Brian Lilley's explosive new book, CBC Exposed, has been named best political book of the year in the Hill Times’ 16th Annual Most valuable Politician & all politics poll conducted by Forum Research Inc.
CBC Exposed takes on the holy grail of the Canadian media landscape and lays bare the truth about CBC. Reckless reporting at the state broadcaster has ruined lives and cost taxpayers millions upon millions in settlement costs yet no one has ever been held to account. This book does what the consensus media cowards are afraid to do, tell the truth about CBC.
Read the 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 smear campaign on Canadian Forces no laughing matter ...
CBC got its hands on an amateur video produced by some of our soldiers for a comedy night at a military base in Nova Scotia back in 2010.
It was a short, four-minute spoof making fun of Osama Bin Laden’s older brother, “Eugene.”
The CBC says it got this video last month. But it sat on it for weeks, in order to release it as a big, breathless exclusive right before Remembrance Day.
It’s obvious why. It was the CBC’s way of showing what it thinks of our Canadian Forces: That they’re a bunch of racist pigs.
Read the full story.
It was a short, four-minute spoof making fun of Osama Bin Laden’s older brother, “Eugene.”
The CBC says it got this video last month. But it sat on it for weeks, in order to release it as a big, breathless exclusive right before Remembrance Day.
It’s obvious why. It was the CBC’s way of showing what it thinks of our Canadian Forces: That they’re a bunch of racist pigs.
Read the full story.
CBC Friends mock Hulk Hogan ...
The CBC's booster club is mocking Hulk Hogan on Twitter.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, using their fake-wrestling-promoter persona, tweeted at the world's most famous wrestler Thursday, mimicking his inspirational gusto but making it sound stupid.
This recent jab comes weeks after launching their campaign to "save the CBC" by warning of their worst-case scenario - the state broadcaster being sold to an American wrestling promoter and staffed by wrestlers and ring girls, all of whom are portrayed as having sub-par intelligence.
Read the full story.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, using their fake-wrestling-promoter persona, tweeted at the world's most famous wrestler Thursday, mimicking his inspirational gusto but making it sound stupid.
This recent jab comes weeks after launching their campaign to "save the CBC" by warning of their worst-case scenario - the state broadcaster being sold to an American wrestling promoter and staffed by wrestlers and ring girls, all of whom are portrayed as having sub-par intelligence.
Read the full story.
CBC losses $36M in 2010 ...
Canada's national public broadcaster lost nearly $36 million last year, according to recently published figures from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation posted a pre-tax loss of $35.4 million for the year ending Aug. 31, 2010, mainly due to rising costs. In 2009, it lost $22 million.
The CBC gets a $1.1-billion annual subsidy from the federal government and operates in many less profitable and remote regions of the country.
"It all seems like a losing proposition," said Stephen Taylor, director of the National Citizens Coalition, a taxpayer advocacy group.
The NCC wants to see the CBC privatized to ensure an equal playing field in Canada's TV industry.
Taylor said the CBC is taking ad dollars that would otherwise go to private players.
Read the full story.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation posted a pre-tax loss of $35.4 million for the year ending Aug. 31, 2010, mainly due to rising costs. In 2009, it lost $22 million.
The CBC gets a $1.1-billion annual subsidy from the federal government and operates in many less profitable and remote regions of the country.
"It all seems like a losing proposition," said Stephen Taylor, director of the National Citizens Coalition, a taxpayer advocacy group.
The NCC wants to see the CBC privatized to ensure an equal playing field in Canada's TV industry.
Taylor said the CBC is taking ad dollars that would otherwise go to private players.
Read the full story.
The CBC must take us all for fools ...
The CBC must take us all for fools and given that we keep paying their bills, we just might be.
Last week the state broadcaster trumpeted that it was a finalist for an award given to government bodies that show openness and transparency.
“We take transparency and accountability very seriously,” CBC president Hubert Lacroix said in a statement.
Then this week I opened my mail. I shouldn’t have been surprised really, it was par for the course for CBC: It sent me more files with all the relevant information stripped out.
See, back in 2007 when CBC came under the Access to Information Act, my employer Quebecor submitted an access request asking how much revenue CBC generated from Hockey Night in Canada.
They didn’t ask how much each ad cost or what special deal certain companies received. It was a request as to how much money CBC generated from hockey.
Given that CBC is owned by the government and paid for by all of us, this is the type of information it should readily turn over. After all, CBC regularly submits requests asking other government departments for information on files far more sensitive than hockey broadcasts and receives that information which it then turns into news stories.
Read the full story.
Last week the state broadcaster trumpeted that it was a finalist for an award given to government bodies that show openness and transparency.
“We take transparency and accountability very seriously,” CBC president Hubert Lacroix said in a statement.
Then this week I opened my mail. I shouldn’t have been surprised really, it was par for the course for CBC: It sent me more files with all the relevant information stripped out.
See, back in 2007 when CBC came under the Access to Information Act, my employer Quebecor submitted an access request asking how much revenue CBC generated from Hockey Night in Canada.
They didn’t ask how much each ad cost or what special deal certain companies received. It was a request as to how much money CBC generated from hockey.
Given that CBC is owned by the government and paid for by all of us, this is the type of information it should readily turn over. After all, CBC regularly submits requests asking other government departments for information on files far more sensitive than hockey broadcasts and receives that information which it then turns into news stories.
Read the full story.
When it comes to access to info, is the CBC a star, or NOT?
An improvement in how the CBC responds to Access to Information requests has bumped up its grade from an F to an A, and all it took was for senior leadership to get on board says Suzanne Legault, Information Commissioner of Canada. But at least one other major media company believes Legault is giving the CBC too much credit for just showing up.
But Quebecor Media questioned how the Commissioner assessed the CBC’s performance saying the grade was based on “self-defined, vague, subjective criteria” instead of determining the CBC`s ability to provide “expeditiously and in full, the information requested by Canadians.”
"It’s as if a teacher gave a dunce an A for showing up in class more often, even though he was still flunking his exams," said J. Serge Sasseville, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Institutional Affairs, Quebecor Media.
Quebecor responded that the Commissioner herself still found numerous shortcomings at the CBC, including 71 new complaints against CBC/Radio-Canada in 2011-2012, including 55 complaints concerning refusal to disclose information; 234 complaints about CBC/Radio-Canada have yet to be resolved; and the 36 days to process is still 6 more than the requirement under the Access to Information Act.
Read the full story.
But Quebecor Media questioned how the Commissioner assessed the CBC’s performance saying the grade was based on “self-defined, vague, subjective criteria” instead of determining the CBC`s ability to provide “expeditiously and in full, the information requested by Canadians.”
"It’s as if a teacher gave a dunce an A for showing up in class more often, even though he was still flunking his exams," said J. Serge Sasseville, Senior Vice President, Corporate and Institutional Affairs, Quebecor Media.
Quebecor responded that the Commissioner herself still found numerous shortcomings at the CBC, including 71 new complaints against CBC/Radio-Canada in 2011-2012, including 55 complaints concerning refusal to disclose information; 234 complaints about CBC/Radio-Canada have yet to be resolved; and the 36 days to process is still 6 more than the requirement under the Access to Information Act.
Read the full story.
Former CBC boss expensed over $1,500 with no receipts ...
The former head of the CBC expensed more than $1,500 without providing receipts during a trip to the Turin winter Olympics in 2006.
Robert Rabinovitch, who was president of CBC between 1999 and 2007, specifically noted he had no receipts when he asked to be refunded for $315.36 for meals and $147.17 for taxis during a nine-day trip to Turin.
According to travel claims released under Access to Information, Rabinovitch also expensed an additional $798.13 for five meals without providing supporting paperwork.
"Receipts are required for any travel-related expenses in excess of $10," said CBC spokesman Angus McKinnon.
The former CBC president notes on his travel claim that he spent "personal time from February 11 to the 17."
Read the full story.
PS - it's not a lot of money in the big picture but showcases the "culture of the CBC" ... a sense of entitlement and it's all taxpayer money.
Robert Rabinovitch, who was president of CBC between 1999 and 2007, specifically noted he had no receipts when he asked to be refunded for $315.36 for meals and $147.17 for taxis during a nine-day trip to Turin.
According to travel claims released under Access to Information, Rabinovitch also expensed an additional $798.13 for five meals without providing supporting paperwork.
"Receipts are required for any travel-related expenses in excess of $10," said CBC spokesman Angus McKinnon.
The former CBC president notes on his travel claim that he spent "personal time from February 11 to the 17."
Read the full story.
PS - it's not a lot of money in the big picture but showcases the "culture of the CBC" ... a sense of entitlement and it's all taxpayer money.
The verdict is in - Time for the CBC to leave the nest ...
The verdict is in: after 75 years of government handouts to the CBC, Canadians want to take the training wheels off, and let the state broadcaster fend for itself without its $1.1-billion annual cheque from taxpayers.
That's the word from a major new public opinion survey conducted by Abacus Data Inc. Funny enough, the hundreds of polls paid for by the CBC never asked those questions - or if they did, the results were never made public.
Read the full story.
That's the word from a major new public opinion survey conducted by Abacus Data Inc. Funny enough, the hundreds of polls paid for by the CBC never asked those questions - or if they did, the results were never made public.
Read the full story.
CBC Exposed named best political book of the year ...
Brian Lilley's explosive new book, CBC Exposed, has been named best political book of the year in the Hill Times’ 16th Annual Most valuable Politician & all politics poll conducted by Forum Research Inc.
CBC Exposed takes on the holy grail of the Canadian media landscape and lays bare the truth about CBC. Reckless reporting at the state broadcaster has ruined lives and cost taxpayers millions upon millions in settlement costs yet no one has ever been held to account. This book does what the consensus media cowards are afraid to do, tell the truth about CBC.
Read the story here.
CBC Exposed takes on the holy grail of the Canadian media landscape and lays bare the truth about CBC. Reckless reporting at the state broadcaster has ruined lives and cost taxpayers millions upon millions in settlement costs yet no one has ever been held to account. This book does what the consensus media cowards are afraid to do, tell the truth about CBC.
Read the story here.
CUPW shoots letter of complaint to CBC ...
The president of one of Canada's largest unions is urging the CBC to "take immediate steps" to address what it calls "offensive anti-union remarks" made by Kevin O'Leary on a past episode of The Lang and O'Leary Exchange.
In a strongly worded letter sent to Kirk LaPointe, CBC's ombudsman, on Friday, Denis Lemelin, the national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), says that O'Leary "used gratuitously offensive language and charged imagery to convey his opinion about unions" on the Sept. 19, 2011, episode of the show.
CUPW is also alleging that O'Leary's comments "compromise CBC's goal of achieving balance in its programming and violates the broadcaster's Journalistic Standards and Practices."
Read the full story.
In a strongly worded letter sent to Kirk LaPointe, CBC's ombudsman, on Friday, Denis Lemelin, the national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), says that O'Leary "used gratuitously offensive language and charged imagery to convey his opinion about unions" on the Sept. 19, 2011, episode of the show.
CUPW is also alleging that O'Leary's comments "compromise CBC's goal of achieving balance in its programming and violates the broadcaster's Journalistic Standards and Practices."
Read the full story.
A complaint has been filed with the broadcast regulator over a new CBC music venture ...
A complaint has been filed with the broadcast regulator over a new CBC music venture private media companies say abuses the public purse and inhibits competition.
Montreal-based Stingray Digital Group has asked the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to force the state broadcaster to live up to its mandate and pull the plug on free music downloads if need be.
They argue the CBC is violating the Broadcast Act by using public funds to poach on their turf by investing heavily in platform technologies and offering free tunes when they charge a fee,
They also say they pay more in royalties than the CBC.
Read the full story.
Montreal-based Stingray Digital Group has asked the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission to force the state broadcaster to live up to its mandate and pull the plug on free music downloads if need be.
They argue the CBC is violating the Broadcast Act by using public funds to poach on their turf by investing heavily in platform technologies and offering free tunes when they charge a fee,
They also say they pay more in royalties than the CBC.
Read the full story.
Still no answers yet on CBC absenteeism ...
The head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation cannot explain why his employees are absent almost twice as often than private sector workers.
Hubert Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada: "We think that's a high number, we are constantly going to work on it, and it's one way, surely, of trying to see how we can improve the cost piece of CBC."
Sun News Network's Brian Lilley reported that while private sector workers are away from work about 8.9 days per year and public sector employees are gone 12.6 days annually, the average hooky tally for CBC workers is 16.5 days per year.
Those missed days cost taxpayers $17.7 million in 2010-11. The state broadcaster gets more than $1 billion per year from federal government coffers.
Read the full story.
Hubert Lacroix, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada: "We think that's a high number, we are constantly going to work on it, and it's one way, surely, of trying to see how we can improve the cost piece of CBC."
Sun News Network's Brian Lilley reported that while private sector workers are away from work about 8.9 days per year and public sector employees are gone 12.6 days annually, the average hooky tally for CBC workers is 16.5 days per year.
Those missed days cost taxpayers $17.7 million in 2010-11. The state broadcaster gets more than $1 billion per year from federal government coffers.
Read the full story.
CBC Exposed Book Signing Tonight in Toronto ...
CBC Exposed Book Signing with Brian Lilley (author of CBC Exposed and host of Byline on the Sun News Network)
Ben McNally BookStore
366 Bay Street, Toronto, ON
6 - 8 pm Tuesday, Dec 11
Space is limited
RVSP at order@freedompress.ca
Ben McNally BookStore
366 Bay Street, Toronto, ON
6 - 8 pm Tuesday, Dec 11
Space is limited
RVSP at order@freedompress.ca
CBC was the subject of 71 new complaints over the last year ...
CBC may not be adhering to the law and is still handing out blank pages on a frequent basis but that was good enough for the state broadcaster to get an A in a report card from federal information commissioner Suzanne Legault.
In her report two years ago, Legault gave CBC an F for their refusal to respond to requests in a timely manner. The Access to Information Act allows Canadians to pay $5 to find out details about government business. The law requires a response in 30 days, while CBC's average response time is 36 days.
CBC was the subject of 71 new complaints over the last year including 55 for refusal to disclose information. A recent request for information on a contract with Microsoft saw most information stripped out with CBC claiming it was against the economic interests of Canada to release it.
"It's as if a teacher gave a dunce an A for showing up in class more often, even though he was still flunking his exams," said J. Serge Sasseville, Quebecor's senior vice-president of corporate and institutional affairs.
Read the full story.
In her report two years ago, Legault gave CBC an F for their refusal to respond to requests in a timely manner. The Access to Information Act allows Canadians to pay $5 to find out details about government business. The law requires a response in 30 days, while CBC's average response time is 36 days.
CBC was the subject of 71 new complaints over the last year including 55 for refusal to disclose information. A recent request for information on a contract with Microsoft saw most information stripped out with CBC claiming it was against the economic interests of Canada to release it.
"It's as if a teacher gave a dunce an A for showing up in class more often, even though he was still flunking his exams," said J. Serge Sasseville, Quebecor's senior vice-president of corporate and institutional affairs.
Read the full story.
CBC explores ‘loyalty’ program as NHL revenues disappear ...
The CBC is considering creating a customer “loyalty” program as it bleeds revenues from the NHL lockout and struggles with deep federal budget cuts.
The Crown corporation has formally asked qualified private-sector firms for information about how such a program might work to grab more viewers and listeners — and bring in more cash.
The notice suggests the CBC is considering adding game-like challenges on its websites, offering reward points to keep people engaged with the broadcaster’s programming, an approach known in the retail business as “gamification.”
The prolonged NHL labour dispute has cut into the corporation’s TV advertising revenues, and it continues to struggle with a 10 per cent cut in its $1-billion parliamentary subsidy over three years.
Read the full story.
The Crown corporation has formally asked qualified private-sector firms for information about how such a program might work to grab more viewers and listeners — and bring in more cash.
The notice suggests the CBC is considering adding game-like challenges on its websites, offering reward points to keep people engaged with the broadcaster’s programming, an approach known in the retail business as “gamification.”
The prolonged NHL labour dispute has cut into the corporation’s TV advertising revenues, and it continues to struggle with a 10 per cent cut in its $1-billion parliamentary subsidy over three years.
Read the full story.
CBC defends losing millions of dollars ...
CBC's music service bleeding taxpayer cash ...
CBC defends losing millions of dollars to set up a free music service even as it cancelled other programming and laid off staff.
Last February the state broadcaster launched CBC Music, an online music service that gives away for free what other existing private music services charge money for. While CBC doesn't charge users to listen to the latest Rihanna, Katy Perry or Aerosmith, the artists must be paid.
Now it is reported that CBC is expected to lose close to $6 million in its first year of operation and there is no break even point on the horizon.
"We have a very different business model than a for-profit company focused on the shareholder bottom line," CBC executive Chris Boyce told a Toronto newspaper.
Read the full story.
CBC defends losing millions of dollars to set up a free music service even as it cancelled other programming and laid off staff.
Last February the state broadcaster launched CBC Music, an online music service that gives away for free what other existing private music services charge money for. While CBC doesn't charge users to listen to the latest Rihanna, Katy Perry or Aerosmith, the artists must be paid.
Now it is reported that CBC is expected to lose close to $6 million in its first year of operation and there is no break even point on the horizon.
"We have a very different business model than a for-profit company focused on the shareholder bottom line," CBC executive Chris Boyce told a Toronto newspaper.
Read the full story.
CBC Exposed: New book details soft-left, anti-biz, spendthrift network’s wasted spending ...
It’s time to have a real discussion about CBC.
Most discussions about the future of Canada’s state broadcaster turn quickly to emotional arguments about the role CBC has supposedly played in building this country.
According to supporters, without CBC there would be no Canada, or at least a diminished Canada.
I don’t buy that.
For the last two years I have been documenting the waste at CBC and their refusal to comply with the letter and spirit of the law that allows any Canadian to see exactly how our tax dollars are spent.
Read the full story.
Most discussions about the future of Canada’s state broadcaster turn quickly to emotional arguments about the role CBC has supposedly played in building this country.
According to supporters, without CBC there would be no Canada, or at least a diminished Canada.
I don’t buy that.
For the last two years I have been documenting the waste at CBC and their refusal to comply with the letter and spirit of the law that allows any Canadian to see exactly how our tax dollars are spent.
Read the full story.
The CBC's contingency plan - to run yesteryear's sports news today ...
While Canadian football fans get jacked up in anticipation of Sunday's 100th-anniversary Grey Cup tilt between the Calgary Stampeders and the Toronto Argonauts, tonight hockey-starved fans will be served leftovers when the CBC rebroadcasts a "classic." This is the CBC's contingency plan - to run yesteryear's sports news today, and in the same prime-time slot.
Perhaps we should mention that if such a plan was keeping fans at the edge of their seats, we have a stack of newspapers from the 1980s that we are willing to sell at today's prices.
Any takers? Didn't think so.
It will be interesting, therefore, to see how much the CBC squirms as CRTC hearings continue Monday on the state broadcaster's licence renewal, and the public gets their chance to weigh in.
Read the full story.
Perhaps we should mention that if such a plan was keeping fans at the edge of their seats, we have a stack of newspapers from the 1980s that we are willing to sell at today's prices.
Any takers? Didn't think so.
It will be interesting, therefore, to see how much the CBC squirms as CRTC hearings continue Monday on the state broadcaster's licence renewal, and the public gets their chance to weigh in.
Read the full story.
Toronto Book Signing: Brian Lilley Author Of CBC Exposed
Book Signing: Brian Lilley Author Of CBC Exposed
Tuesday December 11
6-8 PM
Ben McNally Bookstore
366 Bay Street,
Toronto ON
RSVP to order@freedompress.ca
Tuesday December 11
6-8 PM
Ben McNally Bookstore
366 Bay Street,
Toronto ON
RSVP to order@freedompress.ca
Taxpayers pay big for CBC to pimp their ride ...
Canadians are paying out a pretty penny to have CBC executives and top talent drive around in cushy cars.
According to a partial list released by CBC through access to information, taxpayers shelled out $291,337.74 in 2010 for yearly car allowances for 35 vehicles, some costing nearly $20,000 per year.
While most of those on the list are for what the state broadcaster deems executives, five of the car allowances are paid out under the collective agreement, likely meaning those payments go to top on-air talent or technical operations staff. One was for $15,675 annually.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix is not one of the executives with a personal car allowance, Lacroix has a car and driver provided to him.
Read the full story.
According to a partial list released by CBC through access to information, taxpayers shelled out $291,337.74 in 2010 for yearly car allowances for 35 vehicles, some costing nearly $20,000 per year.
While most of those on the list are for what the state broadcaster deems executives, five of the car allowances are paid out under the collective agreement, likely meaning those payments go to top on-air talent or technical operations staff. One was for $15,675 annually.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix is not one of the executives with a personal car allowance, Lacroix has a car and driver provided to him.
Read the full story.
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