The CBC’s implosion.
To say that this has not been a vintage year for CBC understates the hot mess in which the state-supported broadcaster finds itself. For veterans of CBC who’ve witnessed the numerous purges and fiascos of the past (I toiled there from 1984- 98), 2014 has touched new levels of lunacy.
The spectacular immolation of Jian Ghomeshi—the Corporation’s hip prophet of an urban, progressive future— was the most public symbol of CBC’s self-waterboarding. Ghomeshi’s arrest for his bondage/S&M dating regime was followed by volleys of small-arms criticism between feuding branches of the news and current affairs floors of the Corp’s Toronto headquarters.
Even CBC chair Hubert Lacroix joined the walk of shame when it was revealed that he’d had to return almost $30,000 in living and dining expenses that he’d improperly double billed to the CBC.
Read the full story.
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.
Calls for CBC President Hubert Lacroix to resign
Since CBC President Hubert Lacroix announced plans to "ensure the sustainability" of the public broadcaster by radically reducing staff and shifting its focus from television and radio to various forms of Internet delivery over the next five years, there has been a rising chorus of voices calling on him to resign.
"Focused, smaller, more mobile, more relevant," is how Lacroix describes the new CBC he envisions. He calls it a "public media company [that] focuses on partnering to develop content" as opposed to a conventional public broadcaster. And he says that, in the face of dwindling subsidies from the federal government and now a steep decline in revenue from advertisers, who are moving en masse to the Internet, he has no choice but to continue the progressive dismembering of the corporation.
There are many who see this strategy of continuing to cut expenditures and sell off capital assets to match declining revenues -- survival at any cost -- as antithetical to the continuing existence of what is arguably the nation's most important cultural institution. Hence the calls for Lacroix's resignation, on grounds that he has effectively become a participant in the destruction of the CBC.
Read the full story.
"Focused, smaller, more mobile, more relevant," is how Lacroix describes the new CBC he envisions. He calls it a "public media company [that] focuses on partnering to develop content" as opposed to a conventional public broadcaster. And he says that, in the face of dwindling subsidies from the federal government and now a steep decline in revenue from advertisers, who are moving en masse to the Internet, he has no choice but to continue the progressive dismembering of the corporation.
There are many who see this strategy of continuing to cut expenditures and sell off capital assets to match declining revenues -- survival at any cost -- as antithetical to the continuing existence of what is arguably the nation's most important cultural institution. Hence the calls for Lacroix's resignation, on grounds that he has effectively become a participant in the destruction of the CBC.
Read the full story.
CBC refusing to release details
Last night we told you about the cozy, economically beneficial relationship between CBC and much of the consensus media.
They don’t report critically on this $1.1 billion government department because being nice to the state broadcaster is good for business.
We’ve also told you about CBC refusing to release details on how they spend that $1.1 billion that they get from you and I.
Read the full story.
They don’t report critically on this $1.1 billion government department because being nice to the state broadcaster is good for business.
We’ve also told you about CBC refusing to release details on how they spend that $1.1 billion that they get from you and I.
Read the full story.
Is CBC Senior Business Correspondent in conflict of interest
Amanda Lang took money from Manulife & Sun Life, gave them favourable CBC coverage.
To recap: Lang (a contender for Peter Mansbridge's chair as anchor of The National) is CBC News' Senior Business Correspondent, the top business reporter in the organization. She hosts the CBC's flagship business affairs show, which regularly covers the insurance industry. And Manulife is a giant insurance company.
Yet Lang took their money twice, moonlighting at their corporate events. Then she had their CEO on her show. And then she praised, to him, the specific department of his company that had hired her.
So, how could the CBC possibly explain this as anything but a blatant violation of their own policy?
Chuck Thompson, CBC's Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang's work for Manulife was "grandfathered" in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
Read the full story.
To recap: Lang (a contender for Peter Mansbridge's chair as anchor of The National) is CBC News' Senior Business Correspondent, the top business reporter in the organization. She hosts the CBC's flagship business affairs show, which regularly covers the insurance industry. And Manulife is a giant insurance company.
Yet Lang took their money twice, moonlighting at their corporate events. Then she had their CEO on her show. And then she praised, to him, the specific department of his company that had hired her.
So, how could the CBC possibly explain this as anything but a blatant violation of their own policy?
Chuck Thompson, CBC's Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang's work for Manulife was "grandfathered" in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix heckled
Though there were hecklers and tough questions for president and CEO Hubert Lacroix — one member of the crowd even handed him a pre-written resignation letter and asked him to sign it — the event did not degenerate into complete chaos.
Yes, almost 400 employees got pink slips this week, part of a wave of cuts announced in June. But “no matter what people might think, I find these announcements difficult,” Lacroix said.
Whether that’s true or not, Lacroix’s prepared speech – a dispassionate presentation, some at the meeting thought – about changing technology, failed to persuade the audience.
Lacroix’s lack of overt anger about this situation prompted one member of the audience to ask why the CEO hasn’t gone on a tirade to get the federal government to act.
Read the full story.
Yes, almost 400 employees got pink slips this week, part of a wave of cuts announced in June. But “no matter what people might think, I find these announcements difficult,” Lacroix said.
Whether that’s true or not, Lacroix’s prepared speech – a dispassionate presentation, some at the meeting thought – about changing technology, failed to persuade the audience.
Lacroix’s lack of overt anger about this situation prompted one member of the audience to ask why the CEO hasn’t gone on a tirade to get the federal government to act.
Read the full story.
CBC Executives hid human rights abuses
7 CBC Executives Who Sheltered Jian Ghomeshi
At least 7 CBC Executives hid the human rights abuse of Jian Ghomeshi – Heather Conway, Chuck Thompson, Timothy Neesham, Arif Noorani, Hubert Lacroix, Linda Groen and Todd Spencer.
This article is a detailed account of how CBC management ignored reports of Jian Ghomeshi’s human rights abuse and sexual assault of women. The facts are clear.
Beyond the CBC’s walls, the scandal, and the Crown corporation’s handling of it, has laid bare a complex ecosystem: a labyrinthine bureaucracy that seemed to permit all manner of wrongdoing.
President Hubert Lacroix has been largely absent as the biggest scandal in years has engulfed his organization.
Read the full story.
At least 7 CBC Executives hid the human rights abuse of Jian Ghomeshi – Heather Conway, Chuck Thompson, Timothy Neesham, Arif Noorani, Hubert Lacroix, Linda Groen and Todd Spencer.
This article is a detailed account of how CBC management ignored reports of Jian Ghomeshi’s human rights abuse and sexual assault of women. The facts are clear.
Beyond the CBC’s walls, the scandal, and the Crown corporation’s handling of it, has laid bare a complex ecosystem: a labyrinthine bureaucracy that seemed to permit all manner of wrongdoing.
President Hubert Lacroix has been largely absent as the biggest scandal in years has engulfed his organization.
Read the full story.
CBC cutting newscasts
The CBC is shortening all of its regional supper-hour newscasts beginning in the fall of 2015, the public broadcaster announced today.
The news comes after CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said in June that the broadcaster would be shifting its priorities from television and radio to digital and mobile services. He also said the 2020 strategy would shorten supper-hour news broadcasts, but did not provide full specifics.
Most of the existing supper-hour newscasts run 90 minutes. But on Thursday, the CBC said in a statement that some newscasts would be reduced to one hour, and others to 30 minutes.
Read the whole story.
The news comes after CBC president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix said in June that the broadcaster would be shifting its priorities from television and radio to digital and mobile services. He also said the 2020 strategy would shorten supper-hour news broadcasts, but did not provide full specifics.
Most of the existing supper-hour newscasts run 90 minutes. But on Thursday, the CBC said in a statement that some newscasts would be reduced to one hour, and others to 30 minutes.
Read the whole story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix unable to answer questions
The president of the CBC will have one more turn testifying in front of a Senate committee early next year, and in a rare move, he’s been provided the questions for his final grilling.
Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.
A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance. Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the future outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.
“You would think the chairman of the board would have been privy to that information,” said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos.
Read the full story.
Lacroix is expected to appear before the committee early in the new year. His appearance will come about one year after his first visit, which left senators annoyed at his inability to answer some questions about the CBC’s operations.
A similar list of questions was supposed to be sent to CBC board chairman Remi Racine ahead of his Dec. 10 appearance. Racine, however, didn’t have answers to questions about the future outlook for the CBC’s pension plan and the number of employees who are receiving a pension while continuing under contract in their old jobs.
“You would think the chairman of the board would have been privy to that information,” said Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos.
Read the full story.
Toxic environment at CBC
Busted: The toxic CBC environment that abetted Jian Ghomeshi
In the past month, public airings of internal CBC dysfunction have become a national spectacle—from current and former Q staffers revealing details of Ghomeshi’s reign that included allegations of abusive behaviour and sexual harassment, to leaked memos that banned (and then unbanned) former CBC-TV host Linden MacIntyre from the airwaves.
On paper, the CBC appears a model of employer enlightenment and best practices. Posters offer help-line numbers to call if people feel stressed.
Such entrenched protocols allowed Lacroix to boast to a parliamentary committee last year of the CBC’s robust system of training and policy, aimed at creating a safe work environment, and responding appropriately if incidents occur.
What Ghomeshi’s case illustrates isn’t that the systems were inadequate, but that they were, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, pernicious, because they allowed awful things to happen.
Read the full story.
In the past month, public airings of internal CBC dysfunction have become a national spectacle—from current and former Q staffers revealing details of Ghomeshi’s reign that included allegations of abusive behaviour and sexual harassment, to leaked memos that banned (and then unbanned) former CBC-TV host Linden MacIntyre from the airwaves.
On paper, the CBC appears a model of employer enlightenment and best practices. Posters offer help-line numbers to call if people feel stressed.
Such entrenched protocols allowed Lacroix to boast to a parliamentary committee last year of the CBC’s robust system of training and policy, aimed at creating a safe work environment, and responding appropriately if incidents occur.
What Ghomeshi’s case illustrates isn’t that the systems were inadequate, but that they were, at best, irrelevant and, at worst, pernicious, because they allowed awful things to happen.
Read the full story.
It appears CBC is violating Canadian law
It appears CBC is violating Canadian law. CBC must obey the Broadcasting Act, a law established by Parliament but the Corporation has failed to fulfill a key requirement of the Act. In particular, CBC has made major, inequitable reductions in the staff and budgets of CBC Radio but failed to reveal the plan for these self-imposed cuts. Over $100 million in funds have been surreptitiously transferred from CBC Radio to CBC TV, both English and French, and the effect on radio programming is palpable.
CBC is no stranger to sidestepping rules and regulations.
The distinction between facts and opinion has gradually been blurred by CBC news, even by Peter Mansbridge, as he not only moderates opinion panels but participates in them. As CBC budgets have gotten tighter, program executives have discovered that facts are expensive to gather, while opinions are free.
Read the full story.
CBC is no stranger to sidestepping rules and regulations.
The distinction between facts and opinion has gradually been blurred by CBC news, even by Peter Mansbridge, as he not only moderates opinion panels but participates in them. As CBC budgets have gotten tighter, program executives have discovered that facts are expensive to gather, while opinions are free.
Read the full story.
Why does CBC still exist
The CBC and its predecessors were created in part to provide a commercial-free option to private radio.
On Radio 2, the CBC will be allowed 4 minutes of commercial time per hour, allowing the government broadcaster to get into the commercial radio business.
The CRTC move, said Ross Porter, head of Toronto’s Jazz-FM, “is very disturbing.” By giving CBC radio commercial rights, the CRTC has essentially created a fourth radio network.
Mr. Porter has a good idea as a counterpoint to the CRTC decision. The CBC has a “ distinct unfair advantage” with its $1-billion in federal subsidy. “I think there’s a bigger issue here. I think the mandate of the CBC needs to be reviewed."
Reviewing the CBC’s mandate should begin with the question: Why does this organization still exist, using government money to compete in a commercial market on commercial terms.
Read the full story.
On Radio 2, the CBC will be allowed 4 minutes of commercial time per hour, allowing the government broadcaster to get into the commercial radio business.
The CRTC move, said Ross Porter, head of Toronto’s Jazz-FM, “is very disturbing.” By giving CBC radio commercial rights, the CRTC has essentially created a fourth radio network.
Mr. Porter has a good idea as a counterpoint to the CRTC decision. The CBC has a “ distinct unfair advantage” with its $1-billion in federal subsidy. “I think there’s a bigger issue here. I think the mandate of the CBC needs to be reviewed."
Reviewing the CBC’s mandate should begin with the question: Why does this organization still exist, using government money to compete in a commercial market on commercial terms.
Read the full story.
CBC is not the public’s broadcaster
CBC reporters and producers affirming their assumed superiority by churning out a constant stream of intellectual bigotry.
With the CBC’s TV ratings down 40% to a specialty channel-like 5% share of viewers even before it lost its NHL contract, according to Canadian Media Research, it’s worth asking again what has gone wrong with the Mother Corp and what should be done about it?
Someone recently observed that the CBC is not about Canadian programming but programming Canadians to its enlightened view of how the world should work. Look at the litany of in-house CBC stars and ask if any are representative of ordinary Canadians and their values?
The result is a chorus of CBC reporters and producers affirming their assumed superiority by churning out a constant stream of intellectual bigotry that alienates its listeners.
The CBC does not present an accurate face of Canada to Canadians.
Read the full story.
With the CBC’s TV ratings down 40% to a specialty channel-like 5% share of viewers even before it lost its NHL contract, according to Canadian Media Research, it’s worth asking again what has gone wrong with the Mother Corp and what should be done about it?
Someone recently observed that the CBC is not about Canadian programming but programming Canadians to its enlightened view of how the world should work. Look at the litany of in-house CBC stars and ask if any are representative of ordinary Canadians and their values?
The result is a chorus of CBC reporters and producers affirming their assumed superiority by churning out a constant stream of intellectual bigotry that alienates its listeners.
The CBC does not present an accurate face of Canada to Canadians.
Read the full story.
CBC misinformation and inaccurate reports
For years CBC has claimed, critics would say whined, that it has suffered from under-funding.
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.
CBC releases financial and other data to the media which often leads to inaccurate reports.
CBC has also released incorrect information to the media about the number of staff it has and the number cut in the past few years.
Misinformation and cuts to radio have alienated many CBC supporters and caused a major rift between CBC staff and management and CBC radio and TV staff.
CBC cherry-picks data telling the Senate inquiry that its prime time English TV audience is equal to that of a decade ago, when data on the CBC web site demonstrate otherwise.
Read the full story.
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.
CBC releases financial and other data to the media which often leads to inaccurate reports.
CBC has also released incorrect information to the media about the number of staff it has and the number cut in the past few years.
Misinformation and cuts to radio have alienated many CBC supporters and caused a major rift between CBC staff and management and CBC radio and TV staff.
CBC cherry-picks data telling the Senate inquiry that its prime time English TV audience is equal to that of a decade ago, when data on the CBC web site demonstrate otherwise.
Read the full story.
CBC is a sick animal
It’s been a difficult few months for Canada’s public broadcaster.
CBC is a sick animal and has been so for a long time. It’s not just the Jian Ghomeshi affair that has exposed as much. The nasty internal backlash against Fifth Estate broadcaster Linden MacIntyre, who had dared to remark upon the corp.’s celebrity culture, also showed it.
CBC News Network Managing Editor Jennifer Harwood (and also a couple of rival journalists) reacted vindictively. Her impetuous censoring of MacIntyre was swiftly overruled by CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire, who said Harwood had acted “in the moment” (presumably we pay top flight news executives to exercise good judgment “in the moment”).
The troubles at the CBC are compounded by a couple of other institutional tendencies — the deference, in a competitive marketplace, to celebrity, and, very Canadian in its essence, an inclination towards monopoly.
Read the full story.
CBC is a sick animal and has been so for a long time. It’s not just the Jian Ghomeshi affair that has exposed as much. The nasty internal backlash against Fifth Estate broadcaster Linden MacIntyre, who had dared to remark upon the corp.’s celebrity culture, also showed it.
CBC News Network Managing Editor Jennifer Harwood (and also a couple of rival journalists) reacted vindictively. Her impetuous censoring of MacIntyre was swiftly overruled by CBC News editor-in-chief Jennifer McGuire, who said Harwood had acted “in the moment” (presumably we pay top flight news executives to exercise good judgment “in the moment”).
The troubles at the CBC are compounded by a couple of other institutional tendencies — the deference, in a competitive marketplace, to celebrity, and, very Canadian in its essence, an inclination towards monopoly.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix criticized for 5 year plan
Hubert Lacroix must fight for CBC — or resign.
There's some good in the CBC's five-year plan, but also a lot of bad, including the defeatism that has marked network president Hubert Lacroix's tenure.
There has been near universal criticism of the new five-year strategy announced recently by CBC. The Star called the strategy foolish. The Globe and Mail poked fun at its bureaucratic jargon and underlying philosophy. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, among others, called for the resignation of CBC President Hubert Lacroix.
So where does CBC, especially its president, go from here? Hubert Lacroix could follow the advice of his staff and others and resign. His record is dismal. In constant dollars funding from government has declined steadily since he was appointed in 2008.
Read the full story.
There's some good in the CBC's five-year plan, but also a lot of bad, including the defeatism that has marked network president Hubert Lacroix's tenure.
There has been near universal criticism of the new five-year strategy announced recently by CBC. The Star called the strategy foolish. The Globe and Mail poked fun at its bureaucratic jargon and underlying philosophy. The Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, among others, called for the resignation of CBC President Hubert Lacroix.
So where does CBC, especially its president, go from here? Hubert Lacroix could follow the advice of his staff and others and resign. His record is dismal. In constant dollars funding from government has declined steadily since he was appointed in 2008.
Read the full story.
Exposed - CBC Discrepancy
Despite claiming to have undertaken a serious internal investigation of the Jian Ghomeshi affair, CBC executives did not ask a single Q employee a single question, according to an investigation by the CBC investigative program the fifth estate.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, Chris Boyce, head of CBC Radio, said he could not, and that it was a question for Janice Rubin, the outside counsel hired to probe the institutional response.
The finding is the most shocking revelation in an investigation that pokes holes in the official account of how CBC responded over the past year to growing evidence of Mr. Ghomeshi’s behaviour, both within the CBC and in his private life.
The fifth estate investigation does not reveal new alleged victims, and many of the accounts have been previously reported. None are named.
The investigation advances the theory that CBC might have been slow to take action against its most marketable star.
Read the full story.
Asked to explain the discrepancy, Chris Boyce, head of CBC Radio, said he could not, and that it was a question for Janice Rubin, the outside counsel hired to probe the institutional response.
The finding is the most shocking revelation in an investigation that pokes holes in the official account of how CBC responded over the past year to growing evidence of Mr. Ghomeshi’s behaviour, both within the CBC and in his private life.
The fifth estate investigation does not reveal new alleged victims, and many of the accounts have been previously reported. None are named.
The investigation advances the theory that CBC might have been slow to take action against its most marketable star.
Read the full story.
CBC Exposed to hack
Last week, visitors to the cbc.ca web site received a rather rude welcome.
When they clicked a story, the screen went all shadowy and a window opened, advising, “You’ve been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).” There was an “OK” button that, if clicked, brought you to the SEA’s propaganda site.
The CBC person I communicated with informally was quick to claim that “nothing happened” at the CBC site and that they were “not hacked at all,” which is technically correct but completely wrong from a customer relations perspective. The problem may lie with outsourced services but when it happens on your web site, you own it. And amid all CBC’s coverage, I saw no apology to the thousands of people who were frightened by that “You have been hacked” pop-up.
Read the full story.
When they clicked a story, the screen went all shadowy and a window opened, advising, “You’ve been hacked by the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA).” There was an “OK” button that, if clicked, brought you to the SEA’s propaganda site.
The CBC person I communicated with informally was quick to claim that “nothing happened” at the CBC site and that they were “not hacked at all,” which is technically correct but completely wrong from a customer relations perspective. The problem may lie with outsourced services but when it happens on your web site, you own it. And amid all CBC’s coverage, I saw no apology to the thousands of people who were frightened by that “You have been hacked” pop-up.
Read the full story.
Toxic Atmosphere at CBC
Why I Left The CBC And Its Toxic Atmosphere
It's never been much of a secret that popularity and celebrity are potentially dangerous because, along with the illusions of success, they foster artificial hierarchies of power and influence. When egotism and narcissism become factors in success we will invariably find abuse. But abuse is often difficult to deal with. Abuse is part of a continuum. At the extreme manifestations of abuse -- say, assault or homicide -- there's no debate: sooner or later, there will be accountability.
The CBC is not unique in the celebration of celebrity -- of fostering celebrity with all the entitlement and power that it bestows -- in order to enhance the prestige of the institution and the reflected fame and reputations of the people with the real power, the managers. But when an institution is in trouble -- with diminished job security in a workforce that is often young and vulnerable -- celebrity, infected as it often is by egotism and narcissism, creates a workplace atmosphere that is toxic for the many people who feel they must put up with it.
And unfortunately, when the abuse continuum results in the kind of behaviour that normal people normally abhor, the normal people in charge of institutions, and who feel responsible for the appearance of institutional success and integrity, will far too often feel inclined to minimize and tolerate, condone -- and in the worst-case scenario -- cover up behaviour that is abusive.
Read the full story.
It's never been much of a secret that popularity and celebrity are potentially dangerous because, along with the illusions of success, they foster artificial hierarchies of power and influence. When egotism and narcissism become factors in success we will invariably find abuse. But abuse is often difficult to deal with. Abuse is part of a continuum. At the extreme manifestations of abuse -- say, assault or homicide -- there's no debate: sooner or later, there will be accountability.
The CBC is not unique in the celebration of celebrity -- of fostering celebrity with all the entitlement and power that it bestows -- in order to enhance the prestige of the institution and the reflected fame and reputations of the people with the real power, the managers. But when an institution is in trouble -- with diminished job security in a workforce that is often young and vulnerable -- celebrity, infected as it often is by egotism and narcissism, creates a workplace atmosphere that is toxic for the many people who feel they must put up with it.
And unfortunately, when the abuse continuum results in the kind of behaviour that normal people normally abhor, the normal people in charge of institutions, and who feel responsible for the appearance of institutional success and integrity, will far too often feel inclined to minimize and tolerate, condone -- and in the worst-case scenario -- cover up behaviour that is abusive.
Read the full story.
CBC's cult of denial
CBC's cult of denial: heads should roll for ignoring Ghomeshi improprieties.
“According to numerous stories, some published some not, Ghomeshi was a workplace tyrant, yelling at people for headphone levels and other minor crap. Why? because he could. He was inappropriate with women at work. Again, because he could be.
The TV biz is way too tolerant of shitty behaviour by 'stars'. They're allowed to get away with things because applying common standards of decency to them might somehow rob them of their muse, putting everyone out of work.
For the CBC to have 8,599 employees and claim they’ve only had three incidents of sexual harassment in three years, either everyone’s walking around in bubbles or the management has been hitting the crack pipe.
This Ghomeshi saga is becoming a wide-ranging ethics test for CBC. If management was willing to ignore for years this workplace behaviour that’s as sleazy as a misogyny gets, what other “smaller” infractions were routinely ignored? How often? By whom?
Read the full story.
“According to numerous stories, some published some not, Ghomeshi was a workplace tyrant, yelling at people for headphone levels and other minor crap. Why? because he could. He was inappropriate with women at work. Again, because he could be.
The TV biz is way too tolerant of shitty behaviour by 'stars'. They're allowed to get away with things because applying common standards of decency to them might somehow rob them of their muse, putting everyone out of work.
For the CBC to have 8,599 employees and claim they’ve only had three incidents of sexual harassment in three years, either everyone’s walking around in bubbles or the management has been hitting the crack pipe.
This Ghomeshi saga is becoming a wide-ranging ethics test for CBC. If management was willing to ignore for years this workplace behaviour that’s as sleazy as a misogyny gets, what other “smaller” infractions were routinely ignored? How often? By whom?
Read the full story.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix must be first to go
The television fantasy has become reality for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. The CBC now is among The Walking Dead.
The Jian Ghomeshi scandal is a death rattle for Canada’s beloved cultural institution. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the undertaker. The CBC has been dying for a long time. Uninspiring leadership, failure to innovate and blueblood attitudes and situational ethics have sucked the life from it over the years.
There is growing evidence that CBC executives knew about Ghomeshi’s sordid personal and working life for months and did not act. They feared losing a star who was building much-needed audiences.
First to go must be CBC president Hubert Lacroix, who has overseen one disaster after another, including his having to repay $30,000 in wrongly claimed living and meal expenses. He and his board of directors said they were not aware of a rule governing expenses. Duh?
Yes, the CBC is wasteful and stuck in times and attitudes long gone. Taxpayers should not be spending $1 billion a year on something the government is not interested in repairing.
Read the full story.
The Jian Ghomeshi scandal is a death rattle for Canada’s beloved cultural institution. Now it’s just a matter of waiting for the undertaker. The CBC has been dying for a long time. Uninspiring leadership, failure to innovate and blueblood attitudes and situational ethics have sucked the life from it over the years.
There is growing evidence that CBC executives knew about Ghomeshi’s sordid personal and working life for months and did not act. They feared losing a star who was building much-needed audiences.
First to go must be CBC president Hubert Lacroix, who has overseen one disaster after another, including his having to repay $30,000 in wrongly claimed living and meal expenses. He and his board of directors said they were not aware of a rule governing expenses. Duh?
Yes, the CBC is wasteful and stuck in times and attitudes long gone. Taxpayers should not be spending $1 billion a year on something the government is not interested in repairing.
Read the full story.
Is CBC coming apart at the seams
One night last week, when certain CBC TV somebodies were attacking other CBC somebodies online, I made some remarks on Twitter. Baffled by the adolescent arguing, I was more sarcastic than serious-minded.
In reply, the playwright and actor Michael Healey wrote, “I recognize this from theatre. A starved, stressed culture turning on itself.”
It’s a very useful remark. And it obliges us to ask: Is this what’s happening at the CBC – is it coming apart at the seams? At times, it sure looks like an organization, an institution, that’s unravelling and descending into internal, pointless bickering, posturing and feuding.
Read the full story.
In reply, the playwright and actor Michael Healey wrote, “I recognize this from theatre. A starved, stressed culture turning on itself.”
It’s a very useful remark. And it obliges us to ask: Is this what’s happening at the CBC – is it coming apart at the seams? At times, it sure looks like an organization, an institution, that’s unravelling and descending into internal, pointless bickering, posturing and feuding.
Read the full story.
CBC threatens to bury disabled journalist
The CBC President authorizes lawyers to bury human rights complaint in legal fees
By Stephen Pate
This month I made a settlement offer to the CBC in my 5-year-old human rights complaint. It is a pain in the keyster to be going to court. It distracts me from music, books and fun which are my main concerns, other than surviving my heart attack.
The CBC rejected my offer and threatened, like Nikita Khrushchev at the UN, to bury me in thousands of $$$ of their legal costs.
The CBC doesn’t intend to pay one cent for taking away my livelihood for 5 years.
“We will bury you”, you can almost imagine people in Montreal hear Hubert Lacroix the CBC CEO / President screaming from his posh office.
“We will bury you!” growled the slick lawyer atop his waterfront Halifax office tower.
It does not pay to be nice to the CBC. They mistake kindness for weakness.
The CBC normally takes a belligerent stance in human rights issues.
Of course, the CBC has your money to act like dictators. The taxpayers of Canada pay $1 billion a year to keep these bozos and their lawyers rich.
Read the full story and the CBC letter here.
By Stephen Pate
This month I made a settlement offer to the CBC in my 5-year-old human rights complaint. It is a pain in the keyster to be going to court. It distracts me from music, books and fun which are my main concerns, other than surviving my heart attack.
The CBC rejected my offer and threatened, like Nikita Khrushchev at the UN, to bury me in thousands of $$$ of their legal costs.
The CBC doesn’t intend to pay one cent for taking away my livelihood for 5 years.
“We will bury you”, you can almost imagine people in Montreal hear Hubert Lacroix the CBC CEO / President screaming from his posh office.
“We will bury you!” growled the slick lawyer atop his waterfront Halifax office tower.
It does not pay to be nice to the CBC. They mistake kindness for weakness.
The CBC normally takes a belligerent stance in human rights issues.
Of course, the CBC has your money to act like dictators. The taxpayers of Canada pay $1 billion a year to keep these bozos and their lawyers rich.
Read the full story and the CBC letter here.
CBC’s toxic atmosphere
Blacklists. They’re a dirty little secret of Canada’s cozy — and often vindictive — media industry.
They seldom admit it, but the people running major public and private news organizations in this country keep informal, up-to-date lists of disagreeable writers and journalists who are effectively barred from appearing on a variety of print, TV or radio outlets.
These nudge-wink blacklists are kept confidential — usually. I suppose we should thank Jennifer Harwood, managing editor of CBC News Network, for an internal memo in which she recorded her cockeyed reasons for banning veteran Fifth Estate host Linden MacIntyre from being interviewed on the network where he’s worked at for 38 years. Her reasons are as instructive as the ban itself.
Harwood was miffed that MacIntyre publicly made some uncharitable remarks about CBC’s “toxic atmosphere” and, more particularly, about the network’s chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge, in connection with the Jian Ghomeshi scandal.
Read the full story.
They seldom admit it, but the people running major public and private news organizations in this country keep informal, up-to-date lists of disagreeable writers and journalists who are effectively barred from appearing on a variety of print, TV or radio outlets.
These nudge-wink blacklists are kept confidential — usually. I suppose we should thank Jennifer Harwood, managing editor of CBC News Network, for an internal memo in which she recorded her cockeyed reasons for banning veteran Fifth Estate host Linden MacIntyre from being interviewed on the network where he’s worked at for 38 years. Her reasons are as instructive as the ban itself.
Harwood was miffed that MacIntyre publicly made some uncharitable remarks about CBC’s “toxic atmosphere” and, more particularly, about the network’s chief correspondent, Peter Mansbridge, in connection with the Jian Ghomeshi scandal.
Read the full story.
Former CBC radio host arrested
Former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi was arrested Wednesday morning, Toronto police confirmed.
Ghomeshi, 47, has been charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcome resistance – choking.
He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
Nine women and one man have told the Star and other media that they were choked, hit or sexually harassed by Ghomeshi.
Read the full story.
Ghomeshi, 47, has been charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcome resistance – choking.
He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
Nine women and one man have told the Star and other media that they were choked, hit or sexually harassed by Ghomeshi.
Read the full story.
CBC turning into a sad reality show
Linden MacIntyre, the freshly retired CBC veteran, started the trash talking when he delivered a guest lecture at the University of Toronto last week and explained why he left the public broadcaster after 38 years of service.
A shorter version: things have changed at the CBC and not for the better. Due to years of funding cuts, hostile politicians and a managerial culture that came to overvalue “celebrity,” the CBC is a shadow of its former self.
I can’t decide if the CBC is starting to resemble Lord of the Flies, Survivor or that “Festivus” episode of Seinfeld, with its memorable “Airing of Grievances.” Whatever the cultural analogy, things are getting “unseemly,” to use the word of one insider.
This is turning into a sad reality show.
All this needless fighting is also playing directly into the hearts and minds of those who believe it’s time to bid adieu to the public broadcaster. Think about it: if you were a politician who secretly wanted to kill the CBC, why not just make some popcorn and wait it out?
Read the full story.
A shorter version: things have changed at the CBC and not for the better. Due to years of funding cuts, hostile politicians and a managerial culture that came to overvalue “celebrity,” the CBC is a shadow of its former self.
I can’t decide if the CBC is starting to resemble Lord of the Flies, Survivor or that “Festivus” episode of Seinfeld, with its memorable “Airing of Grievances.” Whatever the cultural analogy, things are getting “unseemly,” to use the word of one insider.
This is turning into a sad reality show.
All this needless fighting is also playing directly into the hearts and minds of those who believe it’s time to bid adieu to the public broadcaster. Think about it: if you were a politician who secretly wanted to kill the CBC, why not just make some popcorn and wait it out?
Read the full story.
CBC facing crisis of truly existential proportions
Jian Ghomeshi’s story is not just about one man’s libidinous foibles. It’s about the deliberate diminishing of CBC Radio as a public broadcaster.
The outpouring of shock, outrage and plain puzzlement over the Jian Ghomeshi story has been intense and shows little sign of abating.
As I tell my American friends, it’s not just about one man’s libidinous foibles. It’s about the deliberate diminishing of CBC Radio as a public broadcaster.
In effect, Jian Ghomeshi is a self-inflicted wound on Canada, aided and abetted by the CBC itself.
This is not just about one man’s disgraceful and allegedly dangerous behaviour. It is about the CBC – the institution that enabled Ghomeshi by putting ratings above everything else. This is a crisis of truly existential proportions for the CBC.
Read the full story.
The outpouring of shock, outrage and plain puzzlement over the Jian Ghomeshi story has been intense and shows little sign of abating.
As I tell my American friends, it’s not just about one man’s libidinous foibles. It’s about the deliberate diminishing of CBC Radio as a public broadcaster.
In effect, Jian Ghomeshi is a self-inflicted wound on Canada, aided and abetted by the CBC itself.
This is not just about one man’s disgraceful and allegedly dangerous behaviour. It is about the CBC – the institution that enabled Ghomeshi by putting ratings above everything else. This is a crisis of truly existential proportions for the CBC.
Read the full story.
CBC Ombudsman: CBC News did not live up to its standard
In a recent HonestReporting Canada alert, we notified you of a complaint we sent to the CBC in regards to several CBC News reports on October 12 which claimed that “most” of the Palestinian casualties killed in Gaza during the recent Israel-Hamas war were “civilians”.
Not satisfied by a reply offered by CBC editors, HRC asked the CBC’s Ombudsman to arbitrate our grievances and we are pleased to report that our concerns were validated by the CBC’s Ombud who upheld our complaint on November 17.
Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman,: CBC News did not live up to its standard of accuracy in this news introduction.
Read the full story.
Not satisfied by a reply offered by CBC editors, HRC asked the CBC’s Ombudsman to arbitrate our grievances and we are pleased to report that our concerns were validated by the CBC’s Ombud who upheld our complaint on November 17.
Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman,: CBC News did not live up to its standard of accuracy in this news introduction.
Read the full story.
Abusive behaviour at CBC a tradition
Recently retired CBC journalist Linden MacIntyre has set-off a huge internal bomb with this comment made during an interview with the Globe and Mail:
MacIntyre cited Mr. Ghomeshi’s “tantrums,” and said “he is allowed to bully and abuse people. You know, that’s the way it works, that’s what you put up with, whether it’s Mansbridge, [Peter] Gzowski, whatever. They were not like shrinking violets, either. So along comes Ghomeshi: ‘Oh, yea, he’s in the tradition of that.’ But somewhere along the way, it crosses a line. It does cross a line.”
MacIntyre is stating abusive behaviour towards staff is a tradition at the CBC and that Mansbridge does it as well.
Read the full story.
MacIntyre cited Mr. Ghomeshi’s “tantrums,” and said “he is allowed to bully and abuse people. You know, that’s the way it works, that’s what you put up with, whether it’s Mansbridge, [Peter] Gzowski, whatever. They were not like shrinking violets, either. So along comes Ghomeshi: ‘Oh, yea, he’s in the tradition of that.’ But somewhere along the way, it crosses a line. It does cross a line.”
MacIntyre is stating abusive behaviour towards staff is a tradition at the CBC and that Mansbridge does it as well.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix offered resignation letter
Hubert Lacroix in the lions' den at CBC annual meeting.
Calls for his head abound — he was even offered a resignation letter needing only his signature Wednesday — but embattled Canadian Broadcasting Corp. president and chief executive Hubert Lacroix says he fully intends to complete his mandate, which runs through Dec. 31, 2017.
Nearly 400 employees learned last week their jobs were being eliminated and as many as 1,500 positions could disappear over the next five years as the corporation adapts to a changing media landscape and declining advertising revenues, and there was clearly a lot of resentment in the room toward Lacroix, who is overseeing what he called a “workplace adjustment.”
Read the full story.
Calls for his head abound — he was even offered a resignation letter needing only his signature Wednesday — but embattled Canadian Broadcasting Corp. president and chief executive Hubert Lacroix says he fully intends to complete his mandate, which runs through Dec. 31, 2017.
Nearly 400 employees learned last week their jobs were being eliminated and as many as 1,500 positions could disappear over the next five years as the corporation adapts to a changing media landscape and declining advertising revenues, and there was clearly a lot of resentment in the room toward Lacroix, who is overseeing what he called a “workplace adjustment.”
Read the full story.
CBC Must Apologize for Disgraceful Headline
CBC Must Apologize for Disgraceful Headline in Jerusalem Terror Attack Coverage
Many Canadians woke up today to the horrific news that two Palestinian terrorists had entered a Jerusalem synagogue armed with pistols, meat cleavers, knives and axes, murdering five Israelis (four rabbis and a police officer) and injuring over a half dozen others, including a Canadian-Israeli dual citizen.
How did our public broadcaster’s website cover one of the worst incidents of terror in Israel in recent years?
For the CBC, the fatal shooting of 2 unidentified individuals by Jerusalem police, rather than the actions of terrorists or identities of the victims was deemed more newsworthy. Despite the lead paragraph’s referring to the attackers as “suspected Palestinian men,” CBC editors chose to not include this information in its headline and perhaps worse, CBC editors’ use of the word “apparent” conveyed that this might not have even been an attack.
Read the full story.
Many Canadians woke up today to the horrific news that two Palestinian terrorists had entered a Jerusalem synagogue armed with pistols, meat cleavers, knives and axes, murdering five Israelis (four rabbis and a police officer) and injuring over a half dozen others, including a Canadian-Israeli dual citizen.
How did our public broadcaster’s website cover one of the worst incidents of terror in Israel in recent years?
For the CBC, the fatal shooting of 2 unidentified individuals by Jerusalem police, rather than the actions of terrorists or identities of the victims was deemed more newsworthy. Despite the lead paragraph’s referring to the attackers as “suspected Palestinian men,” CBC editors chose to not include this information in its headline and perhaps worse, CBC editors’ use of the word “apparent” conveyed that this might not have even been an attack.
Read the full story.
Threats to the CBC’s funding pressure favourable news coverage
Alain Saulnier, Ex-CBC Exec, Says Broadcaster ‘In Danger Of Disappearing Forever'.
As protesters marched on Sunday to oppose funding cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada, a former executive at the broadcaster is warning it’s “truly in danger of disappearing forever.”
Alan Saulnier says years of successive governments playing politics with the CBC’s budget has left the broadcaster vulnerable.
In an editorial in the Toronto Star, Saulnier says both Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Prime Minister Jean Chrietien in their day used threats to the CBC’s funding to pressure the network into more favourable news coverage.
Read the full story.
As protesters marched on Sunday to oppose funding cuts to CBC/Radio-Canada, a former executive at the broadcaster is warning it’s “truly in danger of disappearing forever.”
Alan Saulnier says years of successive governments playing politics with the CBC’s budget has left the broadcaster vulnerable.
In an editorial in the Toronto Star, Saulnier says both Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Prime Minister Jean Chrietien in their day used threats to the CBC’s funding to pressure the network into more favourable news coverage.
Read the full story.
Herbert Lacroix CBC CEO was found guilty
CBC Narrows Corporate Pervert Inquiry To Creepo Ghomeshi Only.
Although the executive suite at CBC were very quick to promise a corporate review of sexual allegations, the scope of review has been narrowed substantially, anything or anyone in contact with the monster Ghomeshi only. This will serve to be a critical error in damage control further exposing the inept leadership in CBC.
Herbert Lacroix CBC CEO was found guilty recently of submitting double living expenses for years amounting to over forty thousand dollars. LaCroix had misused his power and expenses in the same manner, amount and duration of abuse as Senator Mike Duffy.
CBC went over the top in its delight of hacking away at Duffy at every chance. No media coverage exposed CBC CEO Hubert LaCroix or questioned why he remains. In fact no media in Canada will do disparaging stories on CBC, particularly the executives.
Read the full story.
Although the executive suite at CBC were very quick to promise a corporate review of sexual allegations, the scope of review has been narrowed substantially, anything or anyone in contact with the monster Ghomeshi only. This will serve to be a critical error in damage control further exposing the inept leadership in CBC.
Herbert Lacroix CBC CEO was found guilty recently of submitting double living expenses for years amounting to over forty thousand dollars. LaCroix had misused his power and expenses in the same manner, amount and duration of abuse as Senator Mike Duffy.
CBC went over the top in its delight of hacking away at Duffy at every chance. No media coverage exposed CBC CEO Hubert LaCroix or questioned why he remains. In fact no media in Canada will do disparaging stories on CBC, particularly the executives.
Read the full story.
CBC staff refuse award from Hubert Lacroix
Radio-Canada staff refused an award presented to them Wednesday by CBC President Hubert Lacroix in protest of ongoing job losses at the public broadcaster.
In a video posted to YouTube, Lacroix can be seen presenting the award to the Sherbrooke office before journalist Pierre Tousignant reads a statement in French refusing the honour.
In June, CBC announced it would slash 1,000 to 1,500 jobs over the next five years. This is in addition to the 657 jobs the CBC announced it would cut in April to meet a budget shortfall caused by falling advertising revenues and federal budget cuts.
The Canadian Media Guild said in a press release Wednesday that they expect almost 400 job losses to be implemented this month, bringing the total to more than 1,000 this year.
Read the full story.
In a video posted to YouTube, Lacroix can be seen presenting the award to the Sherbrooke office before journalist Pierre Tousignant reads a statement in French refusing the honour.
In June, CBC announced it would slash 1,000 to 1,500 jobs over the next five years. This is in addition to the 657 jobs the CBC announced it would cut in April to meet a budget shortfall caused by falling advertising revenues and federal budget cuts.
The Canadian Media Guild said in a press release Wednesday that they expect almost 400 job losses to be implemented this month, bringing the total to more than 1,000 this year.
Read the full story.
Dissecting the CBC’s spin
Jian Ghomeshi may be a disgraced ex-CBC star, but he could be forgiven for wondering what the hell happened to all his admirers inside and outside Mother Corp who once treated him with all the gooey adulation reserved for A-list celebrities.
Under siege, CBC brass hats are now using every imaginable vehicle to extinguish whatever shred of empathy Ghomeshi still may enjoy among Canadians — a surprising number of whom suspect (if social media is an accurate gauge) that the former Q host is a casualty of a politically motivated cabal intent on silencing “progressive” voices at the CBC.
Given the stakes, the CBC’s desperate gambit is not surprising. But what’s disgraceful is the way that once venerable institution is systematically going about gutting the remnants of Ghomeshi’s public persona — a persona that, for years, it celebrated and championed.
Read the full story.
Under siege, CBC brass hats are now using every imaginable vehicle to extinguish whatever shred of empathy Ghomeshi still may enjoy among Canadians — a surprising number of whom suspect (if social media is an accurate gauge) that the former Q host is a casualty of a politically motivated cabal intent on silencing “progressive” voices at the CBC.
Given the stakes, the CBC’s desperate gambit is not surprising. But what’s disgraceful is the way that once venerable institution is systematically going about gutting the remnants of Ghomeshi’s public persona — a persona that, for years, it celebrated and championed.
Read the full story.
CBC comes under fire - Readers Letters
Excerpts from a selection of letters run in the Toronto Star:
- The Ghomeshi affair continues to expose that senior management and others at CBC have neither moral compass nor moral imperative
- CBC has apparently known about Ghomeshi's actions for 10 years and took no disciplinary action against him
- I guess the CBC top brass have never heard of due diligence
- I am shocked and appalled by the thinking and behaviour of Ghomeshi
Q producer taking time off as CBC seeks ‘clarity’
The executive producer of Jian Ghomeshi’s former radio show has “decided” to take some time off while the CBC looks “for more clarity” around the allegations of sexual violence and harassment levelled against the disgraced radio host, the public broadcaster said Monday.
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson confirmed that Arif Noorani has “decided to take a few days off.” He did not answer a question about when Noorani would be back, and said he didn’t know what role he would return to.
Thompson said no disciplinary action has been taken against any CBC staff at this time.
Read the full story.
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson confirmed that Arif Noorani has “decided to take a few days off.” He did not answer a question about when Noorani would be back, and said he didn’t know what role he would return to.
Thompson said no disciplinary action has been taken against any CBC staff at this time.
Read the full story.
CBC quiet on Ghomeshi probe
Two employment lawyers say the CBC should release more details from the investigation, anonymizing complaints. Where is the investigative response from the CBC's own reporters?
Canada’s national public broadcaster has been covering the biggest media story of recent years as a breaking news story, but its investigative team has yet to produce a report on Jian Ghomeshi and the CBC refuses to say exactly what resources are devoted to it.
“If the CBC is not investigating it journalistically, that’s a big problem. I think . . . the CBC needs to put the full force of its journalistic ability into doing the story because I think it is of national interest, and it’s an important story,” said Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at University of Toronto Scarborough and a former managing editor who worked at the CBC in the 1990s.
Read the full story.
Canada’s national public broadcaster has been covering the biggest media story of recent years as a breaking news story, but its investigative team has yet to produce a report on Jian Ghomeshi and the CBC refuses to say exactly what resources are devoted to it.
“If the CBC is not investigating it journalistically, that’s a big problem. I think . . . the CBC needs to put the full force of its journalistic ability into doing the story because I think it is of national interest, and it’s an important story,” said Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at University of Toronto Scarborough and a former managing editor who worked at the CBC in the 1990s.
Read the full story.
CBC goes silent on Ghomeshi - why?
Canada's national public broadcaster has been covering the biggest media story of recent years as a breaking news story, but its investigative team has yet to produce a report on Jian Ghomeshi and the CBC refuses to say exactly what resources are devoted to it.
"If the CBC is not investigating it journalistically, that's a big problem. I think . . . the CBC needs to put the full force of its journalistic ability into doing the story because I think it is of national interest, and it's an important story," said Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at University of Toronto Scarborough and a former managing editor who worked at the CBC in the 1990s.
Read the full story.
"If the CBC is not investigating it journalistically, that's a big problem. I think . . . the CBC needs to put the full force of its journalistic ability into doing the story because I think it is of national interest, and it's an important story," said Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at University of Toronto Scarborough and a former managing editor who worked at the CBC in the 1990s.
Read the full story.
Students cautioned against CBC internships
Jian Ghomeshi used a CBC-owned phone to send lewd text messages to women, a source has told the Toronto Star.
The public broadcaster believes its ownership of the smartphone refutes the former radio star's claim that he was fired because of how he conducted himself in his "private life."
"The contents of that phone belong to the CBC — it's the CBC's property," said a source familiar with the situation.
The source says Ghomeshi lied to CBC management when he was asked "eyeball to eyeball" about allegations of violent sexual behaviour being investigated by the Star.
Ghomeshi showed texts and other material to CBC officials to bolster his claim, but the source said they were so shocked by what they read and saw that it had the opposite effect.
The news comes as a former journalism student and current journalism professor at the University of Western Ontario said that students were cautioned against pursuing internships at Ghomeshi's popular CBC radio show "Q" due to concerns about "inappropriate" behaviour toward young women by the now-fired host.
Read the full story.
The public broadcaster believes its ownership of the smartphone refutes the former radio star's claim that he was fired because of how he conducted himself in his "private life."
"The contents of that phone belong to the CBC — it's the CBC's property," said a source familiar with the situation.
The source says Ghomeshi lied to CBC management when he was asked "eyeball to eyeball" about allegations of violent sexual behaviour being investigated by the Star.
Ghomeshi showed texts and other material to CBC officials to bolster his claim, but the source said they were so shocked by what they read and saw that it had the opposite effect.
The news comes as a former journalism student and current journalism professor at the University of Western Ontario said that students were cautioned against pursuing internships at Ghomeshi's popular CBC radio show "Q" due to concerns about "inappropriate" behaviour toward young women by the now-fired host.
Read the full story.
Exposed - CBC did nothing to rein in Ghomeshi
“So, did Jian Ghomeshi try to sleep with you?”
This was the first question the then-Director of Current Affairs for CBC Radio in my hometown asked me the first day I got back from a 6-week unpaid internship at Q in Toronto. Her question, asked in front of a small group of co-workers in an open newsroom, elicited gales of laughter from all assembled.
The stories were all the same – meeting women at CBC-related events, then creeping them on Facebook. Hitting on interns and junior staff at CBC. Grabby hands.
But I, like so many others, had no idea just how deep his sickness ran until his skeletons came tumbling out of the closet in a spectacular fashion this week, leading the CBC to drop him like a hot potato. Sexual harassment at work. Sexual assault. Beatings.
Now, Ghomeshi’s reputation lies in tatters, likely beyond repair, no matter how much he pays a PR firm and legal team. And I am pissed off.
Pissed off because I realize just how much the CBC did nothing – nothing – to rein in their star host. Pissed because so many women had to become his victims before his crimes were revealed. Pissed because at first his victims were not believed. Pissed because you know what? It’s not funny to ask a junior employee if a host tried to sleep with her, because the internship the network set me up with happened to be with a notorious womanizer and predator.
Knowing his reputation, the network should never have put me, or any other female employee, in that position.
Read the full story.
This was the first question the then-Director of Current Affairs for CBC Radio in my hometown asked me the first day I got back from a 6-week unpaid internship at Q in Toronto. Her question, asked in front of a small group of co-workers in an open newsroom, elicited gales of laughter from all assembled.
The stories were all the same – meeting women at CBC-related events, then creeping them on Facebook. Hitting on interns and junior staff at CBC. Grabby hands.
But I, like so many others, had no idea just how deep his sickness ran until his skeletons came tumbling out of the closet in a spectacular fashion this week, leading the CBC to drop him like a hot potato. Sexual harassment at work. Sexual assault. Beatings.
Now, Ghomeshi’s reputation lies in tatters, likely beyond repair, no matter how much he pays a PR firm and legal team. And I am pissed off.
Pissed off because I realize just how much the CBC did nothing – nothing – to rein in their star host. Pissed because so many women had to become his victims before his crimes were revealed. Pissed because at first his victims were not believed. Pissed because you know what? It’s not funny to ask a junior employee if a host tried to sleep with her, because the internship the network set me up with happened to be with a notorious womanizer and predator.
Knowing his reputation, the network should never have put me, or any other female employee, in that position.
Read the full story.
CBC Sanitized Terror Against an Israeli Baby
As a primary lens through which Canadians learn about the world, the CBC is obligated to report honestly, accurately and with due context. Last week, we saw terror come to our nation’s capital. On the same day that Michael Zehaf Bibeau brazenly killed Corporal Nathan Cirillo, a Hamas terrorist deliberately ran over and killed a 3-month old Israeli baby and an Ecuadorean woman in Jerusalem, along with injuring nine people.
CBC adroitly avoided calling terror by its rightful name and used the passive voice, leading readers to likely conclude that this incident was simple vehicular manslaughter. CBC could have carried a more accurate headline like: “Hamas Attack in Jerusalem Kills 3-Month-Old Baby Girl”.
It was perfectly clear that this incident was not a simple road traffic accident, and yet, the CBC placed the emphasis on the vehicle rather than the terrorist driver behind the wheel. This was clearly not a case of vehicular manslaughter, but of intentional terror against innocents.
Read the full story.
CBC adroitly avoided calling terror by its rightful name and used the passive voice, leading readers to likely conclude that this incident was simple vehicular manslaughter. CBC could have carried a more accurate headline like: “Hamas Attack in Jerusalem Kills 3-Month-Old Baby Girl”.
It was perfectly clear that this incident was not a simple road traffic accident, and yet, the CBC placed the emphasis on the vehicle rather than the terrorist driver behind the wheel. This was clearly not a case of vehicular manslaughter, but of intentional terror against innocents.
Read the full story.
CBC brass have gone to ground
The CBC will need to replace Jian Ghomeshi as host of Q, its flagship radio show.
Here’s a better idea:
Maybe it’s time to replace the CBC.
In recent years, the tax-guzzling network has lost reams of reach, respect and relevance.
Worse, it has now betrayed its puffed-up claim to be the country’s conscience and moral compass.
You can’t be sanctimonious after you dismiss years of dark rumours about your radio golden boy, allegations of sexual violence, until they bite you in the ass.
CBC brass have gone to ground, using the new police probe and Ghomeshi’s $55-million lawsuit as shields, but they can’t hide the sordid details forever, though they will try.
The CBC is becoming an embarrassment, after a steady fall from grace.
“The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong,” the late lamented finance minister Jim Flaherty said during budget talks last year.
A billion bucks a year the CBC costs us? Which would you rather have, a state broadcaster that doesn’t even own hockey anymore, or a billion bucks every year toward, say, subways? Or paying off the debt. Or lowering taxes.
Read the full story.
Here’s a better idea:
Maybe it’s time to replace the CBC.
In recent years, the tax-guzzling network has lost reams of reach, respect and relevance.
Worse, it has now betrayed its puffed-up claim to be the country’s conscience and moral compass.
You can’t be sanctimonious after you dismiss years of dark rumours about your radio golden boy, allegations of sexual violence, until they bite you in the ass.
CBC brass have gone to ground, using the new police probe and Ghomeshi’s $55-million lawsuit as shields, but they can’t hide the sordid details forever, though they will try.
The CBC is becoming an embarrassment, after a steady fall from grace.
“The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong,” the late lamented finance minister Jim Flaherty said during budget talks last year.
A billion bucks a year the CBC costs us? Which would you rather have, a state broadcaster that doesn’t even own hockey anymore, or a billion bucks every year toward, say, subways? Or paying off the debt. Or lowering taxes.
Read the full story.
CBC announces another 392 layoffs
CBC announced Thursday another 392 jobs will be cut by March 2015.
letter to employees indicated 115 corporate positions, 154 English jobs and 123 French positions will be eliminated by the end of the fiscal year.
The letter states more than one-quarter of the positions are already vacant because of departures or retirement, and some reductions have already been made.
Most of the layoff notices will be handed out by mid-November, the letter states.
Read the full story.
letter to employees indicated 115 corporate positions, 154 English jobs and 123 French positions will be eliminated by the end of the fiscal year.
The letter states more than one-quarter of the positions are already vacant because of departures or retirement, and some reductions have already been made.
Most of the layoff notices will be handed out by mid-November, the letter states.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix Misled Parliament
In March 2013, CBC President Hubert Lacroix appeared before Parliament and denied that any sexual harassment of this sort took place at the CBC, following reports in The Sun. It’s clear now that Lacroix was misleading Parliament.
Lacroix’s opening statement in March 2013 to the House of Commons Standing Committee , later remarks and those of Monique Marcotte (Interim Executive Director, English Services Human Resources) were meant to reassure Parliament that the CBC is serious about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Some of Lacroix’s comments sounded like hyperbole, over the top in their sweeping claims. There were only 3 claims of sexual harassment said Lacroix. While it does not seem Lacroix gave sworn testimony, his testimony is called “evidence” and as an officer of the court and expected to be truthful in his statements.
Later in the session, his HR director contradicted Lacroix and said there were 62 reports of sexual harassment at the CBC, and those numbers don’t include any of the Ghomeshi allegations, allegations the CBC hushed up until now.
Read the full story.
Lacroix’s opening statement in March 2013 to the House of Commons Standing Committee , later remarks and those of Monique Marcotte (Interim Executive Director, English Services Human Resources) were meant to reassure Parliament that the CBC is serious about sexual harassment in the workplace.
Some of Lacroix’s comments sounded like hyperbole, over the top in their sweeping claims. There were only 3 claims of sexual harassment said Lacroix. While it does not seem Lacroix gave sworn testimony, his testimony is called “evidence” and as an officer of the court and expected to be truthful in his statements.
Later in the session, his HR director contradicted Lacroix and said there were 62 reports of sexual harassment at the CBC, and those numbers don’t include any of the Ghomeshi allegations, allegations the CBC hushed up until now.
Read the full story.
More CBC Propaganda
CBC used an old photo of a Polish coal plant when talking about Canada's greenhouse gas emissions.
Watch the video here.
Watch the video here.
CBC fires radio host for fear of publicity
More details of Jian Ghomeshi’s alleged violent sexual encounters have emerged on the heels of the CBC’s decision to cut ties with the prominent pop culture radio host.
A news report — which sat on the back-burner for months until the CBC abruptly announced the firing of the 47-year-old Sunday — outlines disturbing accusations made by four unidentified women.
While he maintains his sexual preferences are his “private life,” Ghomeshi said he has been open and honest with his employer throughout his ordeal.
And he claims the CBC chose to fire him out of fear the story might be publicized, even though there has been no formal complaints filed against him to human resources or cops.
Ghomeshi’s lawyers, Dentons Canada LLP, say they plan to file a suit against the CBC Monday.
“The action will claim general and punitive damages for among other things, breach of confidence and bad faith in the amount of $50 million,” the firm has said, adding Ghomeshi will also “commence a grievance for reinstatement under his collective agreement.”
Read the full story.
A news report — which sat on the back-burner for months until the CBC abruptly announced the firing of the 47-year-old Sunday — outlines disturbing accusations made by four unidentified women.
While he maintains his sexual preferences are his “private life,” Ghomeshi said he has been open and honest with his employer throughout his ordeal.
And he claims the CBC chose to fire him out of fear the story might be publicized, even though there has been no formal complaints filed against him to human resources or cops.
Ghomeshi’s lawyers, Dentons Canada LLP, say they plan to file a suit against the CBC Monday.
“The action will claim general and punitive damages for among other things, breach of confidence and bad faith in the amount of $50 million,” the firm has said, adding Ghomeshi will also “commence a grievance for reinstatement under his collective agreement.”
Read the full story.
CBC to Ghomeshi: Walk away quietly or be fired
CBC star Jian Ghomeshi has been fired over “information” the public broadcaster recently received that it says “precludes” it from continuing to employ the 47-year-old host of the popular Q radio show.
Shortly after CBC announced Ghomeshi was out the door on Sunday, Ghomeshi released news that he was launching a $50-million lawsuit claiming “breach of confidence and bad faith” by his employer of almost 14 years. He later followed that up with a Facebook posting saying he has been the target of “harassment, vengeance and demonization.”
Ghomeshi said in his Facebook posting that his CBC bosses gave him a choice to “walk away quietly” or to be fired. He chose not to walk away and “publicly suggest that this was my decision.” And so, Ghomeshi said, he was “stripped from my show, barred from the building and separated from my colleagues.”
Read the full story.
Shortly after CBC announced Ghomeshi was out the door on Sunday, Ghomeshi released news that he was launching a $50-million lawsuit claiming “breach of confidence and bad faith” by his employer of almost 14 years. He later followed that up with a Facebook posting saying he has been the target of “harassment, vengeance and demonization.”
Ghomeshi said in his Facebook posting that his CBC bosses gave him a choice to “walk away quietly” or to be fired. He chose not to walk away and “publicly suggest that this was my decision.” And so, Ghomeshi said, he was “stripped from my show, barred from the building and separated from my colleagues.”
Read the full story.
CBC being sued for $50 million
Jian Ghomeshi plans to sue CBC for $50 million after being fired.
The host and cocreator of CBC's national cultural-affairs radio show Q is out of a job. But he's not going down without a fight.
Jian Ghomeshi will sue for $50 million in damages and file a grievance to be reinstated, according to a statement issued by the law firm Dentons Canada LLP.
Last week, Ghomeshi announced that he was taking a leave of absence "for personal reasons" from Q.
That was followed by a statement today from the Crown-owned broadcaster that its relationship with Ghomeshi had "come to an end". This was as a result of information that had come to its attention recently.
Read the full story.
The host and cocreator of CBC's national cultural-affairs radio show Q is out of a job. But he's not going down without a fight.
Jian Ghomeshi will sue for $50 million in damages and file a grievance to be reinstated, according to a statement issued by the law firm Dentons Canada LLP.
Last week, Ghomeshi announced that he was taking a leave of absence "for personal reasons" from Q.
That was followed by a statement today from the Crown-owned broadcaster that its relationship with Ghomeshi had "come to an end". This was as a result of information that had come to its attention recently.
Read the full story.
More cuts at CBC announced by CBC President Hubert Lacroix
CBC President Hubert Lacroix has shared more details about the corporate-wide job cuts he first announced in June. In a meeting with union leaders, Lacroix said the CBC will lose another 400 jobs by the end of March 2015 bringing the total number of jobs cut at CBC this fiscal year to 1057. There will be another 400 job cuts to come by March 2016. Lacroix further added that another 400 and possibly more jobs will be cut by 2020.
"The union will continue to lobby all political parties to reverse the cuts, and increase the federal government's financial support for CBC/Radio-Canada," says CMG President Carmel Smyth.
Read the full story.
"The union will continue to lobby all political parties to reverse the cuts, and increase the federal government's financial support for CBC/Radio-Canada," says CMG President Carmel Smyth.
Read the full story.
CBC Exposed for more bias
On the October 12 broadcast of CBC News Network at 8:05AM EST (watch here) and 3:50pm EST (watch here), CBC Anchor’s Reshmi Nair and Andrew Nichols both claimed that “most” of the Palestinian casualties killed in Gaza during the recent Israel-Hamas war were “civilians”.
These statements were not made in attribution and CBC therefore presented this claim as an undisputed fact. Importantly, Israel claims that about half of the dead were terrorists, the majority from Hamas while over 150 Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed. That’s a 1:1 ratio of combatant vs. civilian deaths which is almost unprecedented in modern warfare. The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has now examined 1,017 names of Palestinian war fatalities in Gaza. Of the 874 dead who could be identified, terrorist operatives constitute 49.8% and non-involved civilians constitute 50.2%.
Time and again, CBC journalists have made this claim, sometimes, like in a recent Derek Stoffel report on the National on Gaza’s rebuilding or in this CBC.ca report, these figures are attributed to the United Nations, but almost never does CBC acknowledge Israel’s accounting that half of the dead Palestinians were combatants.
Read the full story.
These statements were not made in attribution and CBC therefore presented this claim as an undisputed fact. Importantly, Israel claims that about half of the dead were terrorists, the majority from Hamas while over 150 Islamic Jihad terrorists were killed. That’s a 1:1 ratio of combatant vs. civilian deaths which is almost unprecedented in modern warfare. The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center has now examined 1,017 names of Palestinian war fatalities in Gaza. Of the 874 dead who could be identified, terrorist operatives constitute 49.8% and non-involved civilians constitute 50.2%.
Time and again, CBC journalists have made this claim, sometimes, like in a recent Derek Stoffel report on the National on Gaza’s rebuilding or in this CBC.ca report, these figures are attributed to the United Nations, but almost never does CBC acknowledge Israel’s accounting that half of the dead Palestinians were combatants.
Read the full story.
Is CBC President Hubert Lacroix under gag order
It does not make sense for Canada’s public broadcaster with a $1 billion in taxpayers money to harass a 66-year-old journalist with a disability on Canada’s smallest Province. Right?
The question is: why are they spending $100,000 on Alan V. Parish Q.C. lawyer? Does this increase their audience, revenues or cut costs?
Alan V. Parish Q.C. sent me a slap on the wrist email saying “…please do not communicate directly to officers of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with respect to this matter. Please channel all communications which you wish to make to the CBC with respect to this matter through me.”
At least it confirms Parish is working for the CBC in Pate Gate. And maybe the have President Lacroix under a gag order.
Read the full story.
The question is: why are they spending $100,000 on Alan V. Parish Q.C. lawyer? Does this increase their audience, revenues or cut costs?
Alan V. Parish Q.C. sent me a slap on the wrist email saying “…please do not communicate directly to officers of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation with respect to this matter. Please channel all communications which you wish to make to the CBC with respect to this matter through me.”
At least it confirms Parish is working for the CBC in Pate Gate. And maybe the have President Lacroix under a gag order.
Read the full story.
Does CBC tolerate disability bigotry?
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), the $1 billion publicly funded Canadian broadcaster, feels no shame in disability bigotry. The CBC is spending $100,000 on lawyers trying to keep me from reporting the news from the provincial legislature in a 5 year battle.
Hubert Lacroix the President of the CBC is a disability bigot. Lacroix knows what’s going on and supports the CBC’s stand against disabled reporters. Just another legal battle. Send in the lawyers.
Lacroix is not alone. His board of directors support him.
Disability bigotry should not be tolerated but it is.
Read the full story.
Hubert Lacroix the President of the CBC is a disability bigot. Lacroix knows what’s going on and supports the CBC’s stand against disabled reporters. Just another legal battle. Send in the lawyers.
Lacroix is not alone. His board of directors support him.
Disability bigotry should not be tolerated but it is.
Read the full story.
THE MEDIA PARTY'S SECRET DEAL
Senior executives within the media party hold talks behind closed doors -- about manipulating the the news. Guess who they're conspiring to protect?
See the video here.
See the video here.
CBC lost it all
The victors strode into the CBC’s Toronto headquarters at 250 Front St. West on June 1 in an especially humiliating denouement for what was left of the public network’s sports department and its version of Hockey Night In Canada.
Not only had Rogers Communications Inc. wrenched the Canadian national broadcast rights to NHL games from the CBC’s grasp with a stunning $5.2-billion payout over the next 12 years, but the Visigoths were actually at the gate. Part of the ensuing deal, in which those in charge of the CBC meekly handed over the company’s airwaves for free, was that the Rogers people connected to Hockey Night, along with some people hired from rival TSN, would use the CBC’s studios and take over the show’s office space on the north side of the eighth floor – the plushest in the building thanks to the show’s status as the network’s biggest money spinner.
After their failure to keep the NHL broadcast rights, the fallout was severe: The loss of a total of 657 full-time jobs in April at the CBC, along with a $130-million cut in its budget thanks in part to the loss of an estimated $225-million in annual advertising revenue (half of the company’s total).
Read the full story.
Not only had Rogers Communications Inc. wrenched the Canadian national broadcast rights to NHL games from the CBC’s grasp with a stunning $5.2-billion payout over the next 12 years, but the Visigoths were actually at the gate. Part of the ensuing deal, in which those in charge of the CBC meekly handed over the company’s airwaves for free, was that the Rogers people connected to Hockey Night, along with some people hired from rival TSN, would use the CBC’s studios and take over the show’s office space on the north side of the eighth floor – the plushest in the building thanks to the show’s status as the network’s biggest money spinner.
After their failure to keep the NHL broadcast rights, the fallout was severe: The loss of a total of 657 full-time jobs in April at the CBC, along with a $130-million cut in its budget thanks in part to the loss of an estimated $225-million in annual advertising revenue (half of the company’s total).
Read the full story.
Exposed: Hollow victory for CBC
In November, CBC president Hubert Lacroix described himself as “comforted” by the fact that HNiC would continue to air on the public broadcaster for at least four years.
Saturday night displayed what a hollow victory this was for the CBC. That is, the CBC’s heavily subsidized main network was being used as a promotional vehicle for programming that would be aired on a rival private network owned by a telecom conglomerate. Meanwhile, a huge studio space in the CBC’s Toronto headquarters, as well as some of its hockey production staff, were annexed by Rogers as part of the arrangement, all of it in an effort to avoid the public broadcaster losing its ties to hockey entirely.
Read the full story.
Saturday night displayed what a hollow victory this was for the CBC. That is, the CBC’s heavily subsidized main network was being used as a promotional vehicle for programming that would be aired on a rival private network owned by a telecom conglomerate. Meanwhile, a huge studio space in the CBC’s Toronto headquarters, as well as some of its hockey production staff, were annexed by Rogers as part of the arrangement, all of it in an effort to avoid the public broadcaster losing its ties to hockey entirely.
Read the full story.
More CBC allegations
Controversial youth basketball coach Ro Russell rejected CBC allegations that he exploited Canadian teenagers by misleading their parents into paying him directly to attend an American basketball academy.
Russell spoke to QMI Agency after refusing to grant an interview to The Fifth Estate, which on Friday broadcast an hour-long documentary centred on the Toronto native's track record as a hoops coach and power broker on both sides of the border.
The native of Toronto's tough Jane and Finch neighbourhood said the CBC built its story around two disgruntled players and Rautins, who "despises me." Russell singled out Rathan-Mayes, who he said left the program amid attitude and disciplinary problems.
"He couldn't get what he wanted from me," Russell said of the guard, who left his program last year. "(CBC) found Xavier and ... Braeden Anderson ... rather than talk about all the success stories, you're just going to isolate and talk to a couple of kids who said this and that."
Read the full story.
Russell spoke to QMI Agency after refusing to grant an interview to The Fifth Estate, which on Friday broadcast an hour-long documentary centred on the Toronto native's track record as a hoops coach and power broker on both sides of the border.
The native of Toronto's tough Jane and Finch neighbourhood said the CBC built its story around two disgruntled players and Rautins, who "despises me." Russell singled out Rathan-Mayes, who he said left the program amid attitude and disciplinary problems.
"He couldn't get what he wanted from me," Russell said of the guard, who left his program last year. "(CBC) found Xavier and ... Braeden Anderson ... rather than talk about all the success stories, you're just going to isolate and talk to a couple of kids who said this and that."
Read the full story.
CBC's own lawyers say this isn't true
In November 1988, the Liberal Party of Canada went to court to force CBC and CTV to carry their attack ads against Brian Mulroney and his Progressive Conservatives. The ads used footage of Opposition leader John Turner taking on Mulroney over the issue of free trade during the televised leaders debates.
The networks claimed they owned the video footage in question and said the Liberal Party's use of it infringed on their copyright. The networks lost and were forced to run the ads; they were also turned down on appeal by the Supreme Court.
"It's a victory for Canadians, for broadcasters and for the political parties. And I mean broadcasters, because they should be relieved to be out of the position of having to censor advertisements of political parties," Allan Lutfy, chief counsel for the Liberals, is quoted as saying in the Nov. 16, 1988 Montreal Gazette.
Today the networks are trying to stop the use of their footage in attack ads once again and the Liberals are their handmaids. They claim this is about journalistic independence but really it's about censorship and stifling free speech.
Earlier this year the Conservatives released an ad attacking Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's position on terrorism and they used a clip of Trudeau reacting to the Boston Marathon bombing and telling CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge: "There is no question that this happened because there is someone who feels completely excluded."
That quote, given exclusively to Mansbridge and CBC, has been used in countless newspaper stories, columns and played on TV. I've played it several times on Byline on Sun News Network. None of that is considered to be a bad thing, and CBC hasn't taken any action to stop it, but Mansbridge was upset that the clip was used in an ad and e-mailed CBC news head honcho Jennifer McGuire. McGuire decided she wanted the help of other networks to stop news clips showing up in attack ads.
McGuire enlisted the help of CTV, Rogers and Global in forming a common front to say that none of them would air ads that used material from news coverage without the express written permission of the broadcaster in question.
Unlike in 1988 they avoided claiming copyright and tried to say this was about ethics and integrity.
"As news organizations, the use of our content in political advertisements without our express consent may compromise our journalistic independence and call into question our journalistic ethics, standards and objectivity," the cartel wrote in a letter to all political parties this past spring. In response, news stories have claimed the government is considering changes to the copyright act or the broadcast act to make the ads legal. Several media outlets have lost their collectivist minds over this and have run stories claiming it is theft of intellectual property and a violation of copyright.
But even CBC's own lawyers say this isn't true. In her e-mail to gain support for this initiative, McGuire admitted as much.
Read the full story.
The networks claimed they owned the video footage in question and said the Liberal Party's use of it infringed on their copyright. The networks lost and were forced to run the ads; they were also turned down on appeal by the Supreme Court.
"It's a victory for Canadians, for broadcasters and for the political parties. And I mean broadcasters, because they should be relieved to be out of the position of having to censor advertisements of political parties," Allan Lutfy, chief counsel for the Liberals, is quoted as saying in the Nov. 16, 1988 Montreal Gazette.
Today the networks are trying to stop the use of their footage in attack ads once again and the Liberals are their handmaids. They claim this is about journalistic independence but really it's about censorship and stifling free speech.
Earlier this year the Conservatives released an ad attacking Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau's position on terrorism and they used a clip of Trudeau reacting to the Boston Marathon bombing and telling CBC anchor Peter Mansbridge: "There is no question that this happened because there is someone who feels completely excluded."
That quote, given exclusively to Mansbridge and CBC, has been used in countless newspaper stories, columns and played on TV. I've played it several times on Byline on Sun News Network. None of that is considered to be a bad thing, and CBC hasn't taken any action to stop it, but Mansbridge was upset that the clip was used in an ad and e-mailed CBC news head honcho Jennifer McGuire. McGuire decided she wanted the help of other networks to stop news clips showing up in attack ads.
McGuire enlisted the help of CTV, Rogers and Global in forming a common front to say that none of them would air ads that used material from news coverage without the express written permission of the broadcaster in question.
Unlike in 1988 they avoided claiming copyright and tried to say this was about ethics and integrity.
"As news organizations, the use of our content in political advertisements without our express consent may compromise our journalistic independence and call into question our journalistic ethics, standards and objectivity," the cartel wrote in a letter to all political parties this past spring. In response, news stories have claimed the government is considering changes to the copyright act or the broadcast act to make the ads legal. Several media outlets have lost their collectivist minds over this and have run stories claiming it is theft of intellectual property and a violation of copyright.
But even CBC's own lawyers say this isn't true. In her e-mail to gain support for this initiative, McGuire admitted as much.
Read the full story.
CBC jihad against Alberta’s energy sector grossly misleading
CBC Calgary’s taxpayer funded jihad against Alberta’s energy sector has gone from being merely biased to being grossly misleading.
You can hardly flip on one of their morning newscasts without hearing another grim, hit piece telling Albertans how bad, dirty, dangerous and unpopular their energy sector is.
On Wednesday; in a transparent piece of journalistic malpractice, we are told the results of a survey have found the energy sector may be damaging Calgary’s reputation outside Alberta.
So according to this poll, between 2 and 3% of the total number polled view energy as a negative in some way.
Just to be clear folks, that’s around 23 people in five cities out of 1,200 who said energy negatively influenced their impression of the Calgary.
The CBC hung their entire story about how the energy sector is a liability for Calgary’s reputation on the backs of about two dozen people who responded to an online poll.
Read the full story.
You can hardly flip on one of their morning newscasts without hearing another grim, hit piece telling Albertans how bad, dirty, dangerous and unpopular their energy sector is.
On Wednesday; in a transparent piece of journalistic malpractice, we are told the results of a survey have found the energy sector may be damaging Calgary’s reputation outside Alberta.
So according to this poll, between 2 and 3% of the total number polled view energy as a negative in some way.
Just to be clear folks, that’s around 23 people in five cities out of 1,200 who said energy negatively influenced their impression of the Calgary.
The CBC hung their entire story about how the energy sector is a liability for Calgary’s reputation on the backs of about two dozen people who responded to an online poll.
Read the full story.
Senate committee considering subpoena for CBC
Last Tuesday various documents the CBC gave to a Senate committee were made public. These included the supposed salary ranges of on-air personalities.
Many senators believe they’re being mislead. That would be an understatement.
The committee is now considering using a subpoena to bring the info out into the open. We fully support this. The public has a right to know how its money is being spent.
There’s something deeply insulting about a media organization doing everything in its power to hide information. Shouldn’t they be the ones most supportive of access to information?
They know if the full truth about the CBC came to light, the party would be over.
Read the full story.
Many senators believe they’re being mislead. That would be an understatement.
The committee is now considering using a subpoena to bring the info out into the open. We fully support this. The public has a right to know how its money is being spent.
There’s something deeply insulting about a media organization doing everything in its power to hide information. Shouldn’t they be the ones most supportive of access to information?
They know if the full truth about the CBC came to light, the party would be over.
Read the full story.
CBC lacks common sense
Like more and more Canadians, I am sick and tired of seeing my tax dollars used to promote political opinions that are against my personal beliefs.
Over the last three years, the federal government has cut more than 20,000 public servant jobs and made cuts of 10% or more to many departments and Crown corporations.
Years after the announcement of such cuts, guess who are the only ones still blubbering and refusing to make an effort to balance the books? Those who have a microphone in their hands paid by your taxes!
Let’s also not forget that CBC’s managers gave themselves over $18 million in bonuses over the last two years and CBC’s president, Hubert Lacroix, had to recently repay $30,000 in expense claims that violated the corporation’s own spending rules.
What CBC/Radio-Canada desperately lacks these days is not public money but common sense, decency, transparency and political neutrality.
Read the full story.
Over the last three years, the federal government has cut more than 20,000 public servant jobs and made cuts of 10% or more to many departments and Crown corporations.
Years after the announcement of such cuts, guess who are the only ones still blubbering and refusing to make an effort to balance the books? Those who have a microphone in their hands paid by your taxes!
Let’s also not forget that CBC’s managers gave themselves over $18 million in bonuses over the last two years and CBC’s president, Hubert Lacroix, had to recently repay $30,000 in expense claims that violated the corporation’s own spending rules.
What CBC/Radio-Canada desperately lacks these days is not public money but common sense, decency, transparency and political neutrality.
Read the full story.
Was Peter Mansbridge in conflict of interest?
The CBC's ombudsman finds no problem with Peter Mansbridge taking money to speak before an oil lobby group but says the public broadcaster should "think about the appearance of getting paid by interest groups who are likely to feature prominently in the news."
CBC's viewers weren't happy when illuminated of the marquee anchor getting paid potentially big bucks to talk for an hour to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. They wrote to its ombudsman expressing their concern that his address constituted a conflict of interest.
Read the full story.
CBC's viewers weren't happy when illuminated of the marquee anchor getting paid potentially big bucks to talk for an hour to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. They wrote to its ombudsman expressing their concern that his address constituted a conflict of interest.
Read the full story.
Senators unimpressed with CBC
Senators remain unimpressed with the CBC's latest attempt at transparency.
The CBC recently released financial data on its website revealing that four of its employees have salaries of at least $300,000.
Senators say they want more details.
Committee chairman, Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, told QMI Agency that, in particular, senators want more info on how CBC pays bonuses. He said employees can receive yearly bonuses of up to 40% of their salary.
Read the full story.
The CBC recently released financial data on its website revealing that four of its employees have salaries of at least $300,000.
Senators say they want more details.
Committee chairman, Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos, told QMI Agency that, in particular, senators want more info on how CBC pays bonuses. He said employees can receive yearly bonuses of up to 40% of their salary.
Read the full story.
CBC and the new reality
But the CBC has always played by different rules. They're insulated from many of the realities of the industry. So we don't buy the complaints that followed the announcements.
Some people would like to entirely blame these woes on their reduced government funding determined in 2012 -- from $1.03 billion to $913 million 2014-2015.
But this ignores the fact that ratings were lower and the entire industry is struggling with the TV ad market.
That near billion-dollar budget doesn't come out of thin air. Taxpayers just faced some tough economic times; Canadians are right to question such budgets.
Perhaps if the CBC privatizes or reinvents itself to be like TVO or PBS they could work with a smaller budget.
But the bottom line is they need to come to grips with reality.
Read the full story.
Some people would like to entirely blame these woes on their reduced government funding determined in 2012 -- from $1.03 billion to $913 million 2014-2015.
But this ignores the fact that ratings were lower and the entire industry is struggling with the TV ad market.
That near billion-dollar budget doesn't come out of thin air. Taxpayers just faced some tough economic times; Canadians are right to question such budgets.
Perhaps if the CBC privatizes or reinvents itself to be like TVO or PBS they could work with a smaller budget.
But the bottom line is they need to come to grips with reality.
Read the full story.
The CBC unfairly competes ...
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation STILL receives more than $1billion dollars of government funding each and every year.
That's right - more than $1 billion public dollars a year goes to supporting a broadcasting corporation whose market share continues to decline. This is not value for taxpayers, and we want to put an end to it.
There is simply no reason for our government to be in the television broadcast business any longer. The CBC unfairly competes with private sector broadcasters for advertising revenue and programming content - and these private broadcasters are already subject to effective Canadian content regulations.
Read more and sign the petition here.
CBC hockey department exists in name only
As part of Rogers’ new $5.2 billion, 12-year deal with the NHL, CBC’s hockey department exists in little more than name only. While the CBC retains Saturday night hockey for the next four years, all editorial and personnel decisions are now the domain of Rogers, as well as responsibility for production. Rogers will even get the money from the ads that run during HNIC on CBC.
For years, HNIC has been a cash cow that helped float many of CBC’s other news and original programming endeavours, with some estimating it was worth $200 million, and up to half of the TV network’s advertising revenue. With ratings that hovered around the 1.7 million mark, it was a juggernaut, regularly the most viewed sporting event of the week.
The domino effects of this are unknown, but the potential loss of $200 million is sure to have an effect on the properties hockey helped paid for.
CBC has already said that job losses from its hockey department will be part of the fallout of the deal. The bigger question is the effect it will have on the rest of the network.
Read the full story.
For years, HNIC has been a cash cow that helped float many of CBC’s other news and original programming endeavours, with some estimating it was worth $200 million, and up to half of the TV network’s advertising revenue. With ratings that hovered around the 1.7 million mark, it was a juggernaut, regularly the most viewed sporting event of the week.
The domino effects of this are unknown, but the potential loss of $200 million is sure to have an effect on the properties hockey helped paid for.
CBC has already said that job losses from its hockey department will be part of the fallout of the deal. The bigger question is the effect it will have on the rest of the network.
Read the full story.
CBC: Failure Night In Canada
You thought Barack Obama and his regime’s Obamacare roll-out was his scandal-ridden government’s disaster du jour? Well perhaps. But it only cost around $500 million of taxpayer cash borrowed from the Chinese for that predictably failed rollout. The Canadian state-owned CBC sucks up $1.2 BILLION every year. And after decades, it is apparently continuing to do so mostly for the purpose of failing.
The only show that the state-owned, socialism-reliant CBC has in the top-20 is a hockey game, the broadcast rights for which were bought by the state-owned behemoth, using taxpayer funds, in competition against private citizen-owned broadcasters (taxpayers). That’s right, through the state-owned, taxpayer-funded CBC, the government competes against its own citizens.
Read the full story.
The only show that the state-owned, socialism-reliant CBC has in the top-20 is a hockey game, the broadcast rights for which were bought by the state-owned behemoth, using taxpayer funds, in competition against private citizen-owned broadcasters (taxpayers). That’s right, through the state-owned, taxpayer-funded CBC, the government competes against its own citizens.
Read the full story.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix wants to quadruple dip into your pocket
Be warned -- CBC wants to dip into your wallet to make you pay more.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix, the guy who double-dipped on his expenses to the tune of near $30,000 (which he later repaid), now wants to double, triple or even quadruple dip into your pocket.
The local CBC stations that you already pay for with the $1 billion-plus subsidy CBC gets each year should now cost you more on your cable bill.
CBC audiences are shrinking, the state broadcaster is less relevant to Canadians every day. Their answer to that is to take more of your money. If Lacroix can't run a broadcaster that gets a $1 billion handout each year, then maybe he's is in the wrong line of work.
Read the full story.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix, the guy who double-dipped on his expenses to the tune of near $30,000 (which he later repaid), now wants to double, triple or even quadruple dip into your pocket.
The local CBC stations that you already pay for with the $1 billion-plus subsidy CBC gets each year should now cost you more on your cable bill.
CBC audiences are shrinking, the state broadcaster is less relevant to Canadians every day. Their answer to that is to take more of your money. If Lacroix can't run a broadcaster that gets a $1 billion handout each year, then maybe he's is in the wrong line of work.
Read the full story.
CBC TV in a fragile position
Today, CBC TV is the service in a fragile position. It’s just one among hundreds of channels, almost indistinguishable from private competitors.
According to CBC, its share of total viewing time is now about 5 per cent. The average Canadian spends just 35 hours a year watching, if you exclude National Hockey League games and foreign programs.
For decades, CBC TV has strived for a mass audience to attract advertising. But its revenue-driven strategy never delivered the mass audience, and ad revenues are less than they were 15 years ago. CBC’s English TV ad revenues for 2012-13 will be less than $225-million.
In 2014-15, without the NHL, ad revenue will fall to barely $100-million. By comparison, CTV gets more than $750-million a year. Global TV gets more than $400-million.
Read the full story.
According to CBC, its share of total viewing time is now about 5 per cent. The average Canadian spends just 35 hours a year watching, if you exclude National Hockey League games and foreign programs.
For decades, CBC TV has strived for a mass audience to attract advertising. But its revenue-driven strategy never delivered the mass audience, and ad revenues are less than they were 15 years ago. CBC’s English TV ad revenues for 2012-13 will be less than $225-million.
In 2014-15, without the NHL, ad revenue will fall to barely $100-million. By comparison, CTV gets more than $750-million a year. Global TV gets more than $400-million.
Read the full story.
CBC TV has an audience crisis
CBC’s Audience Crisis: CBC TV Audience is Down 40%, Lowest in History
CBC TV has an audience crisis, according to the most recent data released by CBC. CBC is required by the government to report on its financial and audience performance on a quarterly basis.
The prime time share of CBC TV is reported as 5.3% at the mid-point of the TV season. This is a loss of over 40% compared to the 9.3% share in 2010-11. CBC Television’s share performance fell from the prior year’s results and is trending below target.”
If the share of CBC TV was just over 5% in prime time, it is below 5% on a 24 hour basis; CBC daytime schedules have traditionally performed poorly compared to CBC’s prime time. Making matters worse is that the audience to about half the U.S. TV stations available in Canada are no longer being measured by the ratings company and neither are services such as Netflix or Apple TV, meaning that CBC’s share of all TV viewing is actually lower than the numbers suggest.
There has been some public debate about whether or not CBC is in crisis. The CBC’s latest report confirms that many programs on the main TV service, despite efforts to be more “popular,” have fallen to audience levels not much greater than many specialty channels. Those who deny the crisis fail to realize that Canadians prefer Duck Dynasty to most CBC shows, including the national news. The most important and costly CBC service has an audience crisis and CBC needs to respond to it. Is it time to rethink the role of CBC TV?
Read the full report.
CBC TV has an audience crisis, according to the most recent data released by CBC. CBC is required by the government to report on its financial and audience performance on a quarterly basis.
The prime time share of CBC TV is reported as 5.3% at the mid-point of the TV season. This is a loss of over 40% compared to the 9.3% share in 2010-11. CBC Television’s share performance fell from the prior year’s results and is trending below target.”
If the share of CBC TV was just over 5% in prime time, it is below 5% on a 24 hour basis; CBC daytime schedules have traditionally performed poorly compared to CBC’s prime time. Making matters worse is that the audience to about half the U.S. TV stations available in Canada are no longer being measured by the ratings company and neither are services such as Netflix or Apple TV, meaning that CBC’s share of all TV viewing is actually lower than the numbers suggest.
There has been some public debate about whether or not CBC is in crisis. The CBC’s latest report confirms that many programs on the main TV service, despite efforts to be more “popular,” have fallen to audience levels not much greater than many specialty channels. Those who deny the crisis fail to realize that Canadians prefer Duck Dynasty to most CBC shows, including the national news. The most important and costly CBC service has an audience crisis and CBC needs to respond to it. Is it time to rethink the role of CBC TV?
Read the full report.
CBC gives away music while cutting jobs
Despite a parliamentary mandate to provide radio and television services to Canadians in exchange for an annual $1.1 billion subsidy, CBC says it will shift more of its resources to web and mobile productions while cutting core services.
By 2020, the CBC could also shed as many as 1,500 jobs through retirement and attrition. The plan also calls for selling off as much as two million square feet of real estate.
While CBC is cutting jobs there is no sign they are cutting other expenses outside of their mandate.
In 2012, CBC launched a free online music-streaming service that competes not only with private radio, but other commercial services offering similar products for a fee.
While the service is free to listeners that doesn't mean it is free to taxpayers. CBC pays royalties for each song it plays.
Read the full story here.
By 2020, the CBC could also shed as many as 1,500 jobs through retirement and attrition. The plan also calls for selling off as much as two million square feet of real estate.
While CBC is cutting jobs there is no sign they are cutting other expenses outside of their mandate.
In 2012, CBC launched a free online music-streaming service that competes not only with private radio, but other commercial services offering similar products for a fee.
While the service is free to listeners that doesn't mean it is free to taxpayers. CBC pays royalties for each song it plays.
Read the full story here.
CBC wants to end free tv
CBC seeks end to over-the-air television
Canada’s public broadcaster said it needs to stop transmitting over the air and be sold to cable and satellite providers like a specialty channel to survive a market being rocked by Internet-delivered TV like Netflix Inc.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., which began broadcasting on TV in 1952, said that if it shut down its transmitters, copyright law would allow it to charge a fee to carriers to use its channels instead of relying only on advertising, CBC’s president, Hubert Lacroix, said.
CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais asked the CBC how it thought Canadians would respond to the prospect of paying a subscriber fee for content many of them see as “almost a constitutional right.”
Read the full story.
Canada’s public broadcaster said it needs to stop transmitting over the air and be sold to cable and satellite providers like a specialty channel to survive a market being rocked by Internet-delivered TV like Netflix Inc.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp., which began broadcasting on TV in 1952, said that if it shut down its transmitters, copyright law would allow it to charge a fee to carriers to use its channels instead of relying only on advertising, CBC’s president, Hubert Lacroix, said.
CRTC chairman Jean-Pierre Blais asked the CBC how it thought Canadians would respond to the prospect of paying a subscriber fee for content many of them see as “almost a constitutional right.”
Read the full story.
Are YOU ready to pay MORE for CBC?
The heads of CBC/Radio-Canada have told the country’s broadcast regulator that Canadians are ready to pay to get the broadcaster’s content even if many consider it an acquired right.
They told hearings of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today they are in favour of revamping the business model of traditional television.
They say the current system has become less profitable because of the multiplication of platforms and new players in the market.
Read the full story.
Note ... Canadians already pay more than $1 billion dollars a year to the CBC via their taxes
They told hearings of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission today they are in favour of revamping the business model of traditional television.
They say the current system has become less profitable because of the multiplication of platforms and new players in the market.
Read the full story.
Note ... Canadians already pay more than $1 billion dollars a year to the CBC via their taxes
CRTC points finger at CBC
CRTC points finger at CBC’s funding model for broadcaster’s woes
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is asking the national regulator for changes that could enrich it by hundreds of millions of dollars a year, saying they are necessary to protect local television.
CBC representatives appeared before a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearing examining the future of television Friday. They brought a long wish list, asking that all cable companies direct an additional 1% of their broadcast revenues to a fund supporting local television created by all networks and arguing that local stations should be allowed to charge cable companies a fee for carrying them.
Read the full story.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is asking the national regulator for changes that could enrich it by hundreds of millions of dollars a year, saying they are necessary to protect local television.
CBC representatives appeared before a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission hearing examining the future of television Friday. They brought a long wish list, asking that all cable companies direct an additional 1% of their broadcast revenues to a fund supporting local television created by all networks and arguing that local stations should be allowed to charge cable companies a fee for carrying them.
Read the full story.
CBC wants you to pay
Canada’s public broadcaster says it can no longer afford to offer its television programming for free over the air as its advertising revenue deteriorates, and it wants cable and satellite companies to start paying for its signals.
The notion that CBC’s channels could be restricted only to those with a cable, satellite or Internet subscription raises fundamental questions about a publicly funded broadcaster’s role and the rights of over-the-air viewers, many of whom live in remote areas and have low or fixed incomes.
The CBC earned about $331-million in advertising revenue in 2013, down more than 11 per cent from 2012, and a large part of that revenue will vanish this year after it lost NHL hockey broadcast rights to Rogers Communications Inc.
Read the full story.
The notion that CBC’s channels could be restricted only to those with a cable, satellite or Internet subscription raises fundamental questions about a publicly funded broadcaster’s role and the rights of over-the-air viewers, many of whom live in remote areas and have low or fixed incomes.
The CBC earned about $331-million in advertising revenue in 2013, down more than 11 per cent from 2012, and a large part of that revenue will vanish this year after it lost NHL hockey broadcast rights to Rogers Communications Inc.
Read the full story.
Another CBC Unsubstantiated Claim
The report’s headline claimed that a “Hamilton man’s home in Gaza remains destroyed after war with Israel,” while the report itself stated outright that “The Abu Dagga family’s home was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike last month, during the 50-day war that saw the most intense fighting between Gaza militants and Israel’s military.”
What were the circumstances of the attack? (Were terrorists/weapons housed there or nearby)? Who is to say that an errant Hamas rocket or laid explosives didn’t destroy the home? Or, did an Israeli strike on or nearby the home set off a secondary explosion due to weapons housed in the residence and/or the area?
As we told CBC, If we are to assume Israel did strike the house, Israel certainly didn’t do it arbitrarily and may have even warned the occupants to leave their homes as is their standard practice with emails, text messages, leaflets etc.
Due to CBC’s making unsubstantiated allegations and representing them as fact, and as a result of the lack of context and an Israeli perspective not featured in this report, we felt that this report violated CBC standards for its lack of balance and fairness.
Read the full story.
What were the circumstances of the attack? (Were terrorists/weapons housed there or nearby)? Who is to say that an errant Hamas rocket or laid explosives didn’t destroy the home? Or, did an Israeli strike on or nearby the home set off a secondary explosion due to weapons housed in the residence and/or the area?
As we told CBC, If we are to assume Israel did strike the house, Israel certainly didn’t do it arbitrarily and may have even warned the occupants to leave their homes as is their standard practice with emails, text messages, leaflets etc.
Due to CBC’s making unsubstantiated allegations and representing them as fact, and as a result of the lack of context and an Israeli perspective not featured in this report, we felt that this report violated CBC standards for its lack of balance and fairness.
Read the full story.
CBC targets local newspapers
CBC is no longer just a radio and TV broadcaster. They are turning themselves into a major media machine ready to take on one and all in the new digital age. And they are using your tax dollars to do it.
The newest target — your local newspaper.
CBC.ca is more than a website, it is a newspaper, magazine and wire service all in one and it is completely free.
Consumers may like getting their news for free, but if things don’t change, then CBC will be the only game in town after they shut down your local newspaper.
Read the full story.
The newest target — your local newspaper.
CBC.ca is more than a website, it is a newspaper, magazine and wire service all in one and it is completely free.
Consumers may like getting their news for free, but if things don’t change, then CBC will be the only game in town after they shut down your local newspaper.
Read the full story.
Harassment claims at CBC
CBC loves to ask questions but the state broadcaster’s president Hubert Lacroix has shown once again that he hates taking them.
Lacroix was asked about a release of documents — some 1,454 pages — related to harassment and inappropriate behaviour in just two CBC offices in Ottawa and Toronto.
“Are you sure that you want me to answer this question?” Lacroix sighed at our reporter.
Well, the answer of course is yes, that’s why he was asked. Lacroix then went on to try to explain away the story by answering a completely different question.
What is the nature of the complaints at CBC? Are we talking about inappropriate jokes or sexual harassment?
How much are taxpayers on the hook for when CBC reaches a settlement? That would tell us how serious these issues are.
From April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010, CBC paid out some 30 invoices to investigators and lawyers regarding harassment claims. Why? And what is being paid out now?
Read the full story.
Lacroix was asked about a release of documents — some 1,454 pages — related to harassment and inappropriate behaviour in just two CBC offices in Ottawa and Toronto.
“Are you sure that you want me to answer this question?” Lacroix sighed at our reporter.
Well, the answer of course is yes, that’s why he was asked. Lacroix then went on to try to explain away the story by answering a completely different question.
What is the nature of the complaints at CBC? Are we talking about inappropriate jokes or sexual harassment?
How much are taxpayers on the hook for when CBC reaches a settlement? That would tell us how serious these issues are.
From April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010, CBC paid out some 30 invoices to investigators and lawyers regarding harassment claims. Why? And what is being paid out now?
Read the full story.
CBC story 'takes sides'
We received this letter from a reader and got their permission to share:
___________
___________
I wish the ombudsman to investigate why the following story is a "sting operation" ;
Federal Conservatives are putting a new twist on an old tactic: spying on political opponents.They're no longer content to send observers to rival parties' public events, passively monitoring proceedings in hopes of spotting a gaffe that can be exploited.They're now employing agents provocateur who actively try to instigate a miscue, secretly record it and then leak it to the media.Liberals, who've been on the receiving end of the ploy twice in the past three months, call the tactic entrapment, unethical and "Nixonian."And they worry it could lead to the end of candour in federal politics, with wary politicians reduced to mouthing platitudes and reciting carefully scripted talking points.
but this story is not:
The words "entrapment", 'Nixonian" and "unethical" are not used for the Liberals secretly recording a Conservative and leaking to the CBC. Why, is the secret recording of a Conservative MP, leaked to the CBC by the Liberal Party, not described as "entrapment", 'Nixonian" and "unethical" ? The CBC printed 729 words on the topic of "sting operations" and quotes 2 Liberal Party MPs and one Conservative Party Spokesperson. Only 298 words are dedicated to Mr Leslie's hateful anti-Israeli comments.
Why is the CBC printing a story which 'takes sides'? Why is one secret recording of a Liberal attacked as a 'sting operation' , but another story regarding the secret recording of a Conservative, is not ? I wish the ombudsman to investigate and please reply.
many thanks,
Jon
Make CBC responsive and accountable
Brian Lilly quotes Guy Fournier, former chairman of the CBC’s board of directors: “The CBC never excuses itself and never apologizes.”
Think about that for a moment. The state broadcaster that exists on taxpayers’ money ostensibly to serve the Canadian public, is such an arrogant entity unto itself that it can ignore every vestige of decency and fairness, even when it is proven wrong.
Let the CBC fight for its constituency on the free market, raise its own money, either by donations from the public like PBS in the U.S. (even giving tax deductions for contributions, like any registered charity), or by selling ads.
Terminate the CBC’s free ride on taxpayers’ money and its immunity from criticism. Make it responsive and accountable.
Read the full story.
Think about that for a moment. The state broadcaster that exists on taxpayers’ money ostensibly to serve the Canadian public, is such an arrogant entity unto itself that it can ignore every vestige of decency and fairness, even when it is proven wrong.
Let the CBC fight for its constituency on the free market, raise its own money, either by donations from the public like PBS in the U.S. (even giving tax deductions for contributions, like any registered charity), or by selling ads.
Terminate the CBC’s free ride on taxpayers’ money and its immunity from criticism. Make it responsive and accountable.
Read the full story.
CBC flipped the middle finger
Does anyone actually believe that CBC news reader Peter Mansbridge makes between $63,797.54 and $80,485.22 a year?
Senators may be held in low esteem but they are still parliamentarians and as such vote on the annual $1.1 billion worth of taxpayers' money that CBC siphons off each year to pay Mansbridge much more than $80,485.22 a year.
I could really care less what Mansbridge makes; the principle is that Parliament demanded information on something that they fund and they should have gotten the information. Instead the petulant CBC flipped the middle finger.
CBC wants to demand openness from government while practising secrecy.
Read the full story.
Senators may be held in low esteem but they are still parliamentarians and as such vote on the annual $1.1 billion worth of taxpayers' money that CBC siphons off each year to pay Mansbridge much more than $80,485.22 a year.
I could really care less what Mansbridge makes; the principle is that Parliament demanded information on something that they fund and they should have gotten the information. Instead the petulant CBC flipped the middle finger.
CBC wants to demand openness from government while practising secrecy.
Read the full story.
Canadian Olympian slams CBC
Canadian snowboarder Spencer O’Brien is still sad.
But these cries have nothing to do with the tears she shed earlier at the Sochi Games.
Instead, the 26-year-old B.C. native is “sad” because she thinks the CBC isn’t up to snuff.
“It's sad to hear such unknowledgeable people announcing the Olympics,” she posted to Twitter on Tuesday.
Read the full story.
But these cries have nothing to do with the tears she shed earlier at the Sochi Games.
Instead, the 26-year-old B.C. native is “sad” because she thinks the CBC isn’t up to snuff.
“It's sad to hear such unknowledgeable people announcing the Olympics,” she posted to Twitter on Tuesday.
Read the full story.
CBC releases incorrect information to the media
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?
CBC claims to be open, transparent and accountable for the $1 billion dollars in taxpayers' money it receives.
CBC releases financial and other data to the media which often leads to inaccurate reports.
CBC has also released incorrect information to the media about the number of staff it has and the number cut in the past few years.
Read the full story.
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?
CBC claims to be open, transparent and accountable for the $1 billion dollars in taxpayers' money it receives.
CBC releases financial and other data to the media which often leads to inaccurate reports.
CBC has also released incorrect information to the media about the number of staff it has and the number cut in the past few years.
Read the full story.
Declining viewership causing CBC challenges
The head of the CBC is floating the idea of taking a percentage of every cable or satellite bill in Canada as a way to get the state broadcaster more money.
Heritage Minister Shelley Glover’s office threw cold water on the concept.
“The CBC already receives significant taxpayer funds. They can operate within their existing budget,” Marisa Monnin said. “According to the CBC, it is declining viewership that is causing their challenges. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch.”
Read the full story.
Heritage Minister Shelley Glover’s office threw cold water on the concept.
“The CBC already receives significant taxpayer funds. They can operate within their existing budget,” Marisa Monnin said. “According to the CBC, it is declining viewership that is causing their challenges. It is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch.”
Read the full story.
Former CBC Reporter Endorses Canadian Bestseller
As a former National Reporter for CBC Television News, I can confirm Brian Lilley’s book is right on the mark.
We used to call the executive building on Jarvis St. ‘the Kremlin’ for a good reason; the place was full of leftists.
Worst of all was the public affairs department which was completely out of control even 40 years ago.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the truth about this bloated, biased organization.
Franklin Hilliard
(Former National Reporter for CBC Television News)
We used to call the executive building on Jarvis St. ‘the Kremlin’ for a good reason; the place was full of leftists.
Worst of all was the public affairs department which was completely out of control even 40 years ago.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to know the truth about this bloated, biased organization.
Franklin Hilliard
(Former National Reporter for CBC Television News)
CBC Reporter Claims Israel Put “Children at Risk for Military Aims”
On August 25, CBC Mideast bureau chief Sasa Petricic issued the following tweet which claimed that in the recent Gaza conflict, Israel put “children at risk for military aims”.
In his tweet, Petricic linked to a New York Times article which has come under scrutiny for being nothing more than Hamas propaganda. The Times article details a Palestinian teenager’s allegations that he was mistreated during five days of detention by Israeli authorities.
As the Times article lacks credibility, on what grounds can CBC reporter Sasa Petricic assert that Israel “put children at risk for military aims”?
Read the full story.
In his tweet, Petricic linked to a New York Times article which has come under scrutiny for being nothing more than Hamas propaganda. The Times article details a Palestinian teenager’s allegations that he was mistreated during five days of detention by Israeli authorities.
As the Times article lacks credibility, on what grounds can CBC reporter Sasa Petricic assert that Israel “put children at risk for military aims”?
Read the full story.
CBC to cut 8 per cent of staff
CBC announced it will cut eight per cent of its staff over the next two years as it grapples with a budget shortfall of $130 million. It also said it will reduce its sport coverage, saying it can no longer compete against private broadcasters with specialty sports channels and multiple media platforms for professional sporting rights.
In English Services, 334 jobs will be cut—234 at the network level and another 100 regionally. News operations will account for 115 of the cuts in English Services and another 38 in sports.
Currently, CBC has 6,994 permanent employees, 859 contract employees and 329 temporary employees, so these cuts represent nearly eight per cent of all its staff. Of those 657 job cuts announced Thursday, 573 will be let go in 2014.
Read the full story.
In English Services, 334 jobs will be cut—234 at the network level and another 100 regionally. News operations will account for 115 of the cuts in English Services and another 38 in sports.
Currently, CBC has 6,994 permanent employees, 859 contract employees and 329 temporary employees, so these cuts represent nearly eight per cent of all its staff. Of those 657 job cuts announced Thursday, 573 will be let go in 2014.
Read the full story.
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