC had renewed its commitment to equitable hiring practices — and crediting the CANADALAND article with sparking the conversation.
The piece “exposed years of virtual inaction,” wrote the CMG, and led CBC staff “from across the country” to send a pair of letters to CBC president Hubert Lacroix and CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire demanding changes in hiring practices.
Read the full story here.
In June, the union’s Joint Employment Equity Committee published a bulletin stating that over the previous year, the CBC had renewed its commitment to equitable hiring practices — and crediting the CANADALAND article with sparking the conversation.
The piece “exposed years of virtual inaction,” wrote the CMG, and led CBC staff “from across the country” to send a pair of letters to CBC president Hubert Lacroix and CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire demanding changes in hiring practices.
Read the full story here.
Monday, September 18, 2017
CBC President Hubert Lacroix thinks the CBC's business model is broken ....
CBC president defends ad-free proposal, asks Ottawa for $400M to 'unshackle' broadcaster.
Hubert Lacroix thinks the CBC's business model is broken.
Broken means that even if the current federal government has reinvested $75 million for the first year and $150 million for the next four, those dollars do not allow us, over time, to actually fix the issues that are about ensuring that we can continue giving services to Canadians, as Canadians expect.
Read the full interview here.
Hubert Lacroix thinks the CBC's business model is broken.
Broken means that even if the current federal government has reinvested $75 million for the first year and $150 million for the next four, those dollars do not allow us, over time, to actually fix the issues that are about ensuring that we can continue giving services to Canadians, as Canadians expect.
Read the full interview here.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Open letter to the CBC in response to "Medicare Schmedicare"
When I first read about the CBC decision not to air the Tommy Douglas documentary, I could see a certain logic to that position, though I didn’t agree with it.
Your subsequent decision to run “Medicare Schmedicare” is worse than irrational and incoherent. It is an utter repudiation of your very reason for existence: a voice for the public interest, across the whole country, and for the majority of the public.
The CBC owes Canadians better balance, and it can’t come soon enough. You have an obligation to reflect the public interest as it affects all citizens. That includes those who have fewer choices by virtue of their earning power, and who have so much to lose.
Read the full letter here.
Your subsequent decision to run “Medicare Schmedicare” is worse than irrational and incoherent. It is an utter repudiation of your very reason for existence: a voice for the public interest, across the whole country, and for the majority of the public.
The CBC owes Canadians better balance, and it can’t come soon enough. You have an obligation to reflect the public interest as it affects all citizens. That includes those who have fewer choices by virtue of their earning power, and who have so much to lose.
Read the full letter here.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
CBC being irresponsible
CBC is getting in the op-ed game. But every dollar it spends on having someone explain the news is another it doesn’t have to pay someone to actually go and find it
Coming this fall to CBC.ca is an opinion vertical, a space devoted exclusively to commentary and analysis of the day’s news.
As with almost anything the CBC tries, this shift has already drawn criticism. The most consistent has come from media circles, a variation on a common theme against most of CBC’s digital properties – that they have an unfair advantage over their competitors. With the sort of stable funding most media organizations can only dream of, the argument goes, the CBC’s ability to give both writers and advertisers a major national platform makes it much, much harder for smaller, independent news organizations to find a foothold, much less grow to stable size.
That is a point you could pretty easily level against the entire CBC apparatus, if you were so inclined. The whole discussion, though, is bit of a canard. Embedded within it, is a far more salient point, albeit one that is trickier to parse out. Namely that, in this media climate, it is irresponsible for the CBC to be offering commentary and opinion, particularly when it is doing so out of its own news budget.
Read the full story here.
Coming this fall to CBC.ca is an opinion vertical, a space devoted exclusively to commentary and analysis of the day’s news.
As with almost anything the CBC tries, this shift has already drawn criticism. The most consistent has come from media circles, a variation on a common theme against most of CBC’s digital properties – that they have an unfair advantage over their competitors. With the sort of stable funding most media organizations can only dream of, the argument goes, the CBC’s ability to give both writers and advertisers a major national platform makes it much, much harder for smaller, independent news organizations to find a foothold, much less grow to stable size.
That is a point you could pretty easily level against the entire CBC apparatus, if you were so inclined. The whole discussion, though, is bit of a canard. Embedded within it, is a far more salient point, albeit one that is trickier to parse out. Namely that, in this media climate, it is irresponsible for the CBC to be offering commentary and opinion, particularly when it is doing so out of its own news budget.
Read the full story here.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
CBC to appeal another defamation judgment
The Globe and Mail recently carried a story by Margaret Wente about two defamation judgments against the fifth estate,most recently one by Mr. Justice Douglas Cunningham of the Ontario Superior Court.
The CBC has filed notice that it will appeal this judgment, which could have a dramatic effect on Canadian journalism.
Our story, The Heart of the Matter, dealt with Health Canada's Health Protection Branch and questions about a medication called nifedipine. It followed previous fifth estate stories about questionable practices at the Branch.
No one from Health Canada or the drug's manufacturers sued the CBC, although the program focused on them. The two doctors who did sue came into the story only because of their participation at a Health Canada committee meeting.
Read the full story here.
The CBC has filed notice that it will appeal this judgment, which could have a dramatic effect on Canadian journalism.
Our story, The Heart of the Matter, dealt with Health Canada's Health Protection Branch and questions about a medication called nifedipine. It followed previous fifth estate stories about questionable practices at the Branch.
No one from Health Canada or the drug's manufacturers sued the CBC, although the program focused on them. The two doctors who did sue came into the story only because of their participation at a Health Canada committee meeting.
Read the full story here.
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Non-profit company suing CBC
A non-profit preventive medicine company founded by Calgary Flames co-owner Allan Markin is suing the CBC for what it claims is a series of defamatory articles.
Pure North S’Energy Foundation is seeking $6 million in damages from the national broadcaster and two of its reporters, Charles Rusnell and Jennie Russell.
In its statement of claim, filed in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench, True North says it has repeatedly asked the CBC to remove from the Internet what it says are inaccurate articles.
“Pure North has repeatedly requested that the CBC change its reporting to publicize accurate facts, and Pure North has supported its request with multiple pieces of scientific research and practice guidelines for medical practitioners which supports Pure North’s practices and operations.
“But CBC has refused to retract, correct, or apologize for its inaccurate reporting which it continues to publish on the Internet.”
Read the full story here.
Pure North S’Energy Foundation is seeking $6 million in damages from the national broadcaster and two of its reporters, Charles Rusnell and Jennie Russell.
In its statement of claim, filed in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench, True North says it has repeatedly asked the CBC to remove from the Internet what it says are inaccurate articles.
“Pure North has repeatedly requested that the CBC change its reporting to publicize accurate facts, and Pure North has supported its request with multiple pieces of scientific research and practice guidelines for medical practitioners which supports Pure North’s practices and operations.
“But CBC has refused to retract, correct, or apologize for its inaccurate reporting which it continues to publish on the Internet.”
Read the full story here.
Monday, September 11, 2017
CBC’s Marketplace apologizes
CBC-TV’s Marketplace is apologizing for errors in an episode about supplements and vitamins.
The apology comes in a lengthy post on CBC’s website and Facebook page.
Marketplace says it relied on a Michigan lab to test samples of a popular vitamin C product and several protein powders last summer.
The current affairs show was trying to test the accuracy of the manufacturers’ claims and found the vitamin and protein content to be lacking.
But “Marketplace” now says “the lab got some of the results wrong.”
The show says it apologizes to the companies involved, as well as viewers.
See the full story here.
The apology comes in a lengthy post on CBC’s website and Facebook page.
Marketplace says it relied on a Michigan lab to test samples of a popular vitamin C product and several protein powders last summer.
The current affairs show was trying to test the accuracy of the manufacturers’ claims and found the vitamin and protein content to be lacking.
But “Marketplace” now says “the lab got some of the results wrong.”
The show says it apologizes to the companies involved, as well as viewers.
See the full story here.
Friday, September 08, 2017
CBC Criticized By CRTC Chairman
Jean-Pierre Blais spared no criticism of the government and the communications industry Tuesday in his final speech as chairman of Canada’s telecom and broadcast regulator, blasting both for trying to preserve the status quo despite the disruptive force of broadband.
Blais went out with a bang, lobbing barbs at wireless providers, cabinet, Minister of Cultural Heritage Mélanie Joly, media creators, broadcasters and the CBC during the lengthy address.
As for the CBC, he said it plays a critical role in providing trustworthy information in the digital space, but should focus on news instead of commentary and “stop chasing clicks.”
Read the full story here.
Blais went out with a bang, lobbing barbs at wireless providers, cabinet, Minister of Cultural Heritage Mélanie Joly, media creators, broadcasters and the CBC during the lengthy address.
As for the CBC, he said it plays a critical role in providing trustworthy information in the digital space, but should focus on news instead of commentary and “stop chasing clicks.”
Read the full story here.
Thursday, September 07, 2017
CBC Direction Questioned
In 2014, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation released a five-year plan entitled
A Space For Us All. The plan outlined a bold new vision for the Canadian public broadcaster,
placing digital mobile content at the forefront of the corporation’s priorities.
This article examines the shifting priorities of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation against established principles of public broadcasting. It also interrogates the relationship between mobile digital media and legal obligations of the public broadcaster under current Canadian broadcasting regulation.
Drawing upon Canadian broadcasting history, contemporary data and recent examples from sport and politics in Canada, the article questions this new direction for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and argues that despite the significant new opportunities in mobile digital media, traditional broadcasting methods remain the dominant tool to reach mass audiences and will provide a significant forum for public information and debate for the foreseeable future.
Read the complete article here.
This article examines the shifting priorities of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation against established principles of public broadcasting. It also interrogates the relationship between mobile digital media and legal obligations of the public broadcaster under current Canadian broadcasting regulation.
Drawing upon Canadian broadcasting history, contemporary data and recent examples from sport and politics in Canada, the article questions this new direction for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and argues that despite the significant new opportunities in mobile digital media, traditional broadcasting methods remain the dominant tool to reach mass audiences and will provide a significant forum for public information and debate for the foreseeable future.
Read the complete article here.
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
CBC is secretive and misleading
CBC claims to be open, transparent and accountable for the $1 billion dollars in taxpayers' money it receives. The $1 billion is spent on English and French radio and TV and miscellaneous other services.
If more funding is needed to serve Canadian audiences, especially in TV, CBC needs to be far more transparent about how it spends its money and explain more convincingly why more dollars are required. The problem: CBC is too secretive and misleading.
Read the full story here.
If more funding is needed to serve Canadian audiences, especially in TV, CBC needs to be far more transparent about how it spends its money and explain more convincingly why more dollars are required. The problem: CBC is too secretive and misleading.
Read the full story here.
Tuesday, September 05, 2017
CBC Sports on the brink of extinction
CBC Sports, once a vital department, is now on the brink of extinction.
The conventional wisdom is this latest bloodbath — the third major staff reduction in five years — was precipitated by the loss of Hockey Night in Canada, the venerable franchise Rogers will control starting this fall.
The truth is, existential threats have been gathering like storm clouds over the CBC for more than a decade, especially in the fiercely competitive arena of sports media.
It’s easy to forget the Grey Cup was broadcast on the CBC for more than a quarter century until TSN gained control in 2008. That was the same year TSN assumed coverage of the Brier and Scotties in curling.
In 2015, Bell Media becomes the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup. Since 2007, CBC Sports has lost the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto FC and, after Thursday, any hope for long-term survival.
There is a reason Brian Williams, once the face of CBC Sports, jumped to TSN.
Read the full story here.
The conventional wisdom is this latest bloodbath — the third major staff reduction in five years — was precipitated by the loss of Hockey Night in Canada, the venerable franchise Rogers will control starting this fall.
The truth is, existential threats have been gathering like storm clouds over the CBC for more than a decade, especially in the fiercely competitive arena of sports media.
It’s easy to forget the Grey Cup was broadcast on the CBC for more than a quarter century until TSN gained control in 2008. That was the same year TSN assumed coverage of the Brier and Scotties in curling.
In 2015, Bell Media becomes the exclusive Canadian broadcaster of the FIFA World Cup. Since 2007, CBC Sports has lost the Toronto Raptors, Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto FC and, after Thursday, any hope for long-term survival.
There is a reason Brian Williams, once the face of CBC Sports, jumped to TSN.
Read the full story here.
Friday, September 01, 2017
CBC’s Ombudsman Reminds CBC News That Its Job Is Journalism, Not Opinion
Esther Enkin, CBC’s Ombudsman, has just reminded CBC News that the job of CBC’s journalists is …. journalism, not opinion-making.
Enkin was responding to a formal complaint from a CBC.ca reader about what he felt were “inflammatory & divisive & discriminatory” comments that CBC journalist Neil Macdonald recently made about Donald Trump’s supporters.
In her formal opinion, the Ombudsman makes it clear that “expressing opinion is prohibited by CBC policy” and that Macdonald’s remarks read “like opinion” and were “unnecessary in the context of this piece.”
Read the full story here.
Enkin was responding to a formal complaint from a CBC.ca reader about what he felt were “inflammatory & divisive & discriminatory” comments that CBC journalist Neil Macdonald recently made about Donald Trump’s supporters.
In her formal opinion, the Ombudsman makes it clear that “expressing opinion is prohibited by CBC policy” and that Macdonald’s remarks read “like opinion” and were “unnecessary in the context of this piece.”
Read the full story here.
Thursday, August 31, 2017
7 CBC Executives Who Sheltered Jian Ghomeshi
At least 7 CBC Executives hid the human rights abuse of Jian Ghomeshi – Heather Conway, Chuck Thompson, Timothy Neesham, Arif Noorani, Hubert Lacroix, Linda Groen and Todd Spencer.
This article is a detailed account of how CBC management ignored reports of Jian Ghomeshi’s human rights abuse and sexual assault of women. The facts are clear. What is unclear is the writer’s attempt to pull a Flip Wilson, excusing the CBC. “The Debil made me do it.” Meaning Old Prime Minister Harper made CBC and Jian Ghomeshi abuse women by cutting the budget.
Read the full article here.
This article is a detailed account of how CBC management ignored reports of Jian Ghomeshi’s human rights abuse and sexual assault of women. The facts are clear. What is unclear is the writer’s attempt to pull a Flip Wilson, excusing the CBC. “The Debil made me do it.” Meaning Old Prime Minister Harper made CBC and Jian Ghomeshi abuse women by cutting the budget.
Read the full article here.
Wednesday, August 30, 2017
CBC licenses renewed by CRTC
The CRTC has renewed CBC’s television and radio licenses to just Aug. 31, 2019. The commission says with the term of current CBC president and CEO Hubert Lacroix set to end in December, and a number of positions on the CBC board of directors vacant, the decision will allow the new president and board to have a material impact on the CBC’s licence renewal plans.
Read the full story here.
Read the full story here.
Tuesday, August 29, 2017
The cbc is exhausting
Our public broadcaster charts its course in a world of Snapchat, clickbait, and teenage YouTube stars.
One mistake the cbcleadership made in 1992 with repositioning was to try to fight the death stars by becoming one. As well as moving the time of The National, they divided the TV schedule into specialty blocks: kids programming blocks, adult entertainment blocks, information blocks. Viewers were bewildered. The cbc’s current technological panic could produce a similar result: the corporation is pushing content onto social media before it knows whether it’s building a car or an airplane. Today, the cbc offers French, English, and Indigenous radio and television, as well as specialty and media-partnered programming. Podcasts, too. Commissioned entertainment is big budget, like Schitt’s Creek, or low budget, like Withwendy. The cbc is news on the Trans Mountain pipeline produced by professionals. The cbc is viral content on YouTube produced by amateurs. The cbc is, in a word, exhausting.
The cbc has asked the federal government for another $400 million to run an advertising-free operation, which it argues would stimulate the creative marketplace: more documentary and entertainment programming would have to be commissioned to fill all the freed-up time on TV, radio and smartphones.
What the cbc can’t do is repeat the mistakes of repositioning and expect taxpayers to wave it through.
Read the full story here.
One mistake the cbcleadership made in 1992 with repositioning was to try to fight the death stars by becoming one. As well as moving the time of The National, they divided the TV schedule into specialty blocks: kids programming blocks, adult entertainment blocks, information blocks. Viewers were bewildered. The cbc’s current technological panic could produce a similar result: the corporation is pushing content onto social media before it knows whether it’s building a car or an airplane. Today, the cbc offers French, English, and Indigenous radio and television, as well as specialty and media-partnered programming. Podcasts, too. Commissioned entertainment is big budget, like Schitt’s Creek, or low budget, like Withwendy. The cbc is news on the Trans Mountain pipeline produced by professionals. The cbc is viral content on YouTube produced by amateurs. The cbc is, in a word, exhausting.
The cbc has asked the federal government for another $400 million to run an advertising-free operation, which it argues would stimulate the creative marketplace: more documentary and entertainment programming would have to be commissioned to fill all the freed-up time on TV, radio and smartphones.
What the cbc can’t do is repeat the mistakes of repositioning and expect taxpayers to wave it through.
Read the full story here.
Monday, August 28, 2017
CBC President Hubert Lacroix Challenges
CBC president and CEO Hubert Lacroix has had a rocky eight years at the helm of Canada’s public broadcaster, and the union that represents most of his employees is now calling for him to step down.
The Canadian Media Guild, which represents the employees of CBC’s English services as well as its French services outside Quebec and New Brunswick, says Lacroix and his board of directors have lost their legitimacy and the confidence of the staff.
While Lacroix has presided over budget cuts, asset sales and falling ratings, his biggest challenges have been ethical and personnel scandals that challenged the CBC’s personality-focused system. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest controversies involving CBC stars since Lacroix — who wasn’t immediately available for comment — took over.
Read the full story here.
The Canadian Media Guild, which represents the employees of CBC’s English services as well as its French services outside Quebec and New Brunswick, says Lacroix and his board of directors have lost their legitimacy and the confidence of the staff.
While Lacroix has presided over budget cuts, asset sales and falling ratings, his biggest challenges have been ethical and personnel scandals that challenged the CBC’s personality-focused system. Here’s a look back at some of the biggest controversies involving CBC stars since Lacroix — who wasn’t immediately available for comment — took over.
Read the full story here.
Friday, August 25, 2017
CBC Radio badly off track
I am lucky to have worked at the CBC for more than 25 years. I held several positions, including Canadian Editor of The National, working as an investigative journalist, as a radio documentary producer, and as an editor with National Radio News.
I’m not surprised that many of my friends have abandoned CBC Radio. I think traditional listeners are leaving in droves.
“I used to listen to CBC Radio all day,” says a former CBC producer/friend. “Now, I listen very little. The personal storytelling and victimhood are irritating and are in much of the schedule. A former colleague remarked recently that CBC Radio has never met a victim it doesn’t like.”
Says an insider: “Over the years, management, at least on the English side, has devalued "intellectual' content. They think it's boring, high-minded, ivory tower stuff. They want ‘stories’ – compelling, if well told, and cheap to do. The mantra at CBC Radio is, ‘Tell us your story.’"
CBC Radio is fixated on building an audience by providing trivial, entertainment-like. For many managers, numbers are more important than content.
Read the full story here.
I’m not surprised that many of my friends have abandoned CBC Radio. I think traditional listeners are leaving in droves.
“I used to listen to CBC Radio all day,” says a former CBC producer/friend. “Now, I listen very little. The personal storytelling and victimhood are irritating and are in much of the schedule. A former colleague remarked recently that CBC Radio has never met a victim it doesn’t like.”
Says an insider: “Over the years, management, at least on the English side, has devalued "intellectual' content. They think it's boring, high-minded, ivory tower stuff. They want ‘stories’ – compelling, if well told, and cheap to do. The mantra at CBC Radio is, ‘Tell us your story.’"
CBC Radio is fixated on building an audience by providing trivial, entertainment-like. For many managers, numbers are more important than content.
Read the full story here.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Recommendation that the CBC cease digital advertising
Canadian journalism is in the midst of industrial and market failure. Print and broadcast journalism are struggling to adapt to both the economic models of the digital economy as well as the media consumption habits of digitally-enabled citizens.
We simply do not have a digital ecosystem in waiting that will be able to replace, at scale, the reckoning that is looming in the traditional media space.
As a recent Public Policy Forum report (for which we were research principals) argues, it is time that Canadian media policy adapt to the realities of the digital age. While much of the coverage of the report has focused on the establishment of a Future of Journalism and Democracy Fund, in our minds the most critical recommendation concerns the CBC – namely, that the CBC should begin publishing all civic journalism content under a Creative Commons license.
There are seven types of Creative Commons copyright licenses and we believe the CBC could use “Attribution + NoDerivatives,” which would enable CBC journalism to be re-published by anyone, anywhere as long as it is unedited and attributed.
This change, when combined with our additional recommendation that the CBC cease digital advertising, could incentivize significant reform of the culture, structure and journalism of the public broadcaster, right at a time when Canadians need it most.
First, it would free the organization to re-focus on civic journalism, bolstering what is in our view the most critical component of its mandate – to inform Canadians. Given scale-driven ad models and the incentives of click-bait, the CBC has followed many of its market competitors down a path to lowest common denominator content.
Read the full story here.
We simply do not have a digital ecosystem in waiting that will be able to replace, at scale, the reckoning that is looming in the traditional media space.
As a recent Public Policy Forum report (for which we were research principals) argues, it is time that Canadian media policy adapt to the realities of the digital age. While much of the coverage of the report has focused on the establishment of a Future of Journalism and Democracy Fund, in our minds the most critical recommendation concerns the CBC – namely, that the CBC should begin publishing all civic journalism content under a Creative Commons license.
There are seven types of Creative Commons copyright licenses and we believe the CBC could use “Attribution + NoDerivatives,” which would enable CBC journalism to be re-published by anyone, anywhere as long as it is unedited and attributed.
This change, when combined with our additional recommendation that the CBC cease digital advertising, could incentivize significant reform of the culture, structure and journalism of the public broadcaster, right at a time when Canadians need it most.
First, it would free the organization to re-focus on civic journalism, bolstering what is in our view the most critical component of its mandate – to inform Canadians. Given scale-driven ad models and the incentives of click-bait, the CBC has followed many of its market competitors down a path to lowest common denominator content.
Read the full story here.
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
CBC’s Website Used By Neil Macdonald to Criticize Israel
Only a couple weeks ago, we (Honest Reporting Canada) observed how Neil Macdonald, former reporter and now opinion columnist for CBC, continued to usurpe the CBC’s platforms to malign Israel.
Macdonald’s modus operandi, as we’ve documented extensively, has been to twist unrelated world affairs stories and then find opportunities to criticize Israel.
True to form, today, in a commentary on U.S. President Donald Trump’s reaction to the racism and violent riots carried out by neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists in Charlottesville recently, Macdonald wrote:
Read the full story here.
Macdonald’s modus operandi, as we’ve documented extensively, has been to twist unrelated world affairs stories and then find opportunities to criticize Israel.
True to form, today, in a commentary on U.S. President Donald Trump’s reaction to the racism and violent riots carried out by neo-Nazi’s and white supremacists in Charlottesville recently, Macdonald wrote:
Read the full story here.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
More Evidence CBC President Hubert Lacroix Caught Cheating on Expenses
The Hubert Lacroix $30,000 expense story has more holes than Swiss Cheese. CBC President Hubert Lacroix was personally involved in filing potentially fraudulent expense claims and then hid the story for 6 months. It cannot be wished away with a presidential wave of the hand and half-hearted apology.
Lacroix’s partial apology to “Canadians who support the CBC” does not wash. It is a partial apology not to the House of Commons, the Senate and all Canadians.
Lacroix’s partial apology to “Canadians who support the CBC” does not wash. It is a partial apology not to the House of Commons, the Senate and all Canadians.
“I want to apologize to my fellow employees at CBC/Radio-Canada.… We are now entering a period of great challenge, and I want to assure our CBCers and Radio-Canadiens that they can continue to have faith in their leaders. I also want to apologize to all those Canadians who support CBC/Radio-Canada for this careless error.”Read the full story here.
Monday, August 21, 2017
CBC President Hubert Lacroix calls for dialogue
The head of the CBC says it is time to have a “national conversation” about the public broadcaster’s future role.
Lacroix said the consultation should include the broadcaster’s own employees. Some of its prominent personalites in Quebec have come forward in recent days to express their own concerns.
“I think everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Lacroix told reporters. “I will never gag someone or prevent a Radio-Canada employee from having an opinion, whether it conforms to or is different from mine.”
Lacroix said the broadcaster will have to revisit its mandate — spelled out in the Broadcasting Act — which was changed last in 1991. He said that since then, the “media ecosystem” has changed dramatically while there has been a marked discrepancy between level of service it is obliged to provided versus the funding it gets from the federal government.
Read the full story here.
Lacroix said the consultation should include the broadcaster’s own employees. Some of its prominent personalites in Quebec have come forward in recent days to express their own concerns.
“I think everyone is entitled to their opinion,” Lacroix told reporters. “I will never gag someone or prevent a Radio-Canada employee from having an opinion, whether it conforms to or is different from mine.”
Lacroix said the broadcaster will have to revisit its mandate — spelled out in the Broadcasting Act — which was changed last in 1991. He said that since then, the “media ecosystem” has changed dramatically while there has been a marked discrepancy between level of service it is obliged to provided versus the funding it gets from the federal government.
Read the full story here.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Everyone hates the CBC’s new strategic plan
Three ways to complain:
1. “It’s bad for newspapers.”
This is a counterintuitive one, but bear with us. In an editorial for Newspapers Canada, Canadian Newspaper Association chair Bob Cox argues that it’s pointless—and maybe even a little corrupt—for the CBC to be reorienting itself toward online services, precisely because doing so is a business-savvy move—so business-savvy, in fact, that privately owned newspapers are already doing it of their own accord. “There’s no need to pour tax dollars into something the the private sector is already doing without a subsidy, unless the goal is propaganda,” he writes. There’s a certain logic to this. Much of what the government does is aimed at serving the public good in ways private enterprise can’t. Why should the CBC be any different?
2. “It’s bad for employees.”
3. “It’s bad for Canada.”
Read the full story here.
1. “It’s bad for newspapers.”
This is a counterintuitive one, but bear with us. In an editorial for Newspapers Canada, Canadian Newspaper Association chair Bob Cox argues that it’s pointless—and maybe even a little corrupt—for the CBC to be reorienting itself toward online services, precisely because doing so is a business-savvy move—so business-savvy, in fact, that privately owned newspapers are already doing it of their own accord. “There’s no need to pour tax dollars into something the the private sector is already doing without a subsidy, unless the goal is propaganda,” he writes. There’s a certain logic to this. Much of what the government does is aimed at serving the public good in ways private enterprise can’t. Why should the CBC be any different?
2. “It’s bad for employees.”
3. “It’s bad for Canada.”
Read the full story here.
Thursday, August 17, 2017
CBC described as disruptor of media landscape
Private media companies are decrying the CBC’s growing presence on the Internet and in the digital advertising market, calling on Ottawa to rein in the Crown corporation in order to salvage the production of local news and investigative journalism across the country.
At hearings of the Canadian Heritage committee of the House of Commons, the CBC is increasingly described as a great disruptor of the media landscape, with its recent budget increase of $675-million over five years coming as losses are growing and newsrooms are closing in the private sector.
The attacks place the public broadcaster in the same category as foreign Internet giants such as Google and Facebook, which many say are eating into advertising budgets of publishers and broadcasters in Canada while contributing little to the creation of Canadian content.
The CBC is specifically facing criticism over the expansion of its presence on the Internet, including the recent creation of an opinion section on its website with columns and op-eds that are in direct competition with several newspapers.
Read the full story here.
At hearings of the Canadian Heritage committee of the House of Commons, the CBC is increasingly described as a great disruptor of the media landscape, with its recent budget increase of $675-million over five years coming as losses are growing and newsrooms are closing in the private sector.
The attacks place the public broadcaster in the same category as foreign Internet giants such as Google and Facebook, which many say are eating into advertising budgets of publishers and broadcasters in Canada while contributing little to the creation of Canadian content.
The CBC is specifically facing criticism over the expansion of its presence on the Internet, including the recent creation of an opinion section on its website with columns and op-eds that are in direct competition with several newspapers.
Read the full story here.
Wednesday, August 16, 2017
CBC Reporter Draws Moral Equivalence Between Palestinian Terror Camps and Israeli Self Defence Camps
CBC Reporter Draws Moral Equivalence Between Palestinian Terror Camps and Israeli Self Defence Camps.
In an “analysis” report published on the CBC’s website today, Mideast correspondent Derek Stoffel implicitly drew a moral equivalence between Palestinian terror training camps that indoctrinate children to hate and murder Israelis, and Israeli boot camps which teach tourists and Israeli security guards how to defend themselves against terror attacks.
Stoffel visited a counterterrorism boot camp in Gush Etzion operated by an Israeli security company called Caliber 3, which teaches 22,000 individuals annually how to defend themselves from a terror attack.
Read the full story here.
In an “analysis” report published on the CBC’s website today, Mideast correspondent Derek Stoffel implicitly drew a moral equivalence between Palestinian terror training camps that indoctrinate children to hate and murder Israelis, and Israeli boot camps which teach tourists and Israeli security guards how to defend themselves against terror attacks.
Stoffel visited a counterterrorism boot camp in Gush Etzion operated by an Israeli security company called Caliber 3, which teaches 22,000 individuals annually how to defend themselves from a terror attack.
Read the full story here.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017
CBC's answer to its privileged status
Here’s how thinking works in the upper echelons of the CBC.
Canada’s public broadcasting network has been under fire for months over its efforts to build a digital presence in direct competition with private newspapers and other media, which are struggling to survive in the face of remorseless technological change. The private operators maintain it’s unfair that the CBC gets generous subsidies to steal business from them. In a world of shifting readership habits and murderous competition, every penny of revenue is vital. The CBC, they note, already enjoys a federal subsidy of more than $1 billion a year, including a $150 million annual boost introduced by the Trudeau Liberals. Private operators, meanwhile, are hemorrhaging money as the strive to keep the wolf from the door.
The CBC’s response: Ask for even more money from the public purse.
Read the full story here.
Canada’s public broadcasting network has been under fire for months over its efforts to build a digital presence in direct competition with private newspapers and other media, which are struggling to survive in the face of remorseless technological change. The private operators maintain it’s unfair that the CBC gets generous subsidies to steal business from them. In a world of shifting readership habits and murderous competition, every penny of revenue is vital. The CBC, they note, already enjoys a federal subsidy of more than $1 billion a year, including a $150 million annual boost introduced by the Trudeau Liberals. Private operators, meanwhile, are hemorrhaging money as the strive to keep the wolf from the door.
The CBC’s response: Ask for even more money from the public purse.
Read the full story here.
Monday, August 14, 2017
CBC’s The National needed a shakeup — but ...
CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge, with his preternaturally calm voice, was the epitome of the omniscient presenter when he stepped down July 1 from the Canadian public broadcaster after three decades.
So it wasn’t a surprise that, in its highly anticipated announcement of a reboot, the CBC decided to cover their bets with more than one anchor for their flagship show The National. But four?
Whether this will be groundbreaking broadcasting or a hot mess will be seen in early November when the new format launches. So far it seems like a logistical nightmare.
Read the full story here.
So it wasn’t a surprise that, in its highly anticipated announcement of a reboot, the CBC decided to cover their bets with more than one anchor for their flagship show The National. But four?
Whether this will be groundbreaking broadcasting or a hot mess will be seen in early November when the new format launches. So far it seems like a logistical nightmare.
Read the full story here.
Friday, August 11, 2017
CBC editors agreed that it was “inappropriate” ...
Honest Reporting Canada - SUCCESS! CBC Retracts Claim that Mahmoud Abbas is a “Staunch Opponent of Violence”.
As we noted in our recent critical analysis of Canadian media coverage of the tensions and terror attacks on the Temple Mount, on July 22, CBCNews.ca had featured Associated Press coverage claiming that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is “… a staunch opponent of violence…”
In making this statement, both AP and CBC News inserted their personal opinions into their coverage as this claim is subjective in nature and was not in attribution.
HonestReporting Canada brought these concerns to the attention of CBC editors who agreed that it was “inappropriate” to describe Abbas as a “staunch opponent of violence”. CBC editors retracted this claim and removed it from their news article.
While we appreciate that CBC removed this reference from their news article and that a clarification was issued, regrettably, the CBC did not acknowledge in writing that the language that was removed (not amended) from this article, was their previously describing Abbas as a “staunch opponent of violence”.
Read the full story here.
As we noted in our recent critical analysis of Canadian media coverage of the tensions and terror attacks on the Temple Mount, on July 22, CBCNews.ca had featured Associated Press coverage claiming that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is “… a staunch opponent of violence…”
In making this statement, both AP and CBC News inserted their personal opinions into their coverage as this claim is subjective in nature and was not in attribution.
HonestReporting Canada brought these concerns to the attention of CBC editors who agreed that it was “inappropriate” to describe Abbas as a “staunch opponent of violence”. CBC editors retracted this claim and removed it from their news article.
While we appreciate that CBC removed this reference from their news article and that a clarification was issued, regrettably, the CBC did not acknowledge in writing that the language that was removed (not amended) from this article, was their previously describing Abbas as a “staunch opponent of violence”.
Read the full story here.
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