On a randomly chosen Monday night in January, when Mansbridge was still anchor, “The National” on the main network had an estimated audience of 734,000 viewers during the first half hour of the show, dropping to 584,000 viewers in the second half.
For the debut of the new “The National” — now hosted by Ian Hanomansing, Adrienne Arsenault, Rosemary Barton and Andrew Chang — 739,000 viewers were tuned in for the first 30 minutes on CBC, while 601,000 were still watching for the second half.
But subsequent nights saw ratings peak between the high-300,000 to low-600,000 range.
Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News, says the network is “comfortable with the audience numbers and the anecdotal reaction to the program so far.”
Read the full story here.
cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
CBC TV is in a fragile position
Curiously, CBC Radio has lately begun competing with private stations, employing pop music on its second radio network and a journalistic style that is starting to sound like private radio. Commercials have even crept in.
Why? One explanation is that CBC has made disproportionate budget cuts to radio, weakening the service and prompting some unsavoury changes. More than $50-million has been lost from radio’s annual budget, which in net terms has been given to CBC TV.
Today, CBC TV is the service in a fragile position. It’s just one among hundreds of channels, almost indistinguishable from private competitors.
Read the full story here.
Why? One explanation is that CBC has made disproportionate budget cuts to radio, weakening the service and prompting some unsavoury changes. More than $50-million has been lost from radio’s annual budget, which in net terms has been given to CBC TV.
Today, CBC TV is the service in a fragile position. It’s just one among hundreds of channels, almost indistinguishable from private competitors.
Read the full story here.
CBC sees its service as a complement to existing services such as Netflix ...
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation will stream its live television stations online for free, a move that could further erode the value of traditional TV subscriptions in an era where many consumers are already cutting the cord.
On Tuesday, CBC TV started streaming its 14 regional linear television channels for free and launched a paid over-the-top TV subscription service for $4.99 per month. The premium service includes on-demand episodes without advertisements and CBC News Network, which was previously available as a standalone for $6.95 per month.
“Many Canadians are getting more and more of their content from digital over-the-top services like Netflix. We need to ensure our audiences can get CBC in the same way,” executive vice president of English services Heather Conway wrote in a memo to staff Monday.
Viewers will occasionally see a title card or blank slate if CBC doesn’t have the rights to broadcast content online. For the most part, CBC will substitute commercials on its live TV feeds with ads tailored for the digital experience.
CBC sees its service as a complement to existing services such as Netflix, BCE Inc.’s CraveTV or Amazon Prime Video, especially as consumers increasingly subscribe to multiple services.
Read the full story here.
On Tuesday, CBC TV started streaming its 14 regional linear television channels for free and launched a paid over-the-top TV subscription service for $4.99 per month. The premium service includes on-demand episodes without advertisements and CBC News Network, which was previously available as a standalone for $6.95 per month.
“Many Canadians are getting more and more of their content from digital over-the-top services like Netflix. We need to ensure our audiences can get CBC in the same way,” executive vice president of English services Heather Conway wrote in a memo to staff Monday.
Viewers will occasionally see a title card or blank slate if CBC doesn’t have the rights to broadcast content online. For the most part, CBC will substitute commercials on its live TV feeds with ads tailored for the digital experience.
CBC sees its service as a complement to existing services such as Netflix, BCE Inc.’s CraveTV or Amazon Prime Video, especially as consumers increasingly subscribe to multiple services.
Read the full story here.
Would Canadians be willing to pay for CBC directly
Mélanie Joly, the new minister responsible for the CBC, must decide what to do about our national broadcaster.
What do Canadians want from their public broadcaster? The first thing the minister should do is ask Canadians what they want from a new CBC for the future.
The CBC research project should start by asking a large, representative sample of Canadians to imagine there was no CBC TV or radio. Would people miss the CBC? Would they turn to other radio stations, if CBC Radio were no longer available? Would they just stop listening to radio altogether? Would they be willing to pay to keep it?
Would Canadians be willing to pay for CBC directly via their TV and Internet providers?
The minister should collect relevant industry data on how the CBC spends the public money it currently receives and the commercial revenue it generates. Ask experts for suggestions on how CBC could be more efficient with our money and what incentives could be put in place to increase efficiency. Should CBC be in the business of renting its buildings or airwaves to private interests? Should CBC be competing with newspapers and online media for readers and advertisers? Just how much revenue do all those new CBC Internet services generate, which CBC has never revealed?
Read the full story here.
What do Canadians want from their public broadcaster? The first thing the minister should do is ask Canadians what they want from a new CBC for the future.
The CBC research project should start by asking a large, representative sample of Canadians to imagine there was no CBC TV or radio. Would people miss the CBC? Would they turn to other radio stations, if CBC Radio were no longer available? Would they just stop listening to radio altogether? Would they be willing to pay to keep it?
Would Canadians be willing to pay for CBC directly via their TV and Internet providers?
The minister should collect relevant industry data on how the CBC spends the public money it currently receives and the commercial revenue it generates. Ask experts for suggestions on how CBC could be more efficient with our money and what incentives could be put in place to increase efficiency. Should CBC be in the business of renting its buildings or airwaves to private interests? Should CBC be competing with newspapers and online media for readers and advertisers? Just how much revenue do all those new CBC Internet services generate, which CBC has never revealed?
Read the full story here.
CBC - Are we even making radio anymore?
Since its founding in 1936, the cbc has routinely been accused of stodginess. But as the broadcaster adapts to changing media conditions and grows more elaborate, it harbours ambitions that threaten to outstrip its own ability to define itself. Jeffrey Dvorkin, once a managing editor of cbc Radio News and now head of the journalism program at the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus, puts it this way: “When media organizations lose sight of their purpose, they embrace technology without really understanding what it is.”
It’s important to note that despite the cbc’s cutback targets—it aims to shed 1,150 full-time positions by 2020—it also plans to hire 300 new employees “in the next years” to improve the company’s digital skills. Whether that will mean more coders, more interactive journalists, or more thought leaders who would help shape the company’s ultramodern ethos remains unclear.
For programmers at the cbc, the message is simple: Think about digital. All. The. Time. But making radio and TV with that in mind is more challenging. A radio producer I know there tells me that, so far, she’s had little guidance about how to, as she puts it, “up the digital game.” The company should appeal to younger listeners, one manager told her. That same manager said, vis-à-vis the vision thing, that in five years people will be using driverless cars, so the cbc needs to think about creating programming for people who are in cars but don’t have to focus on driving. “I have honestly tried to understand our mission or mandate,” she says, “but the message from management has been vague and confusing.”
All she knows, she says, is that every Friday, she gets an email announcing the top digital stories for their division (often the quirky ones), and that everyone wants to be mentioned in this report and are gutted if they’re not. “Our numbers suck,” she says of the radio show she works on. “So a group of us tried to figure out how to better market our show. We’re not marketing experts, but no one else is doing it for us.” They hashed out ways to make Twitter more effective in boosting their numbers. But, she asks, “Are we even making radio anymore?”
Read the full story here.
It’s important to note that despite the cbc’s cutback targets—it aims to shed 1,150 full-time positions by 2020—it also plans to hire 300 new employees “in the next years” to improve the company’s digital skills. Whether that will mean more coders, more interactive journalists, or more thought leaders who would help shape the company’s ultramodern ethos remains unclear.
For programmers at the cbc, the message is simple: Think about digital. All. The. Time. But making radio and TV with that in mind is more challenging. A radio producer I know there tells me that, so far, she’s had little guidance about how to, as she puts it, “up the digital game.” The company should appeal to younger listeners, one manager told her. That same manager said, vis-à-vis the vision thing, that in five years people will be using driverless cars, so the cbc needs to think about creating programming for people who are in cars but don’t have to focus on driving. “I have honestly tried to understand our mission or mandate,” she says, “but the message from management has been vague and confusing.”
All she knows, she says, is that every Friday, she gets an email announcing the top digital stories for their division (often the quirky ones), and that everyone wants to be mentioned in this report and are gutted if they’re not. “Our numbers suck,” she says of the radio show she works on. “So a group of us tried to figure out how to better market our show. We’re not marketing experts, but no one else is doing it for us.” They hashed out ways to make Twitter more effective in boosting their numbers. But, she asks, “Are we even making radio anymore?”
Read the full story here.
CBC criticized for exposure
Former Olympian Nicole Forrester says the live broadcast of the wardrobe malfunction during Sunday night's ice dance competition at the Pyeongchang Games was unfortunate and unavoidable.
Forrester said she felt mortified for French skater Gabriella Papadakis when her costume became loose and revealed one of her breasts while performing on ice with Guillaume Cizeron.
The live performance on CBC was quickly followed by a slow-motion replay.
While some Canadian social media users criticized CBC for airing the footage, which was carried live around 11:20 p.m. ET, the network responded with a tweet explaining that it uses the local feed for the event and that the footage would be edited out of encore broadcasts.
A CBC spokesperson was not available for comment Monday.
Read the full story here.
Forrester said she felt mortified for French skater Gabriella Papadakis when her costume became loose and revealed one of her breasts while performing on ice with Guillaume Cizeron.
The live performance on CBC was quickly followed by a slow-motion replay.
While some Canadian social media users criticized CBC for airing the footage, which was carried live around 11:20 p.m. ET, the network responded with a tweet explaining that it uses the local feed for the event and that the footage would be edited out of encore broadcasts.
A CBC spokesperson was not available for comment Monday.
Read the full story here.
CBC splits single white man’s salary
CBC splits single white man’s salary between two women, two minorities
Following the departure of longtime anchor Peter Mansbridge, CBC executives have decided to hire a diverse collection of hosts, each of whom will receive an equal share of Mansbridge’s previous salary.
While the average pay gaps between white men and white women, and white men and minority men is less than 20%, all four anchors released statements saying that they are contractually obligated to be “thrilled” to be making exactly 75% less than Mansbridge.
Read the full story here.
Following the departure of longtime anchor Peter Mansbridge, CBC executives have decided to hire a diverse collection of hosts, each of whom will receive an equal share of Mansbridge’s previous salary.
While the average pay gaps between white men and white women, and white men and minority men is less than 20%, all four anchors released statements saying that they are contractually obligated to be “thrilled” to be making exactly 75% less than Mansbridge.
Read the full story here.
CBC spent almost $900Gs on outside help to fight lawsuit
Despite having 22 lawyers on staff, CBC spent close to $900,000 on top-flight lawyers from an outside firm to fight a lawsuit that could have been settled with an apology.
As has previously been reported, CBC's legal costs to defend a lawsuit brought by filmmakers Claude Fournier and Marie-Jose Raymond topped $1 million. But new documents released by the state broadcaster show the legal firm Borden, Ladner, Gervais billed $871,769.03 for its services.
Read the full story here.
As has previously been reported, CBC's legal costs to defend a lawsuit brought by filmmakers Claude Fournier and Marie-Jose Raymond topped $1 million. But new documents released by the state broadcaster show the legal firm Borden, Ladner, Gervais billed $871,769.03 for its services.
Read the full story here.
Here’s What CBC Staff Told Their Bosses About The Need For Diversity
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.
Now, a year later, the CBC’s union, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), believes there is reason to be cautiously hopeful that things are beginning to change.
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.
Now, a year later, the CBC’s union, the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), believes there is reason to be cautiously hopeful that things are beginning to change.
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.
CBC Fifth Estate film found at fault
Fifth Estate film found at fault for unfounded facts and false impressions.
If you thought that headline was a mouthful, try swallowing a damages award of $950,000 and a costs award over $800,000 as the CBC had to in the libel lawsuit brought by Dr. Frans Leenan. After winning his case in Ontario's Superior Court, Dr. Leenen said, 'Four years ago we proposed to settle this law suit for $10,000 and an on-air apology. It was refused...The Fifth Estate persisted and took me through 10 weeks of trial.'
The trial judge awarded very high damages for libel against The Fifth Estate and the CBC as well as individual reporters and producers. The CBC appealed.
Read the full story here.
If you thought that headline was a mouthful, try swallowing a damages award of $950,000 and a costs award over $800,000 as the CBC had to in the libel lawsuit brought by Dr. Frans Leenan. After winning his case in Ontario's Superior Court, Dr. Leenen said, 'Four years ago we proposed to settle this law suit for $10,000 and an on-air apology. It was refused...The Fifth Estate persisted and took me through 10 weeks of trial.'
The trial judge awarded very high damages for libel against The Fifth Estate and the CBC as well as individual reporters and producers. The CBC appealed.
Read the full story here.
CBC The Current Demonizes Israel
Alarmingly, on February 7, CBC Radio’s The Current news program aired a lengthy 40+minute segment which fundamentally demonized Israel.
The program misleadingly presented itself as fair and balanced by featuring two Palestinians and two Israelis on the show, however, all these individuals were extremely hostile to Israel and none represented a mainstream Israeli perspective, nor was there a real exploration of Israel’s security concerns, its painful concessions and many generous peace offers. The program gave short shrift to the daily Palestinian terror attacks, endemic incitement, unilateralism, and corruption. The Current concluded their program by claiming that “We did also reach out to the Likud Youth Party to see if one of their members would like to join our discussion but we did not hear back.” And yet, that doesn’t absolve the CBC of its responsibility to produce balanced programming. Of course, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who could have been interviewed to provide perspectives from the mainstream, centrist or right-leaning voices of Israel, but CBC did not secure any of these individuals to appear on its program. They could have, and they should have.
Read the full story here.
The program misleadingly presented itself as fair and balanced by featuring two Palestinians and two Israelis on the show, however, all these individuals were extremely hostile to Israel and none represented a mainstream Israeli perspective, nor was there a real exploration of Israel’s security concerns, its painful concessions and many generous peace offers. The program gave short shrift to the daily Palestinian terror attacks, endemic incitement, unilateralism, and corruption. The Current concluded their program by claiming that “We did also reach out to the Likud Youth Party to see if one of their members would like to join our discussion but we did not hear back.” And yet, that doesn’t absolve the CBC of its responsibility to produce balanced programming. Of course, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who could have been interviewed to provide perspectives from the mainstream, centrist or right-leaning voices of Israel, but CBC did not secure any of these individuals to appear on its program. They could have, and they should have.
Read the full story here.
Stop the taxpayers funding of the CBC network
The CBC takes $1.1 billion annually of taxpayers money and Canadians can not afford this any longer.
What does a television station like the CBC do to deserve our hard earned cash?? There are many Canadian networks that survive on there own, so let's sell the CBC.
The CBC refuses to even tell us what their salaries are, not to mention the pensions they get. They "investigate" themselves for wrongdoings and are not held accountable for their actions. Why are we tolerating this?
Let's send a message to our government that we no longer want to bank role a dying network.
Read the responses to this petition here.
What does a television station like the CBC do to deserve our hard earned cash?? There are many Canadian networks that survive on there own, so let's sell the CBC.
The CBC refuses to even tell us what their salaries are, not to mention the pensions they get. They "investigate" themselves for wrongdoings and are not held accountable for their actions. Why are we tolerating this?
Let's send a message to our government that we no longer want to bank role a dying network.
Read the responses to this petition here.
CBC is the financial elephant in the press room
Just how should the CBC fit in a media world where it is already the financial elephant in the press room, an elephant gaining substantial financial weight with every passing year while other media shrinks?
Should it be competing virtually unfettered in the digital realm, selling $25 million a year in advertising and operating its websites like any private operator, all the while leaning on its substantial and publicly subsidized newsrooms to provide stories, photos and video?
Should it be spending taxpayers’ dollars to purchase and give away CBC-branded material at parades and events like the Regatta?
Should the CBC be in the “personality” business, offering up staff in exchange for public support for the broadcaster?
Should it be using its own airtime to congratulate and promote itself for its role in charity fundraising?
Should the CBC’s digital arm be expanding, as it is now doing, into opinion content, using its hefty financial resources to pay for it?
Should the CBC’s primary function be public service journalism, or ratings competition with private broadcasters?
There’s a huge value in a properly funded public broadcaster — it can do things that no private broadcaster does.
But public funding also means the elephant answering to the public, instead of just sitting wherever it wants to.
Read the full story here.
Should it be competing virtually unfettered in the digital realm, selling $25 million a year in advertising and operating its websites like any private operator, all the while leaning on its substantial and publicly subsidized newsrooms to provide stories, photos and video?
Should it be spending taxpayers’ dollars to purchase and give away CBC-branded material at parades and events like the Regatta?
Should the CBC be in the “personality” business, offering up staff in exchange for public support for the broadcaster?
Should it be using its own airtime to congratulate and promote itself for its role in charity fundraising?
Should the CBC’s digital arm be expanding, as it is now doing, into opinion content, using its hefty financial resources to pay for it?
Should the CBC’s primary function be public service journalism, or ratings competition with private broadcasters?
There’s a huge value in a properly funded public broadcaster — it can do things that no private broadcaster does.
But public funding also means the elephant answering to the public, instead of just sitting wherever it wants to.
Read the full story here.
CBC repeatedly peddling fantastical stories
The CBC’s venerable Fifth Estate has done a lot of good work on important stories over many decades. But its record has been marred by repeatedly peddling fantastical stories about the 1963 murder of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. The most recent came on November 17, with “The JFK Files: The Murder of a President.”
It might be tempting to shrug off McKenna and the Fifth Estate’s obsession with Kennedy fantasies as just the eccentricities of a rogue operation within the giant CBC bureaucracy. But somebody higher up the food chain approves their budgets and their programs.
Is this really what Canadians want for news and entertainment from the state-owned broadcaster? At a cost of a billion or a billion and a half tax dollars a year? We ought to be concerned about Canadian voices drowning in a global sea of news and dreck produced elsewhere.
Read the full story here.
It might be tempting to shrug off McKenna and the Fifth Estate’s obsession with Kennedy fantasies as just the eccentricities of a rogue operation within the giant CBC bureaucracy. But somebody higher up the food chain approves their budgets and their programs.
Is this really what Canadians want for news and entertainment from the state-owned broadcaster? At a cost of a billion or a billion and a half tax dollars a year? We ought to be concerned about Canadian voices drowning in a global sea of news and dreck produced elsewhere.
Read the full story here.
CBC wants more privilege and an extra $400 million
The CBC wants to be freed from the need to scrounge for advertising dollars, so it can nurture Canada's "cultural ecosystem" away from the distasteful world of competitive rivalries.
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 haemorrhaging 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 haemorrhaging 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.
The CBC has strayed a long way from its original purpose ...
The online success of the CBC should be laudable. Its website received an average of 6.2-million unique visitors last year, making it the most popular Canadian website. Around 4.3-million people visit the CBC News site each month, besting both The Globe and Mail and Huffington Post.
BUT ...
In doing so, the CBC has strayed a long way from its original purpose: to sustain Canadian culture when and where the market cannot. The problem is, the CBC’s traditional funding model now allows it to build its digital empire unfettered by economic reality. In its last quarter, 60 per cent of the company’s expenses were paid by government subsidies while just 21 per cent of its revenue comes from advertising. All media companies are struggling to adapt to shifting consumer and advertising patterns brought about by the digital age; only the CBC had $1.2 billion in government cash to fund its experiments and ease the transition.
Read the full story here.
BUT ...
In doing so, the CBC has strayed a long way from its original purpose: to sustain Canadian culture when and where the market cannot. The problem is, the CBC’s traditional funding model now allows it to build its digital empire unfettered by economic reality. In its last quarter, 60 per cent of the company’s expenses were paid by government subsidies while just 21 per cent of its revenue comes from advertising. All media companies are struggling to adapt to shifting consumer and advertising patterns brought about by the digital age; only the CBC had $1.2 billion in government cash to fund its experiments and ease the transition.
Read the full story here.
CBC Radio Host Acknowledges that Criticisms of Israel Frequently Anti-Semitic
It’s not too often that we’re in a position to praise CBC for excellent reporting on Israel and the Middle East, but there are exceptions to every rule.
We are pleased to commend CBC Radio Host Michael Enright and The Sunday Edition program for producing and orating an essay on January 28 entitled: “Anti-Semitism is not just going away; it is growing” which acknowledged that criticisms of Israel are frequently used to conceal anti-Semitism.
In his essay, Enright observed (emphasis added):
Read the full story here.
CBC president job posting re-opened
The independent committee leading the selection process for the new president and CEO of Canada’s public broadcaster has asked the federal government to re-open the posting for the job to look for qualified Canadians living abroad and to align the process with new rules on government job postings.
The CBC/Radio Canada position was re-advertised in the latest edition of the Canada Gazette, published last week, with a new deadline of January 29, 2018. The original deadline for applications was August 15, 2017 — after which the first job posting was taken down.
The move comes after the search to replace outgoing CBC president Hubert Lacroix failed to produce a successor by Dec. 31, 2017, when Lacroix was due to step down.
Read the full story here.
The CBC/Radio Canada position was re-advertised in the latest edition of the Canada Gazette, published last week, with a new deadline of January 29, 2018. The original deadline for applications was August 15, 2017 — after which the first job posting was taken down.
The move comes after the search to replace outgoing CBC president Hubert Lacroix failed to produce a successor by Dec. 31, 2017, when Lacroix was due to step down.
Read the full story here.
The problem: CBC is too secretive and misleading ...
The president of CBC published an article in Huffington Post recently asking Canadians for help in deciding CBC's future. Good idea but the plea received modest reader feedback; a few hundred people at most cared enough to comment or like the article. CBC also launched an unscientific survey on its web site to solicit public input but it has been met with criticism. Is it a sign that CBC has lost the public, that Canadians have stopped believing in and what CBC and its managers say?
For years CBC has claimed, critics would say whined, that it has suffered from underfunding. CBC does need more money just to keep providing existing programming but the arguments the CBC uses to defend current or increased funding have clearly not worked. Why? Is it deliberate or a faulty communications strategy?
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.
For years CBC has claimed, critics would say whined, that it has suffered from underfunding. CBC does need more money just to keep providing existing programming but the arguments the CBC uses to defend current or increased funding have clearly not worked. Why? Is it deliberate or a faulty communications strategy?
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.
CBC wants to demand openness from government while practicing secrecy
CBC wants to demand openness from government while practicing secrecy.
Earlier this year it was revealed Lacroix had been double dipping for living and travel expenses to the tune of $30,000. He paid it back, but kept the matter secret until I submitted an access to information request to get to the bottom of the matter.
Even now Lacroix refuses to answer media questions on the matter, thinking himself above the mere politicians he sends his state-paid journalists out to hound.
This week Lacroix didn’t just insult me, he insulted taxpayers and Parliament. He should be called on the carpet for this. More than that, he should be fired.
Read the full story here.
Earlier this year it was revealed Lacroix had been double dipping for living and travel expenses to the tune of $30,000. He paid it back, but kept the matter secret until I submitted an access to information request to get to the bottom of the matter.
Even now Lacroix refuses to answer media questions on the matter, thinking himself above the mere politicians he sends his state-paid journalists out to hound.
This week Lacroix didn’t just insult me, he insulted taxpayers and Parliament. He should be called on the carpet for this. More than that, he should be fired.
Read the full story here.
CBC Access To Information Battle
The CBC would be wise to "hike up the charm offensive" and "embrace disclosure" in its simmering battle over access to information, says HuffPost Canada's Ottawa Bureau Chief Althia Raj.
Raj joined CBC's At Issue panel on "The National" Thursday night and critiqued the public broadcaster's handling of the controversy. The corporation has been pitted against a House Of Commons committee, Canada's Information Commissioner and competitor Quebecor over whether it must release internal documents regarding its operations.
"Hubert Lacroix, the CBC President, is still as stubborn as he has always been about refusing to explain and give away anything on why the CBC is pursuing this agenda. I think it boggles the mind to most Canadians, and people who follow this at all, why CBC is fighting tooth and nail to have final say over what it excludes or not. If this was a government department everyone would be outraged," Raj said.
Read the full story here.
Raj joined CBC's At Issue panel on "The National" Thursday night and critiqued the public broadcaster's handling of the controversy. The corporation has been pitted against a House Of Commons committee, Canada's Information Commissioner and competitor Quebecor over whether it must release internal documents regarding its operations.
"Hubert Lacroix, the CBC President, is still as stubborn as he has always been about refusing to explain and give away anything on why the CBC is pursuing this agenda. I think it boggles the mind to most Canadians, and people who follow this at all, why CBC is fighting tooth and nail to have final say over what it excludes or not. If this was a government department everyone would be outraged," Raj said.
Read the full story here.
CBC spent $60k shredding documents
CBC President Hubert Lacroix’s travel expenses include hotel rooms that charge at least $100 more per night than similar hotels in the same area. In 2011, he spent $30,000 on expenses including $242 for a lunch for two.
In CBC Exposed, Lilley notes that Sylvain Lafrance, the former CBC head of French services, dinged taxpayers for everything from $4,821 on flights that included a two-day stopover in Paris in 2008, to a $1.65 muffin in Ottawa. In 2009, Lafrance had lunch with a Liberal senator and billed the taxpayers $119.
On top of all of this, ten CBC executives split an $888,699 bonus in March of 2009, while the private sector was bleeding jobs as a result of the economic recession. More egregious expenses could likely be uncovered had the CBC not spent $59,160 on shredding documents in anticipation of the Access to Information Act being passed in 2006.
Read the full story here.
In CBC Exposed, Lilley notes that Sylvain Lafrance, the former CBC head of French services, dinged taxpayers for everything from $4,821 on flights that included a two-day stopover in Paris in 2008, to a $1.65 muffin in Ottawa. In 2009, Lafrance had lunch with a Liberal senator and billed the taxpayers $119.
On top of all of this, ten CBC executives split an $888,699 bonus in March of 2009, while the private sector was bleeding jobs as a result of the economic recession. More egregious expenses could likely be uncovered had the CBC not spent $59,160 on shredding documents in anticipation of the Access to Information Act being passed in 2006.
Read the full story here.
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.
Just over one half of the CBC’s 7,600 full- and part-time employees completed the survey. The questionnaire asked people to answer the questions on a 1-5 scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”
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.
Just over one half of the CBC’s 7,600 full- and part-time employees completed the survey. The questionnaire asked people to answer the questions on a 1-5 scale from “strongly disagree” to “strongly agree.”
Read the full story here.
Wrongful dismissal suit filed against CBC
A former human resources executive for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has filed a wrongful dismissal suit against the broadcaster, alleging that senior HR staff conspired to fire her while she was on medical leave and that CEO Hubert Lacroix breached his duties in refusing to review the matter, according to court documents.
Serena Thadani-Anthony served as Executive Director of HR from January 2015 to December 2015 in an interim capacity, after her predecessor Todd Spencer was fired in the wake of the Ghomeshi scandal. She previously served as senior director of HR.
In her statement of claim, Thadani-Anthony says that just prior to her promotion, she was approached by HR director Tanya Lafreniere to provide confidential feedback about the leadership style of Josée Girard, who was then vice-president of people and culture and Thadani-Antony’s boss. She says Lafreniere told her there had been complaints about Girard.
Thadani-Anthony alleges that Girard had previously been dismissive of her candidacy for the permanent position of executive director and, in October 2015, encouraged her, a longtime CBC employee, to leave the company.
Thadani-Anthony said she began suffering medical complications brought on by the stress of her work environment in December 2015. She went on medical leave for respiratory issues the following February.
While on medical leave, she alleges that Lafreniere made a complaint against her, related to their confidential meeting, shortly before resigning herself. According to the statement of claim, Lafreniere was passed over in favour of Thadani-Anthony, when the position of corporate director of HR became vacant.
It is alleged that Girard, who was the subject of that confidential meeting, then directed CBC HR staff to review Thadani-Anthony’s e-mails and correspondence in an attempt to uncover information that could be used to fire her.
Read the full story here.
Serena Thadani-Anthony served as Executive Director of HR from January 2015 to December 2015 in an interim capacity, after her predecessor Todd Spencer was fired in the wake of the Ghomeshi scandal. She previously served as senior director of HR.
In her statement of claim, Thadani-Anthony says that just prior to her promotion, she was approached by HR director Tanya Lafreniere to provide confidential feedback about the leadership style of Josée Girard, who was then vice-president of people and culture and Thadani-Antony’s boss. She says Lafreniere told her there had been complaints about Girard.
Thadani-Anthony alleges that Girard had previously been dismissive of her candidacy for the permanent position of executive director and, in October 2015, encouraged her, a longtime CBC employee, to leave the company.
Thadani-Anthony said she began suffering medical complications brought on by the stress of her work environment in December 2015. She went on medical leave for respiratory issues the following February.
While on medical leave, she alleges that Lafreniere made a complaint against her, related to their confidential meeting, shortly before resigning herself. According to the statement of claim, Lafreniere was passed over in favour of Thadani-Anthony, when the position of corporate director of HR became vacant.
It is alleged that Girard, who was the subject of that confidential meeting, then directed CBC HR staff to review Thadani-Anthony’s e-mails and correspondence in an attempt to uncover information that could be used to fire her.
Read the full story here.
CBC continues to spend millions on entirely forgettable sitcoms ...
The culturecrats who run the CBC and the Canadian content producers who live off it get their backs up whenever anyone dares suggest that the public broadcaster has not only outlived its original purpose, but may now be inflicting irreparable harm on the domestic private media landscape.
"We don't think that we compete," CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix insisted, incredulously, before the House of Commons Heritage committee last month. "There is nothing in the [Broadcasting Act] or in our mandate that prevents us from delivering these services to Canadians in the most effective way – on the contrary."
So change the mandate. The latter currently does not explicitly prevent the CBC from competing with private media. It should.
The English CBC continues to spend millions on entirely forgettable sitcoms, dramas and reality shows that exist primarily as a source of income for a small clique of Canadian producers and artists. If these were high-quality programs that filled a void left by private Canadian broadcasters, they might serve a purpose. But they don't. Besides, Canadians do not watch them, forcing an already bloated CBC to seek advertising revenue elsewhere.
Hence, the CBC's push into digital opinion content.
Read the full story here.
"We don't think that we compete," CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix insisted, incredulously, before the House of Commons Heritage committee last month. "There is nothing in the [Broadcasting Act] or in our mandate that prevents us from delivering these services to Canadians in the most effective way – on the contrary."
So change the mandate. The latter currently does not explicitly prevent the CBC from competing with private media. It should.
The English CBC continues to spend millions on entirely forgettable sitcoms, dramas and reality shows that exist primarily as a source of income for a small clique of Canadian producers and artists. If these were high-quality programs that filled a void left by private Canadian broadcasters, they might serve a purpose. But they don't. Besides, Canadians do not watch them, forcing an already bloated CBC to seek advertising revenue elsewhere.
Hence, the CBC's push into digital opinion content.
Read the full story here.
CBC News continues disturbing trend ...
True to form and consistent with recent CBC journalistic infractions, CBC News.ca continued its disturbing trend of not labelling Palestinians as attackers in its headline coverage.
An article published today on the CBC News website carried the following misleading headline (emphasis added): “Palestinian man killed, another another arrested as Israel hunts for rabbi’s killer”.
As we’ve noted previously, readers view headlines 3:1 over the adjacent article. What this headline failed to mention is that the Palestinian man who was killed was a suspected terrorist, Israel claims, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tried to capture/arrest the suspect who was wanted for the murder of a Rabbi recently. The terrorist opened fire on arresting soldiers who returned fire killing the terrorist.
HRC Executive Director Mike Fegelman filed a complaint with CBC News asking that the headline be amended. We contend that the following headline would have been appropriate: “Palestinian assailant suspected of killing Israeli Rabbi killed, another arrested.”
Read the full story here.
An article published today on the CBC News website carried the following misleading headline (emphasis added): “Palestinian man killed, another another arrested as Israel hunts for rabbi’s killer”.
As we’ve noted previously, readers view headlines 3:1 over the adjacent article. What this headline failed to mention is that the Palestinian man who was killed was a suspected terrorist, Israel claims, and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tried to capture/arrest the suspect who was wanted for the murder of a Rabbi recently. The terrorist opened fire on arresting soldiers who returned fire killing the terrorist.
HRC Executive Director Mike Fegelman filed a complaint with CBC News asking that the headline be amended. We contend that the following headline would have been appropriate: “Palestinian assailant suspected of killing Israeli Rabbi killed, another arrested.”
Read the full story here.
The current CBC board has failed ...
The current CBC board has failed the institution and, by extension, the Canadians it is intended to serve, in several important ways.
The first and most obvious failure of the CBC board has been its acquiescence to the ongoing erosion of CBC funding.
The second failure, which is related to the budget cuts, has been an acceptance of the flagrant commercialization of CBC programming. CBC is supposed to be a public broadcaster. It was created to serve citizens, not to sell commercial products or services, which the private sector can do quite well. Its mandate is to inform, entertain and enlighten Canadians, using predominantly Canadian programming, something that the market alone cannot achieve.
Read the full story here.
The first and most obvious failure of the CBC board has been its acquiescence to the ongoing erosion of CBC funding.
The second failure, which is related to the budget cuts, has been an acceptance of the flagrant commercialization of CBC programming. CBC is supposed to be a public broadcaster. It was created to serve citizens, not to sell commercial products or services, which the private sector can do quite well. Its mandate is to inform, entertain and enlighten Canadians, using predominantly Canadian programming, something that the market alone cannot achieve.
Read the full story here.
CBC president job posting re-opened
The independent committee tasked with selecting the new president and CEO of Canada’s public broadcaster has asked the federal government to re-open the posting for the job to look for qualified Canadians living abroad and to align the process with new rules on government job postings.
The CBC/Radio Canada position was re-advertised in the latest edition of the Canada Gazette, published last week, with a new deadline of January 29, 2018. The original deadline for applications was August 15, 2017 — after which the first job posting was taken down.
The move comes after the search to replace outgoing CBC president Hubert Lacroix failed to produce a successor by Dec. 31, 2017, when Lacroix was due to step down.
Read the full story here.
The CBC/Radio Canada position was re-advertised in the latest edition of the Canada Gazette, published last week, with a new deadline of January 29, 2018. The original deadline for applications was August 15, 2017 — after which the first job posting was taken down.
The move comes after the search to replace outgoing CBC president Hubert Lacroix failed to produce a successor by Dec. 31, 2017, when Lacroix was due to step down.
Read the full story here.
CBC TV Premium Subscription
The CBC also created a premium-level subscription service. For $4.99 per month, subscribers can watch all on-demand content without advertising. They also get live streams of the CBC News Network.
A memo circulated to the Canadian press, and reported by the Financial Post, explained the rationale behind the decision:
“Many Canadians are getting more and more of their content from digital over-the-top services like Netflix. We need to ensure our audiences can get CBC in the same way.”
Read the full story here.
A memo circulated to the Canadian press, and reported by the Financial Post, explained the rationale behind the decision:
“Many Canadians are getting more and more of their content from digital over-the-top services like Netflix. We need to ensure our audiences can get CBC in the same way.”
Read the full story here.
What is CBC’s Place and Role in the Networked Media Universe
The question we debated was, “Is it time to pull the plug on the CBC?” I debated the question with James Baxter from iPolitics and Brian Lilley, a co-founder of Rebel Media and all about town commentator for various conservative-type talk shows, publications, etc.
The CBC is now a pygmy amongst giants. It’s share of the total media economy dropped from 5% in 1980s and early 1990s to less than half that amount today.
Based on revenues in Canada, Google is now bigger than the CBC, while Facebook is about half its size.
What also stands out is the extent to which a handful of companies stand at the apex of the internet and media landscape: Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Quebecor. Bell dominates with nearly 30% of all revenue, while the big five account for just under three-quarters of all revenue; that figure was 64% in 2000 and 60% in 1996.
While the CBC is the number 1 internet news source in Canada, it is crucial to stress that it does not dominate the internet news environment. People get their news from many internet news sources — old (e.g. CBC, Postmedia, Toronto Star, CTV) and new (e.g. iPolitics, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed), domestic and foreign (e.g. BBC, Yahoo!-ABC, the Guardian, New York Times).
So, the question still stands: should we pull the plug on the CBC?
Read the full story here.
The CBC is now a pygmy amongst giants. It’s share of the total media economy dropped from 5% in 1980s and early 1990s to less than half that amount today.
Based on revenues in Canada, Google is now bigger than the CBC, while Facebook is about half its size.
What also stands out is the extent to which a handful of companies stand at the apex of the internet and media landscape: Bell, Rogers, Telus, Shaw, Quebecor. Bell dominates with nearly 30% of all revenue, while the big five account for just under three-quarters of all revenue; that figure was 64% in 2000 and 60% in 1996.
While the CBC is the number 1 internet news source in Canada, it is crucial to stress that it does not dominate the internet news environment. People get their news from many internet news sources — old (e.g. CBC, Postmedia, Toronto Star, CTV) and new (e.g. iPolitics, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed), domestic and foreign (e.g. BBC, Yahoo!-ABC, the Guardian, New York Times).
So, the question still stands: should we pull the plug on the CBC?
Read the full story here.
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