The problem is the CBC has supreme difficulty handling the truth and therefore won't let the truth out -- contending only a high court judgment, which it is fighting, can force it to make public the details of its annual use of $1.1 billion of our money.
So if our bullying of CBC is to make it accountable to the taxpayer, then we plead guilty to the charges.
Read the full story by clicking 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 claims openness, practices secrecy ...
CBC's policy of openness doesn't extend to letting the public in on its decision to proclaim they are a transparent group in compliance with the law.
CBC, which receives more than $1 billion annually from taxpayers, was made subject to the Access to Information Act in September 2007.
Since then, they have lead the way in complaints filed to the federal information commissioner for failure to comply.
Read the full story by clicking here.
CBC, which receives more than $1 billion annually from taxpayers, was made subject to the Access to Information Act in September 2007.
Since then, they have lead the way in complaints filed to the federal information commissioner for failure to comply.
Read the full story by clicking here.
CBC flushed Mulroney cash away ...
CBC wasted close to a million dollars on a movie it will never broadcast, but don't expect the state broadcaster to cough up details.
Asked directly about claims from inside the film industry that CBC spent close to $1 million of taxpayers' money, the state broadcaster again refused to release any details.
Read the full story by clicking here.
Asked directly about claims from inside the film industry that CBC spent close to $1 million of taxpayers' money, the state broadcaster again refused to release any details.
Read the full story by clicking here.
CBC axes exec despite ratings success ...
By the measure that matters to most television executives, Richard Stursberg was a big hit at CBC: A lot more people are watching now than when he started.
Stursberg's departure, the news executive said, will likely be seen as an opportunity to "roll things back" to the days when CBC cared less about ratings.
Read the full story by clicking here.
Stursberg's departure, the news executive said, will likely be seen as an opportunity to "roll things back" to the days when CBC cared less about ratings.
Read the full story by clicking here.
CBC manual helps dodge questions ...
CBC's efforts to hide information from the public include a manual with instructions on destroying records.
The state broadcaster was made subject to the access to information system in September 2007, allowing any Canadian to request information about the government-funded broadcaster.
CBC is given more than $1 billion per year as a taxpayer subsidy to operate.
Read the full story by clicking here.
The state broadcaster was made subject to the access to information system in September 2007, allowing any Canadian to request information about the government-funded broadcaster.
CBC is given more than $1 billion per year as a taxpayer subsidy to operate.
Read the full story by clicking here.
CBC octopus extends its reach ...
The president of the state broadcaster says the CBC has plans to expand its reach into new media platforms, and compete with private broadcasters for professional sports broadcast rights.
Lacroix said CBC will push ahead with plans to use its public subsidy to expand to new platforms and create new television channels. Lacroix told his audience that CBC, which gets a $1.1-billion subsidy from taxpayers each year, might make a bid for the French-language broadcast rights for Montreal Canadiens games. Those rights are currently held by RDS, the French version of TSN.
Read the full story here.
Lacroix said CBC will push ahead with plans to use its public subsidy to expand to new platforms and create new television channels. Lacroix told his audience that CBC, which gets a $1.1-billion subsidy from taxpayers each year, might make a bid for the French-language broadcast rights for Montreal Canadiens games. Those rights are currently held by RDS, the French version of TSN.
Read the full story here.
CBC tells Parliament 'no' when asked for details on cost ...
CBC has told parliamentarians, the people who vote for their $1.1-billion annual subsidy, that they cannot know how the state broadcaster spends its money.
Read the full story here.
Read the full story here.
CBC scores big in budget ...
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced an extra $60 million per year "to be used in the production of high-quality Canadian programming." The boost in funding is on top of the $1.1 billion the state broadcaster already receives from taxpayers.
Your tax dollars hard at work. Read the full story here.
Your tax dollars hard at work. Read the full story here.
CBC execs got big bonuses amid job cuts ...
As Canadians dealt with the ravages of the recession in 2008 and 2009, CBC’s senior executives continued to rake in big bonuses, some well into the six-figures for a single year.
In the fiscal year ending in March 2009 — a month when 61,000 Canadians lost their jobs — the top 10 executives at CBC split a performance bonus kitty worth $888,699. The individual bonuses ranged from $4,300 at the bottom end to $165,090 at the top end, which is almost 3.5 times greater than the average Canadian salary, according to Statistics Canada.
Read the full story here!
In the fiscal year ending in March 2009 — a month when 61,000 Canadians lost their jobs — the top 10 executives at CBC split a performance bonus kitty worth $888,699. The individual bonuses ranged from $4,300 at the bottom end to $165,090 at the top end, which is almost 3.5 times greater than the average Canadian salary, according to Statistics Canada.
Read the full story here!
Access-to-info secrecy discredits CBC
This week, CBC/Radio-Canada lawyers went to court in Montreal to plead that their Crown corporation not be subject to the Access to Information Act (AIA) like all other federal institutions.
The CBC has been bound by the AIA since 2007. However, it systematically applies a legal provision to reject requests for information arguing that these jeopardize its journalistic, creative or programming activities.
Canadian taxpayers fund the CBC with an annual subsidy of in excess of $1 billion. Even though the corporation's ratings have dropped year after year, it continues to receive more and more public funding.
To read the full story click here!
The CBC has been bound by the AIA since 2007. However, it systematically applies a legal provision to reject requests for information arguing that these jeopardize its journalistic, creative or programming activities.
Canadian taxpayers fund the CBC with an annual subsidy of in excess of $1 billion. Even though the corporation's ratings have dropped year after year, it continues to receive more and more public funding.
To read the full story click here!
CBC uses taxpayers' dollars to fight court cases to prevent us from learning how it is spending some of our tax dollars
The Sun Media's lawyers filed 399 requests for information to the CBC between Sept. 5, 2007, and Dec. 12, 2007.
"The overarching purpose of access to information legislation is to facilitate democracy by helping to ensure that citizens have the information required to participate meaningfully in the democratic process and that politicians and bureaucrats remain accountable to the citizenry," Justice Gérard La Forest, Supreme Court of Canada,1997.
To read the full story click here!
"The overarching purpose of access to information legislation is to facilitate democracy by helping to ensure that citizens have the information required to participate meaningfully in the democratic process and that politicians and bureaucrats remain accountable to the citizenry," Justice Gérard La Forest, Supreme Court of Canada,1997.
To read the full story click here!
“Betrayal” – Linden MacIntyre’s personal essay on childhood abuse victims in Nova Scotia
OFFICE OF THE OMBUDSMAN
Review: “Betrayal” – Linden MacIntyre’s personal essay on childhood abuse victims in Nova
Scotia
February 11, 2011
I am writing with regard to your October 2, 2010, complaint and request October 21, 2010, for a
review by the Office of the Ombudsman concerning a CBC Television documentary, Betrayal,
on The Fifth Estate last October 1.
I thank you for your patience in this matter. The Office is a small one and, as I assumed the role
in November, I spent some time helping the incumbent Vince Carlin deal with a considerable
backlog.
I should note that two policies have changed since your request: The CBC has published new
Journalistic Standards and Practices, and my Office now routinely identifies complainants in
releasing reviews online. Neither policy will apply in your complaint because it arrived
beforehand.
REVIEW
CBC Television’s The Fifth Estate carried a “personal essay” from its co-host, Linden
MacIntyre, on childhood abuse victims in Nova Scotia. As adults they are seeking restitution, in
part, through lawsuits against the Catholic Church. The Church has started to sell some property
in Nova Scotia to finance the legal settlements.
MacIntyre grew up and lives part-time in the region. He interviewed victims, their advocates and
Church officials for the program. The style of the documentary was distinct from a typical
investigative work by the program, in that MacIntyre had a lifelong connection with the
geography and history of his subject.
The complainant asserted that the broadcast discredited the Church and offended Catholics. He
said it failed to note several relevant facts about the issue. Among them:
• That the Vatican’s secrecy policy was to protect the Church and not the abused children.
• That the Church investigated abuse allegations but didn’t do much except transfer priests
to another parish.
• That the Church doesn’t have the skill or power to conduct such investigations.
• That compensation will not stop abusers.
The complainant also asserted that the program’s efforts to link the Vatican and Pope to the
decisions regarding abuse were “unfair and unjustified.” He said that priests who break a vow of
celibacy in the Church are forgiven by the Church when they repent.
In subsequent correspondence, the complainants also expressed concerns about public comments
about the program online. He said they spread hatred to the Church.
The executive producer of the program and the director of current affairs wrote the complainant
and indicated the program had received ample involvement of the Church in the documentary.
They said an official in the Church’s Antigonish diocese praised the report for its balance. They
asserted the subject matter was important and that the views of the victims deserved to be heard.
CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices in effect at the time of the program and the complaint
(since revised) intersect in several ways with the concerns.
On the issue of diversity, the policy stated: “The CBC would fail to live up to its mandate if, in
the attempt to upset no one, to disturb no institution, it undertook to limit the comprehensiveness
of its reporting of contemporary society. Equally, it is important to examine and keep before the
public those positive aspects of our society as well as those which are being called into question,
and those trends or events which are important but that may not be spectacular.”
The policy said programs dealing with matters of public interest “must supplement the exposition
of one point of view with an equitable treatment of other relevant points of views. Equitable in
this context means fair and reasonable, taking into consideration the weight of opinion behind a
point of view, as well as its significance or potential significance.”
The policy noted that journalists “will have opinions of their own, but they must not yield to bias
or prejudice. For journalists to be professional is not to be without opinions, but to be aware of
those opinions and make allowances for them, so that their reporting is, and appears to be,
judicious and fair.”
It said single programs dealing with a controversial issue “should give adequate recognition to
the range of opinion on the subject.” But it said that “in exceptional circumstances, a program
may be based on the personal view of an individual. When that occurs, the audience must be
made aware of the personal character of the program. The personal view must be that of an
individual with demonstrable expertise in the subject matter of the program.”
The policy also covered point-of-view documentaries: “A documentary may take the form of a
writer’s journey through a story, an individual first-person narrative. The phrase ‘point-of-view’
is sometimes used to describe this form which leans on the documentarist’s perspective to yield
special insights. On occasion, the writer’s revelation of his or her own initial biases and
attitudes can actually lead to a particularly candid form of journalism. This is an accepted form
of documentary practice.” It added later: The latitude to develop a thesis or convey a personal
perspective, however, does not release the author, or the CBC, from the requirement to be
factually correct.”
CONCLUSION
The program dealt with a difficult, uncomfortable subject that can spur concerns of antagonism
to the Church. But I found its treatment of the subject, and the host’s personal role in the
documentary, within accepted CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices.
The Church was provided ample opportunity to discuss its approaches to the financial settlement
of the victim claims and to speak on behalf of the Vatican in articulating policy. I do not share
the assertion of the complainant that relevant information was excluded from the personal essay
to stack an argument.
There is documented evidence that the Church has shifted priests to other parishes when
complaints of abuse surfaced. There is also evidence that the Church did not provide police with
an understanding of those complaints.
On the matter of the public comments about the program, I note the complainant’s view that
some of them convey harsh feelings, including personal and spiritual animus. A worrisome
concern generally is that online comments affect an organization’s reputation, even when they
are not their creation. But online comments are outside of the Ombudsman’s purview. Only
when such comments are integrated in CBC journalism do they fall under this Office’s mandate.
Kirk LaPointe
CBC Ombudsman
Review: “Betrayal” – Linden MacIntyre’s personal essay on childhood abuse victims in Nova
Scotia
February 11, 2011
I am writing with regard to your October 2, 2010, complaint and request October 21, 2010, for a
review by the Office of the Ombudsman concerning a CBC Television documentary, Betrayal,
on The Fifth Estate last October 1.
I thank you for your patience in this matter. The Office is a small one and, as I assumed the role
in November, I spent some time helping the incumbent Vince Carlin deal with a considerable
backlog.
I should note that two policies have changed since your request: The CBC has published new
Journalistic Standards and Practices, and my Office now routinely identifies complainants in
releasing reviews online. Neither policy will apply in your complaint because it arrived
beforehand.
REVIEW
CBC Television’s The Fifth Estate carried a “personal essay” from its co-host, Linden
MacIntyre, on childhood abuse victims in Nova Scotia. As adults they are seeking restitution, in
part, through lawsuits against the Catholic Church. The Church has started to sell some property
in Nova Scotia to finance the legal settlements.
MacIntyre grew up and lives part-time in the region. He interviewed victims, their advocates and
Church officials for the program. The style of the documentary was distinct from a typical
investigative work by the program, in that MacIntyre had a lifelong connection with the
geography and history of his subject.
The complainant asserted that the broadcast discredited the Church and offended Catholics. He
said it failed to note several relevant facts about the issue. Among them:
• That the Vatican’s secrecy policy was to protect the Church and not the abused children.
• That the Church investigated abuse allegations but didn’t do much except transfer priests
to another parish.
• That the Church doesn’t have the skill or power to conduct such investigations.
• That compensation will not stop abusers.
The complainant also asserted that the program’s efforts to link the Vatican and Pope to the
decisions regarding abuse were “unfair and unjustified.” He said that priests who break a vow of
celibacy in the Church are forgiven by the Church when they repent.
In subsequent correspondence, the complainants also expressed concerns about public comments
about the program online. He said they spread hatred to the Church.
The executive producer of the program and the director of current affairs wrote the complainant
and indicated the program had received ample involvement of the Church in the documentary.
They said an official in the Church’s Antigonish diocese praised the report for its balance. They
asserted the subject matter was important and that the views of the victims deserved to be heard.
CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices in effect at the time of the program and the complaint
(since revised) intersect in several ways with the concerns.
On the issue of diversity, the policy stated: “The CBC would fail to live up to its mandate if, in
the attempt to upset no one, to disturb no institution, it undertook to limit the comprehensiveness
of its reporting of contemporary society. Equally, it is important to examine and keep before the
public those positive aspects of our society as well as those which are being called into question,
and those trends or events which are important but that may not be spectacular.”
The policy said programs dealing with matters of public interest “must supplement the exposition
of one point of view with an equitable treatment of other relevant points of views. Equitable in
this context means fair and reasonable, taking into consideration the weight of opinion behind a
point of view, as well as its significance or potential significance.”
The policy noted that journalists “will have opinions of their own, but they must not yield to bias
or prejudice. For journalists to be professional is not to be without opinions, but to be aware of
those opinions and make allowances for them, so that their reporting is, and appears to be,
judicious and fair.”
It said single programs dealing with a controversial issue “should give adequate recognition to
the range of opinion on the subject.” But it said that “in exceptional circumstances, a program
may be based on the personal view of an individual. When that occurs, the audience must be
made aware of the personal character of the program. The personal view must be that of an
individual with demonstrable expertise in the subject matter of the program.”
The policy also covered point-of-view documentaries: “A documentary may take the form of a
writer’s journey through a story, an individual first-person narrative. The phrase ‘point-of-view’
is sometimes used to describe this form which leans on the documentarist’s perspective to yield
special insights. On occasion, the writer’s revelation of his or her own initial biases and
attitudes can actually lead to a particularly candid form of journalism. This is an accepted form
of documentary practice.” It added later: The latitude to develop a thesis or convey a personal
perspective, however, does not release the author, or the CBC, from the requirement to be
factually correct.”
CONCLUSION
The program dealt with a difficult, uncomfortable subject that can spur concerns of antagonism
to the Church. But I found its treatment of the subject, and the host’s personal role in the
documentary, within accepted CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices.
The Church was provided ample opportunity to discuss its approaches to the financial settlement
of the victim claims and to speak on behalf of the Vatican in articulating policy. I do not share
the assertion of the complainant that relevant information was excluded from the personal essay
to stack an argument.
There is documented evidence that the Church has shifted priests to other parishes when
complaints of abuse surfaced. There is also evidence that the Church did not provide police with
an understanding of those complaints.
On the matter of the public comments about the program, I note the complainant’s view that
some of them convey harsh feelings, including personal and spiritual animus. A worrisome
concern generally is that online comments affect an organization’s reputation, even when they
are not their creation. But online comments are outside of the Ombudsman’s purview. Only
when such comments are integrated in CBC journalism do they fall under this Office’s mandate.
Kirk LaPointe
CBC Ombudsman
The Fifth Estate’s “Behind the Wall” Report
Dear Mr. LaPointe:
Indeed, ever since CBC Television broadcast The Fifth Estate documentary “Behind the Wall” on November 12, 2010, I have found myself unable to shake the feeling that I am being mocked, not merely in my role with the correctional officers’ union, but as an ordinary citizen who has a right to accurate, fair and unbiased information from his public broadcaster. It seems to me that the CBC should hold itself to a very high standard when it comes to informing the population of Canada on critically important societal issues such as mental health in our federal correctional facilities.
As a Canadian citizen, a taxpayer and as the National President for UCCO-SACC-CSN (the Union of Canadian Correctional Officers – Syndicat des agents correctionnels du Canadas – CSN), I feel compelled to submit a formal complaint regarding a number of serious issues that I have with the aforementioned program.
Read full story by clicking here!
CBC is fair game
Indications are the Tories intend to ignore the CBC threat of legal action. Good. It could be argued the CBC is being typically arrogant and, well, CBC-ish. Surely what's on the CBC belongs to all Canadians. After all, it's the "people's network," we are told.
Who do these guys think they are? The CBC can't hack it on the open market, but has to be bankrolled and financed by the taxpayer. Its purpose is to serve Canadians, but instead those who run the CBC seem to think taxpayers are there to serve them.
To read the full story ... click here!
Who do these guys think they are? The CBC can't hack it on the open market, but has to be bankrolled and financed by the taxpayer. Its purpose is to serve Canadians, but instead those who run the CBC seem to think taxpayers are there to serve them.
To read the full story ... click here!
CBC: Bias and secrecy ...
Why won't the Liberal-leaning broadcaster open up about survey?
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is not behaving like an independent media company in this election campaign.
They're not even acting like a left-wing state broadcaster anymore.
No: They are looking like a partisan advocacy group, determined to shape the outcome of the election campaign, not just report it.
That is unacceptable.
Read the full story - click here
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is not behaving like an independent media company in this election campaign.
They're not even acting like a left-wing state broadcaster anymore.
No: They are looking like a partisan advocacy group, determined to shape the outcome of the election campaign, not just report it.
That is unacceptable.
Read the full story - click here
CBC prematurely releases results ...
For a few brief minutes around 9 p.m. Monday night, CBC violated Canadian electoral law by posting election results before they media blackout had been lifted.
Beginning around 9 p.m. - before being abruptly cut off by a "technical difficulties" screen around 9:05 p.m. - CBC News Network launched into a full-graphic representation of election results on the East Coast.
To read more click here!
Beginning around 9 p.m. - before being abruptly cut off by a "technical difficulties" screen around 9:05 p.m. - CBC News Network launched into a full-graphic representation of election results on the East Coast.
To read more click here!
Almost 900 info complaints against CBC
Canada's information watchdog received almost 900 complaints about the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. from 2007 to 2010, by far the most leveled against any federal institution subject to federal disclosure rules during that period.
Read more here!
Read more here!
CBC computers run millions over budget
CBC went tens of millions of dollars over budget and several years behind schedule in an attempt to build a state-of-the-art computerized television system dubbed "Project Vision."
Work began on Project Vision in 2002 and was expected to be complete by 2005, but according to the state broadcaster, the $62-million computer system didn't become fully operational until four years later.
It was also almost $30 million over budget.
Read more here!
Work began on Project Vision in 2002 and was expected to be complete by 2005, but according to the state broadcaster, the $62-million computer system didn't become fully operational until four years later.
It was also almost $30 million over budget.
Read more here!
Show us the goods, Olympic CEO John Furlong challenges CBC ...
You can bet your booties that a whole passel of people will either tune into the CBC’s the fifth estate tonight, or have set their PVR to record the much-promoted program, Death At The Olympics, which looks into the death of Georgia’s Nodar Kumaritashvili on Whistler’s luge track a year ago.
I know the folks at the International Olympic Committee will be tuned in; they said as much to me today. But they're keeping their powder dry.
Read more and watch the video by clicking here!
I know the folks at the International Olympic Committee will be tuned in; they said as much to me today. But they're keeping their powder dry.
One person who isn't is keeping quiet is Vanoc CEO John Furlong, who launched a missile at the corporation Friday in his opening comments at a Vancouver Board of Trade luncheon marking the one-year anniversary of the Games.
Read more and watch the video by clicking here!
CBC fights to keep secrets ...
CBC may demand accountability from the government but Canada's taxpayer-funded broadcaster is going to court once again in order to keep its own affairs secret.
The CBC will square off against the information commissioner, an independent officer of Parliament, in a Montreal courtroom on Sept. 13. After hearing from a number of sources, including Sun Media, about problems with CBC's response to access to information requests, the commissioner subpoenaed a number of files. The CBC refused.
Read more by clicking here!
The CBC will square off against the information commissioner, an independent officer of Parliament, in a Montreal courtroom on Sept. 13. After hearing from a number of sources, including Sun Media, about problems with CBC's response to access to information requests, the commissioner subpoenaed a number of files. The CBC refused.
Read more by clicking here!
Taxpayers foot bill for CBC lunches with friends
What happens when a senator and CBC executive meet? You pay either way.
The only question is how much.
According to documents obtained by QMI Agency through access to information, a lunch between a CBC vice president and a Liberal senator cost more than $100.
Click HERE to read more!
The only question is how much.
According to documents obtained by QMI Agency through access to information, a lunch between a CBC vice president and a Liberal senator cost more than $100.
Click HERE to read more!
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