Amanda Lang scandal legacy of CBC's long corporate metamorphosis.
The Lang affair comes hard on the heels of the debacle over the Jian Ghomeshi assault scandal.
Meanwhile, too many CBC hosts -- who are extremely well compensated to begin with -- were using their fame to make more money by giving speeches on the side. Both Rex Murphy and Peter Mansbridge were caught doing speeches for the oil industry.
The recent scandals that have plagued the broadcaster, brought on by its incompetent managers and toxic internal environment, further erode public trust in its existence.
Read the full story.
Friday, January 30, 2015
Thursday, January 29, 2015
CBC President Hubert Lacroix "loved" Ghomeshi
CBC President Hubert Lacroix Comes To Concordia.
Lacroix spent most of his presentation polling the audience on whether they watch programs and newscasts from the CBC, and whether the students take advantage of their mobile platforms and services.
Following his presentation, Lacroix addressed the recent controversies surrounding the CBC, including the Jian Ghomeshi and Amanda Lang scandals.
On his relationship with Ghomeshi, the President said he “loved him” and connected him with as many people as he could within the CBC and Radio-Canada. Due to “legal issues,” his comments about the allegations were limited.
As for Amanda Lang, the CBC journalist who provided favourable coverage to two companies who offered her paid speaking engagements, Lacroix said that the CBC is considering the allowance of employees to possibly engage in paid appearances.
Days after his presentation at Concordia, the CBC announced that they would no longer allow their journalists to do any paid speaking appearances.
Read the full story.
Lacroix spent most of his presentation polling the audience on whether they watch programs and newscasts from the CBC, and whether the students take advantage of their mobile platforms and services.
Following his presentation, Lacroix addressed the recent controversies surrounding the CBC, including the Jian Ghomeshi and Amanda Lang scandals.
On his relationship with Ghomeshi, the President said he “loved him” and connected him with as many people as he could within the CBC and Radio-Canada. Due to “legal issues,” his comments about the allegations were limited.
As for Amanda Lang, the CBC journalist who provided favourable coverage to two companies who offered her paid speaking engagements, Lacroix said that the CBC is considering the allowance of employees to possibly engage in paid appearances.
Days after his presentation at Concordia, the CBC announced that they would no longer allow their journalists to do any paid speaking appearances.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Ethics complaint against CBC's Peter Mansbridge
Peter Mansbridge has found himself at the centre of an unlikely controversy, this time in his role as chancellor of Mount Allison University.
A man running for president of Mount A’s student union filed a complaint questioning Mr. Mansbridge’s ethics this month, after an opposing candidate claimed the CBC anchor’s endorsement in the race.
The CBC ombudsman investigated earlier complaints against Mr. Mansbridge for taking speaking fees, a practice the public broadcaster moved to curtail last week.
Read the full story.
A man running for president of Mount A’s student union filed a complaint questioning Mr. Mansbridge’s ethics this month, after an opposing candidate claimed the CBC anchor’s endorsement in the race.
The CBC ombudsman investigated earlier complaints against Mr. Mansbridge for taking speaking fees, a practice the public broadcaster moved to curtail last week.
Read the full story.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Some CBC journalists earning prohibited speaking fees
As the latest chapter involving the extra-curricular activities of a very few of the CBC's most prominent journalists continues to unfold, let's be clear about the key element surrounding the cornerstone issue at play.
This is about "the money." And from that directly flows the story of the past several days.
So keep this in mind: a few of CBC's journalists are personally earning tens of thousands -- and in some cases perhaps more than a hundred thousand dollars -- in speaking fees annually in situations that are specifically identified as inappropriate and thus prohibited by the CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices and an updated policy statement of last spring.
However it is also critical to remember that the vast proportion of CBC's journalists and production and technical employees (who were my colleagues for 27 years) are repulsed by all this. It would never occur to them to take money from people they might cover as part of their job. They are embarrassed by what is taking place because it impugns their integrity and their sense of responsibility to the people of Canada.
Read the original Huffington Post article here.
This is about "the money." And from that directly flows the story of the past several days.
So keep this in mind: a few of CBC's journalists are personally earning tens of thousands -- and in some cases perhaps more than a hundred thousand dollars -- in speaking fees annually in situations that are specifically identified as inappropriate and thus prohibited by the CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices and an updated policy statement of last spring.
However it is also critical to remember that the vast proportion of CBC's journalists and production and technical employees (who were my colleagues for 27 years) are repulsed by all this. It would never occur to them to take money from people they might cover as part of their job. They are embarrassed by what is taking place because it impugns their integrity and their sense of responsibility to the people of Canada.
Read the original Huffington Post article here.
Monday, January 26, 2015
Amanda Lang a liability at CBC
Put a fork in Amanda Lang. She’s cooked. The poster girl for privileged on-air talent at the CBC might not yet realize it, but her career inside the public broadcaster is doomed.
Lang should forget about taking over Peter Mansbridge’s spot on The National when the CBC’s “chief correspondent” finally calls it quits.
Lang has become a liability at the CBC, an employer with very little patience for liabilities. Lang surely understood this when she penned that embarrassing 1,600-word paean to herself in The Globe and Mail last week in a bid to salvage her career. Perhaps she sought public redemption, some kind of outpouring of support. It didn’t work, at least not for nearly all of the 294 Globe readers who have commented so far. Almost universally, they dismissed Lang with acidic-laced derision and called for her to leave journalism.
Whispers abound inside the CBC that Lang may soon be disciplined for galloping off the range to the Globe again. Of course, the corridors of the CBC offices are pretty much always filled with whispers and intrigue.
Read the full article at iPolitics here.
Lang has become a liability at the CBC, an employer with very little patience for liabilities. Lang surely understood this when she penned that embarrassing 1,600-word paean to herself in The Globe and Mail last week in a bid to salvage her career. Perhaps she sought public redemption, some kind of outpouring of support. It didn’t work, at least not for nearly all of the 294 Globe readers who have commented so far. Almost universally, they dismissed Lang with acidic-laced derision and called for her to leave journalism.
Whispers abound inside the CBC that Lang may soon be disciplined for galloping off the range to the Globe again. Of course, the corridors of the CBC offices are pretty much always filled with whispers and intrigue.
Read the full article at iPolitics here.
Friday, January 23, 2015
CBC Exposed at odds with journalistic ethics
When shots rang on Parliament Hill, a nation sat rapt to its screens.
The CBC shined that fateful October day, burying a growing list of questions about sustainability, editorial independence and conflict-of-interest standards.
Or, so it seemed.
Mansbridge himself was at the centre of those queries, his appearances before oilsands associated groups raised concerns about his ability to cover one of the country’s most heated debates. Long-time CBC contributor Rex Murphy (also a National Post columnist, full disclosure) also faced questions about speaking to oilsands groups.
And now, months later, the Mother Corp. is again at odds with journalistic ethics as it fends off allegations chief business correspondent Amanda Lang tried to interfere with a story by fellow broadcaster Kathy Tomlinson about RBC using temporary foreign workers. The CBC staunchly denies Lang committed any wrong doing.
The Ghomeshi case uncovered cracks that were already spreading. In the ensuing weeks and months, stories have poured out of a culture that shielded Ghomeshi from serious claims of workplace harassment, and questions still linger about what the CBC’s top executives knew when about his alleged, repeated violence.
The lingering questions in Canadian minds about how and why Ghomeshi was hiding in plain sight for so long make other issues raised seem that much worse.
Of course, the ethical quandaries leveled at Mansbridge, Murphy and Lang are nowhere near as odious as the charges Ghomeshi faces.
Yet, there are parallels in the way in which CBC’s top brass has circled the wagons. Again, we see CBC head of public affairs Chuck Thompson correcting and re-correcting the facts.
Read the full story.
The CBC shined that fateful October day, burying a growing list of questions about sustainability, editorial independence and conflict-of-interest standards.
Or, so it seemed.
Mansbridge himself was at the centre of those queries, his appearances before oilsands associated groups raised concerns about his ability to cover one of the country’s most heated debates. Long-time CBC contributor Rex Murphy (also a National Post columnist, full disclosure) also faced questions about speaking to oilsands groups.
And now, months later, the Mother Corp. is again at odds with journalistic ethics as it fends off allegations chief business correspondent Amanda Lang tried to interfere with a story by fellow broadcaster Kathy Tomlinson about RBC using temporary foreign workers. The CBC staunchly denies Lang committed any wrong doing.
The Ghomeshi case uncovered cracks that were already spreading. In the ensuing weeks and months, stories have poured out of a culture that shielded Ghomeshi from serious claims of workplace harassment, and questions still linger about what the CBC’s top executives knew when about his alleged, repeated violence.
The lingering questions in Canadian minds about how and why Ghomeshi was hiding in plain sight for so long make other issues raised seem that much worse.
Of course, the ethical quandaries leveled at Mansbridge, Murphy and Lang are nowhere near as odious as the charges Ghomeshi faces.
Yet, there are parallels in the way in which CBC’s top brass has circled the wagons. Again, we see CBC head of public affairs Chuck Thompson correcting and re-correcting the facts.
Read the full story.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
CBC Exposed new low of moral and ethical policies
The Globe and Mail is reporting that 15 year news veteran Leslie Roberts resigned over a conflict of interest. Bravo for the journalist with ethics.
Why do CBC journalists with $250,000 conflicts of interest refuse to step down and why does CBC defend them? Peter Mansbridge, Rex Murphy, Amanda Lang – the list of CBC journalists with 6-figure incomes from conflicts of interest grows longer. The only thing that keeps CBC from firing them is they are not known sexual deviates like the now-disgraced ex-CBC star Jian Ghomeshi.
In the era of ethical journalist, just before our current era of journalist entitled stars, reporters and on-air personalities were not allowed to engage in a business that was in conflict with their jobs, nor could they accept gifts, interest free loans or other perks from the businesses they covered.
CBC, in their new low of moral and ethical policies, dispensed with those rules and instituted fluid rules that allowed Peter Mansbridge to be paid by the oil lobbyists for his speaking skills.
This is the new era of the 1%. Everyone wants to be part of the 1% and nobody wants to be one of the 99%. You can gouge, cheat, steal and lie to get to the top at Canada’s taxpayer-funded broadcaster the CBC.
Read the full story.
Why do CBC journalists with $250,000 conflicts of interest refuse to step down and why does CBC defend them? Peter Mansbridge, Rex Murphy, Amanda Lang – the list of CBC journalists with 6-figure incomes from conflicts of interest grows longer. The only thing that keeps CBC from firing them is they are not known sexual deviates like the now-disgraced ex-CBC star Jian Ghomeshi.
In the era of ethical journalist, just before our current era of journalist entitled stars, reporters and on-air personalities were not allowed to engage in a business that was in conflict with their jobs, nor could they accept gifts, interest free loans or other perks from the businesses they covered.
CBC, in their new low of moral and ethical policies, dispensed with those rules and instituted fluid rules that allowed Peter Mansbridge to be paid by the oil lobbyists for his speaking skills.
This is the new era of the 1%. Everyone wants to be part of the 1% and nobody wants to be one of the 99%. You can gouge, cheat, steal and lie to get to the top at Canada’s taxpayer-funded broadcaster the CBC.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
CBC Exposed: Scandal, Scandal, Scandal ...
At the CBC the scandals continue to mount. Do a google search for the word scandal and include any of the following words in that search query:
- Peter Mansbridge
- Rex Murphy
- Jian Ghomeshi
- Amanda Lang
- David Suzuki
You will be amazed at what will be returned.
Now do a search for CBC and Frans Leenen. The acclaimed doctor won a major libel lawsuit and the CBC had to pay using taxpyer money. And his was not the only lawsuit that the CBC lost ... merely the largest!
The scandals continue to mount, CBC management is in disarray, morale at the CBC is at an all-time low and taxpayers continue to pay over $100,000,000 of our taxes every 30 days. We ask why?
See all these scandals and more at www.cbcExposed.com
See all these scandals and more at www.cbcExposed.com
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Loss of public values at CBC
The loss of public values at CBC begins with management.
Amanda Lang had her Leslie Roberts moment this week, as Roberts had his Peter Mansbridge moment a week before. Lang is CBC's "senior business correspondent" (titles matter to these people, Lang lovingly repeats hers). She was found taking money for speeches from banks she reports on.
Roberts, Global TV's star anchor, was massaging clients from his own PR firm on his shows. Mansbridge, I assume, is more familiar but CBC's idea of stardom is still weird. He and Lang aren't the only ones there topping up sizable public salaries with gigs that capitalize on their day jobs.
What's surprising is how these public sector types lead in venal freelancing. What's even more telling is this: in their self-justifications they rarely mention the public aspect.
Read the full story.
Amanda Lang had her Leslie Roberts moment this week, as Roberts had his Peter Mansbridge moment a week before. Lang is CBC's "senior business correspondent" (titles matter to these people, Lang lovingly repeats hers). She was found taking money for speeches from banks she reports on.
Roberts, Global TV's star anchor, was massaging clients from his own PR firm on his shows. Mansbridge, I assume, is more familiar but CBC's idea of stardom is still weird. He and Lang aren't the only ones there topping up sizable public salaries with gigs that capitalize on their day jobs.
What's surprising is how these public sector types lead in venal freelancing. What's even more telling is this: in their self-justifications they rarely mention the public aspect.
Read the full story.
Monday, January 19, 2015
CBC Defends Conflict Of Interest Allegations
The CBC continues to strongly defend its senior business correspondent, Amanda Lang, in the wake of conflict-of-interest allegations reported by CANADALAND.
However, the network's spokesman walked back a key element of that defence on Tuesday.
It all started on Monday when the website CANADALAND published a story alleging that Lang attempted to "sabotage" a CBC investigation into the use of temporary foreign workers by RBC, a bank that had sponsored events at which Lang was paid to speak.
When she didn't get the story killed, CANADALAND reports that Lang then conducted a "softball interview" with RBC CEO Gord Nixon before taking to the op-ed pages of the Globe and Mail to minimize concerns about the bank's use of temporary foreign workers.
In a memo sent to CBC staff and later published on the CBC website, the broadcaster's general manager and editor in chief Jennifer McGuire admits Lang failed to tell CBC News management she would be writing an editorial for the Globe.
CBC employees are required by the broadcaster's Conflict of Interest and Ethics policy to obtain permission before doing work for competitors.
CBC's management of potential conflicts of interest has been the subject of intense scrutiny after it emerged last year that lead anchor Peter Mansbridge did a paid speech for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Read the full story.
However, the network's spokesman walked back a key element of that defence on Tuesday.
It all started on Monday when the website CANADALAND published a story alleging that Lang attempted to "sabotage" a CBC investigation into the use of temporary foreign workers by RBC, a bank that had sponsored events at which Lang was paid to speak.
When she didn't get the story killed, CANADALAND reports that Lang then conducted a "softball interview" with RBC CEO Gord Nixon before taking to the op-ed pages of the Globe and Mail to minimize concerns about the bank's use of temporary foreign workers.
In a memo sent to CBC staff and later published on the CBC website, the broadcaster's general manager and editor in chief Jennifer McGuire admits Lang failed to tell CBC News management she would be writing an editorial for the Globe.
CBC employees are required by the broadcaster's Conflict of Interest and Ethics policy to obtain permission before doing work for competitors.
CBC's management of potential conflicts of interest has been the subject of intense scrutiny after it emerged last year that lead anchor Peter Mansbridge did a paid speech for the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.
Read the full story.
Friday, January 16, 2015
No surprise CBC in crisis
The Jian Ghomeshi scandal signals that CBC managers have lost control of CBC. The Corporation has resorted to hiring an outside labour lawyer to investigate what went wrong with management processes, an admission of failure. But the signs of trouble have been there for some time.
The finger-pointing for CBC's problems has become a national pastime but its roots are fairly obvious.
Is it surprising that CBC is in such crisis?
If you wanted to slowly strangle the CBC, you couldn't imagine more ideal circumstances. With a stacked Board of Directors and senior management team so inexperienced in TV/radio programming, how could they possibly make the case for CBC?
Read the full story.
The finger-pointing for CBC's problems has become a national pastime but its roots are fairly obvious.
Is it surprising that CBC is in such crisis?
If you wanted to slowly strangle the CBC, you couldn't imagine more ideal circumstances. With a stacked Board of Directors and senior management team so inexperienced in TV/radio programming, how could they possibly make the case for CBC?
Read the full story.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
CBC's conflict of interest
Canadian broadcast media’s wakeup call has been overdue for years, but it looks like it has finally arrived. With Jian Ghomeshi facing sexual assault charges, and allegations of conflict of interest for Amanda Lang and Leslie Roberts, and the CBC changing disclosure policies over Rex Murphy‘s and Peter Mansbridge’s speaking engagements, Canadians have every right to wonder what, exactly, is going on behind the scenes.
Read the full story.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
CBC denies sabotage allegation
The CBC, still dealing with fallout from the Jian Ghomeshi scandal, is defending one of its highest-profile personalities (business reporter Amanda Lang) against a report that she attempted to “sabotage” a 2013 story about a bank that had sponsored some speeches or events at which she spoke.
Lang is the host of The Exchange with Amanda Lang and occasional fill-in anchor of The National.
The CBC memo came after media website Canadaland published a report alleging Lang tried to scuttle the RBC story. It also said Lang was in a “serious relationship” with an RBC board member at the time the story ran.
Read the full story.
Lang is the host of The Exchange with Amanda Lang and occasional fill-in anchor of The National.
The CBC memo came after media website Canadaland published a report alleging Lang tried to scuttle the RBC story. It also said Lang was in a “serious relationship” with an RBC board member at the time the story ran.
Read the full story.
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
CBC union wants more tax dollars
The union representing CBC workers says the broadcaster needs a 50% increase in funding on top of the $1.1 billion it already gets from taxpayers.
Alex Levasseur, head of Radio-Canada's union, said the public broadcaster is headed for destruction if its "broken" funding model isn't changed.
He called for an immediate end to CBC funding cuts and a national dialogue on the future of the corporation.
The past couple of years haven't been easy for the public broadcaster.
The corporation recently said it would cut about 650 positions across the country in response to losing the rights to Hockey Night in Canada, a major source of revenue.
Read the full story.
Alex Levasseur, head of Radio-Canada's union, said the public broadcaster is headed for destruction if its "broken" funding model isn't changed.
He called for an immediate end to CBC funding cuts and a national dialogue on the future of the corporation.
The past couple of years haven't been easy for the public broadcaster.
The corporation recently said it would cut about 650 positions across the country in response to losing the rights to Hockey Night in Canada, a major source of revenue.
Read the full story.
Monday, January 12, 2015
Canadians favour privatizing CBC
More Canadians now favour privatizing CBC, Canada Post and Via Rail than favour keeping the Crown corporations in public hands.
A poll of 1,996 Canadians by Abacus Data found that 45% of those surveyed support or strongly support selling CBC compared to 34% who opposed the move, while 21% were undecided. Support for selling Canada Post was slightly higher with 47% backing a sale and 38% opposed. Via Rail had the highest level of support for privatization with 53% agreeing that the rail service should be sold off.
CBC receives more than $1 billion a year from taxpayers.
Read the full story.
A poll of 1,996 Canadians by Abacus Data found that 45% of those surveyed support or strongly support selling CBC compared to 34% who opposed the move, while 21% were undecided. Support for selling Canada Post was slightly higher with 47% backing a sale and 38% opposed. Via Rail had the highest level of support for privatization with 53% agreeing that the rail service should be sold off.
CBC receives more than $1 billion a year from taxpayers.
Read the full story.
Friday, January 09, 2015
Peter Mansbridge expresses dismay at CBC proposal
Recent cutbacks were largely spread out across the board, but sources said future reductions will be more focused, with the television sector’s “general programming” facing the greatest upheaval. The CBC’s news section is expected to be largely spared, leaving other elements of the broadcaster’s television schedule facing cutbacks and changes.
One area that has already triggered alarm among some of CBC’s most prominent on-air personalities is a proposal to halt all in-house production of documentaries. Peter Mansbridge, Adrienne Arsenault, David Suzuki, Anna Maria Tremonti and more than 30 other news and current affairs staff signed a letter this week expressing dismay at the proposal, which comes amid what they call “a precipitous decline of documentaries in the CBC-TV schedule.”
Read the full story.
One area that has already triggered alarm among some of CBC’s most prominent on-air personalities is a proposal to halt all in-house production of documentaries. Peter Mansbridge, Adrienne Arsenault, David Suzuki, Anna Maria Tremonti and more than 30 other news and current affairs staff signed a letter this week expressing dismay at the proposal, which comes amid what they call “a precipitous decline of documentaries in the CBC-TV schedule.”
Read the full story.
Thursday, January 08, 2015
CBC contradicts ethics principles
The CBC Ombudsman has made a declarative position on whether or not the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation was in breach of their ethics policy during their lopsided coverage of #GamerGate. According to the CBC Ombudsman, Esther Enkin, the CBC has not committed any breaches of journalistic impropriety in their coverage of #GamerGate.
If there is a relationship that isn’t explained or defined on a national news program then what is the average viewer supposed to take away? This is a direct violation of the CBC’s own impartiality sub-section in their “acts and policies” ethics guide, which states… “We provide professional judgment based on facts and expertise. We do not promote any particular point of view on matters of public debate.”
If the CBC wishes to stand by the sophistry of the harassment angle, the least they should do is cover both sides of the harassment angle – the kind that’s happening against women, men and kids who stand with the consumer revolt.
According to Ombudsman Enkin in the January 5th report, the CBC National piece was not in violation of their ethics policy. However, the piece was still only one-sided against the harassment angle they chose. So what’s the excuse for continuing to breach their own policy of balanced reporting by not even balancing out their reports regarding the harassment?
Read the whole story.
If there is a relationship that isn’t explained or defined on a national news program then what is the average viewer supposed to take away? This is a direct violation of the CBC’s own impartiality sub-section in their “acts and policies” ethics guide, which states… “We provide professional judgment based on facts and expertise. We do not promote any particular point of view on matters of public debate.”
If the CBC wishes to stand by the sophistry of the harassment angle, the least they should do is cover both sides of the harassment angle – the kind that’s happening against women, men and kids who stand with the consumer revolt.
According to Ombudsman Enkin in the January 5th report, the CBC National piece was not in violation of their ethics policy. However, the piece was still only one-sided against the harassment angle they chose. So what’s the excuse for continuing to breach their own policy of balanced reporting by not even balancing out their reports regarding the harassment?
Read the whole story.
Wednesday, January 07, 2015
CBC scandal costs more jobs
Two important players in the unfolding Jian Ghomeshi scandal have been put on indefinite leaves of absence by CBC management, but the public broadcaster is refusing to say whether they are still being paid.
Head of radio Chris Boyce and human resources director Todd Spencer were told to go on Monday, according to a memo sent to staff. CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson confirmed that the leaves are related to the Ghomeshi affair.
Boyce is one of two executives, along with Thompson, who viewed, on Oct. 23, material including a video that allegedly showed Ghomeshi causing physical injury to a woman. Three days later, Ghomeshi was fired. Boyce has said they did not go to the police. The Star has previously reported that the woman’s injury includes a cracked rib.
The radio executive came under increased public scrutiny last November when the CBC’s the fifth estate charged that, contrary to Boyce’s statements, no investigation at Ghomeshi’s hit radio show Q regarding inappropriate behaviour in the workplace was ever conducted.
Read the full story.
Head of radio Chris Boyce and human resources director Todd Spencer were told to go on Monday, according to a memo sent to staff. CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson confirmed that the leaves are related to the Ghomeshi affair.
Boyce is one of two executives, along with Thompson, who viewed, on Oct. 23, material including a video that allegedly showed Ghomeshi causing physical injury to a woman. Three days later, Ghomeshi was fired. Boyce has said they did not go to the police. The Star has previously reported that the woman’s injury includes a cracked rib.
The radio executive came under increased public scrutiny last November when the CBC’s the fifth estate charged that, contrary to Boyce’s statements, no investigation at Ghomeshi’s hit radio show Q regarding inappropriate behaviour in the workplace was ever conducted.
Read the full story.
Tuesday, January 06, 2015
Sweeping changes at CBC mean massive job cuts
Canada’s public broadcaster plans to shed up to a fifth of its staff by 2020 as part of a sweeping new vision to recalibrate the way it delivers news and programming to an increasingly mobile, on-demand audience.
At a testy town hall on Thursday, the CBC’s president and CEO, Hubert Lacroix, unveiled a new five-year plan to staff that includes shifting resources out of the TV and radio divisions to drive a wave of new mobile-friendly content, scaling back some local evening newscasts from 90 minutes to as little as 30, and cutting between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs.
Unlike recent cutbacks at the CBC, including one that axed 657 other jobs last April, the new plan is about much more than saving money. It is an effort to transform the broadcaster from a television and radio powerhouse to a leaner, more nimble organization that targets smartphones and tablets first to find readers, viewers and listeners wherever they are.
The main union representing CBC workers sees this as reducing services on TV.
Read the full story.
At a testy town hall on Thursday, the CBC’s president and CEO, Hubert Lacroix, unveiled a new five-year plan to staff that includes shifting resources out of the TV and radio divisions to drive a wave of new mobile-friendly content, scaling back some local evening newscasts from 90 minutes to as little as 30, and cutting between 1,000 and 1,500 jobs.
Unlike recent cutbacks at the CBC, including one that axed 657 other jobs last April, the new plan is about much more than saving money. It is an effort to transform the broadcaster from a television and radio powerhouse to a leaner, more nimble organization that targets smartphones and tablets first to find readers, viewers and listeners wherever they are.
The main union representing CBC workers sees this as reducing services on TV.
Read the full story.
Monday, January 05, 2015
CBC shifts priorities from TV and radio
CBC has announced deep cuts to its TV programming — part of the latest round of job cuts. The latest 400 job cuts were announced at the end of October.
Changes to programming were part of an announcement in June, when CBC president Hubert Lacroix said the broadcaster was shifting its priorities from TV and radio to digital and mobile services. Lacroix said the workforce would be reduced by approximately 25% by 2020. That's in addition to 657 jobs eliminated earlier this year in the wake of $130 million in lost revenue from the loss of Hockey Night in Canada.
As of next fall, local suppertime newscasts, most of which are now 90 minutes long, will be shorted to 30 or 60 minutes. By that time, the CBC also expects to roll out beefed-up website content and new mobile services.
Read the full story.
Changes to programming were part of an announcement in June, when CBC president Hubert Lacroix said the broadcaster was shifting its priorities from TV and radio to digital and mobile services. Lacroix said the workforce would be reduced by approximately 25% by 2020. That's in addition to 657 jobs eliminated earlier this year in the wake of $130 million in lost revenue from the loss of Hockey Night in Canada.
As of next fall, local suppertime newscasts, most of which are now 90 minutes long, will be shorted to 30 or 60 minutes. By that time, the CBC also expects to roll out beefed-up website content and new mobile services.
Read the full story.
Friday, January 02, 2015
Was CBC President Hubert Lacroix appointed to kill CBC
It seems that there’s a move a foot to kill the CBC. And it’s coming from within.
Has the CBC served its purpose and not needed in our country any longer?
Has the CBC served its purpose and not needed in our country any longer?
Is there a role for the CBC in this industry in 2014 and the future?
Probably not as it has existed.
Hubert Lacroix looks like he was a man appointed to kill the CBC, not lead it.
Read the full story.
Has the CBC served its purpose and not needed in our country any longer?
Has the CBC served its purpose and not needed in our country any longer?
Is there a role for the CBC in this industry in 2014 and the future?
Probably not as it has existed.
Hubert Lacroix looks like he was a man appointed to kill the CBC, not lead it.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
CBC Exposed as imploding
The CBC’s implosion.
To say that this has not been a vintage year for CBC understates the hot mess in which the state-supported broadcaster finds itself. For veterans of CBC who’ve witnessed the numerous purges and fiascos of the past (I toiled there from 1984- 98), 2014 has touched new levels of lunacy.
The spectacular immolation of Jian Ghomeshi—the Corporation’s hip prophet of an urban, progressive future— was the most public symbol of CBC’s self-waterboarding. Ghomeshi’s arrest for his bondage/S&M dating regime was followed by volleys of small-arms criticism between feuding branches of the news and current affairs floors of the Corp’s Toronto headquarters.
Even CBC chair Hubert Lacroix joined the walk of shame when it was revealed that he’d had to return almost $30,000 in living and dining expenses that he’d improperly double billed to the CBC.
Read the full story.
To say that this has not been a vintage year for CBC understates the hot mess in which the state-supported broadcaster finds itself. For veterans of CBC who’ve witnessed the numerous purges and fiascos of the past (I toiled there from 1984- 98), 2014 has touched new levels of lunacy.
The spectacular immolation of Jian Ghomeshi—the Corporation’s hip prophet of an urban, progressive future— was the most public symbol of CBC’s self-waterboarding. Ghomeshi’s arrest for his bondage/S&M dating regime was followed by volleys of small-arms criticism between feuding branches of the news and current affairs floors of the Corp’s Toronto headquarters.
Even CBC chair Hubert Lacroix joined the walk of shame when it was revealed that he’d had to return almost $30,000 in living and dining expenses that he’d improperly double billed to the CBC.
Read the full story.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Calls for CBC President Hubert Lacroix to resign
Since CBC President Hubert Lacroix announced plans to "ensure the sustainability" of the public broadcaster by radically reducing staff and shifting its focus from television and radio to various forms of Internet delivery over the next five years, there has been a rising chorus of voices calling on him to resign.
"Focused, smaller, more mobile, more relevant," is how Lacroix describes the new CBC he envisions. He calls it a "public media company [that] focuses on partnering to develop content" as opposed to a conventional public broadcaster. And he says that, in the face of dwindling subsidies from the federal government and now a steep decline in revenue from advertisers, who are moving en masse to the Internet, he has no choice but to continue the progressive dismembering of the corporation.
There are many who see this strategy of continuing to cut expenditures and sell off capital assets to match declining revenues -- survival at any cost -- as antithetical to the continuing existence of what is arguably the nation's most important cultural institution. Hence the calls for Lacroix's resignation, on grounds that he has effectively become a participant in the destruction of the CBC.
Read the full story.
"Focused, smaller, more mobile, more relevant," is how Lacroix describes the new CBC he envisions. He calls it a "public media company [that] focuses on partnering to develop content" as opposed to a conventional public broadcaster. And he says that, in the face of dwindling subsidies from the federal government and now a steep decline in revenue from advertisers, who are moving en masse to the Internet, he has no choice but to continue the progressive dismembering of the corporation.
There are many who see this strategy of continuing to cut expenditures and sell off capital assets to match declining revenues -- survival at any cost -- as antithetical to the continuing existence of what is arguably the nation's most important cultural institution. Hence the calls for Lacroix's resignation, on grounds that he has effectively become a participant in the destruction of the CBC.
Read the full story.
Monday, December 29, 2014
CBC refusing to release details
Last night we told you about the cozy, economically beneficial relationship between CBC and much of the consensus media.
They don’t report critically on this $1.1 billion government department because being nice to the state broadcaster is good for business.
We’ve also told you about CBC refusing to release details on how they spend that $1.1 billion that they get from you and I.
Read the full story.
They don’t report critically on this $1.1 billion government department because being nice to the state broadcaster is good for business.
We’ve also told you about CBC refusing to release details on how they spend that $1.1 billion that they get from you and I.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, December 24, 2014
Is CBC Senior Business Correspondent in conflict of interest
Amanda Lang took money from Manulife & Sun Life, gave them favourable CBC coverage.
To recap: Lang (a contender for Peter Mansbridge's chair as anchor of The National) is CBC News' Senior Business Correspondent, the top business reporter in the organization. She hosts the CBC's flagship business affairs show, which regularly covers the insurance industry. And Manulife is a giant insurance company.
Yet Lang took their money twice, moonlighting at their corporate events. Then she had their CEO on her show. And then she praised, to him, the specific department of his company that had hired her.
So, how could the CBC possibly explain this as anything but a blatant violation of their own policy?
Chuck Thompson, CBC's Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang's work for Manulife was "grandfathered" in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
Read the full story.
To recap: Lang (a contender for Peter Mansbridge's chair as anchor of The National) is CBC News' Senior Business Correspondent, the top business reporter in the organization. She hosts the CBC's flagship business affairs show, which regularly covers the insurance industry. And Manulife is a giant insurance company.
Yet Lang took their money twice, moonlighting at their corporate events. Then she had their CEO on her show. And then she praised, to him, the specific department of his company that had hired her.
So, how could the CBC possibly explain this as anything but a blatant violation of their own policy?
Chuck Thompson, CBC's Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang's work for Manulife was "grandfathered" in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
Read the full story.
Tuesday, December 23, 2014
CBC President Hubert Lacroix heckled
Though there were hecklers and tough questions for president and CEO Hubert Lacroix — one member of the crowd even handed him a pre-written resignation letter and asked him to sign it — the event did not degenerate into complete chaos.
Yes, almost 400 employees got pink slips this week, part of a wave of cuts announced in June. But “no matter what people might think, I find these announcements difficult,” Lacroix said.
Whether that’s true or not, Lacroix’s prepared speech – a dispassionate presentation, some at the meeting thought – about changing technology, failed to persuade the audience.
Lacroix’s lack of overt anger about this situation prompted one member of the audience to ask why the CEO hasn’t gone on a tirade to get the federal government to act.
Read the full story.
Yes, almost 400 employees got pink slips this week, part of a wave of cuts announced in June. But “no matter what people might think, I find these announcements difficult,” Lacroix said.
Whether that’s true or not, Lacroix’s prepared speech – a dispassionate presentation, some at the meeting thought – about changing technology, failed to persuade the audience.
Lacroix’s lack of overt anger about this situation prompted one member of the audience to ask why the CEO hasn’t gone on a tirade to get the federal government to act.
Read the full story.
Monday, December 22, 2014
CBC Executives hid human rights abuses
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.
Beyond the CBC’s walls, the scandal, and the Crown corporation’s handling of it, has laid bare a complex ecosystem: a labyrinthine bureaucracy that seemed to permit all manner of wrongdoing.
President Hubert Lacroix has been largely absent as the biggest scandal in years has engulfed his organization.
Read the full story.
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.
Beyond the CBC’s walls, the scandal, and the Crown corporation’s handling of it, has laid bare a complex ecosystem: a labyrinthine bureaucracy that seemed to permit all manner of wrongdoing.
President Hubert Lacroix has been largely absent as the biggest scandal in years has engulfed his organization.
Read the full story.
Friday, December 19, 2014
CBC cutting newscasts
The CBC is shortening all of its regional supper-hour newscasts beginning in the fall of 2015, the public broadcaster announced today.
The news comes after CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said in June that the broadcaster would be shifting its priorities from television and radio to digital and mobile services. He also said the 2020 strategy would shorten supper-hour news broadcasts, but did not provide full specifics.
Most of the existing supper-hour newscasts run 90 minutes. But on Thursday, the CBC said in a statement that some newscasts would be reduced to one hour, and others to 30 minutes.
Read the whole story.
The news comes after CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said in June that the broadcaster would be shifting its priorities from television and radio to digital and mobile services. He also said the 2020 strategy would shorten supper-hour news broadcasts, but did not provide full specifics.
Most of the existing supper-hour newscasts run 90 minutes. But on Thursday, the CBC said in a statement that some newscasts would be reduced to one hour, and others to 30 minutes.
Read the whole story.
Thursday, December 18, 2014
CBC President Hubert Lacroix unable to answer questions
The president of the CBC will have one more turn testifying in front of a Senate committee early next year, and in a rare move, he’s been provided the questions for his final grilling.
Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.
A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance. Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the future outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.
“You would think the chairman of the board would have been privy to that information,” said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos.
Read the full story.
Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.
A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance. Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the future outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.
“You would think the chairman of the board would have been privy to that information,” said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos.
Read the full story.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Toxic environment at CBC
Busted: The toxic CBC environment that abetted Jian Ghomeshi
In the past month, public airings of internal CBC dysfunction have become a national spectacle—from current and former Q staffers revealing details of Ghomeshi’s reign that included allegations of abusive behaviour and sexual harassment, to leaked memos that banned (and then unbanned) former CBC-TV host Linden MacIntyre from the airwaves.
On paper, the CBC appears a model of employer enlightenment and best practices. Posters offer help-line numbers to call if people feel stressed.
Such entrenched protocols allowed Lacroix to boast to a parliamentary committee last year of the CBC’s robust system of training and policy, aimed at creating a safe work environment, and responding appropriately if incidents occur.
What Ghomeshi’s case illustrates isn’t that the systems were inadequate, but that they were, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, pernicious, because they allowed awful things to happen.
Read the full story.
In the past month, public airings of internal CBC dysfunction have become a national spectacle—from current and former Q staffers revealing details of Ghomeshi’s reign that included allegations of abusive behaviour and sexual harassment, to leaked memos that banned (and then unbanned) former CBC-TV host Linden MacIntyre from the airwaves.
On paper, the CBC appears a model of employer enlightenment and best practices. Posters offer help-line numbers to call if people feel stressed.
Such entrenched protocols allowed Lacroix to boast to a parliamentary committee last year of the CBC’s robust system of training and policy, aimed at creating a safe work environment, and responding appropriately if incidents occur.
What Ghomeshi’s case illustrates isn’t that the systems were inadequate, but that they were, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, pernicious, because they allowed awful things to happen.
Read the full story.
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