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”?
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cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
CBC 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.
CBC lacks common sense, decency, transparency
If the employees of CBC/Radio-Canada are so concerned about the loss of jobs, why don’t they propose a 3% cut to their own income, which could save all the 657 jobs at risk?
Why didn’t the union initiate the reopening of the collective agreement since their members are the best-paid of the industry?
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.
Why didn’t the union initiate the reopening of the collective agreement since their members are the best-paid of the industry?
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.
What role should CBC play
The Internet is remaking the media landscape. Google and Facebook have gobbled up the revenue streams that used to go to newspapers and broadcasters ...
But the CBC has problems that go beyond declining ad revenues. In 2012 the Tories cut $115 million from its annual subsidy, reducing it to $1 billion. In November the CBC lost Hockey Night in Canada, which had provided a foamy stream of beer-ad revenue that will never come back.
CBC, in survival mode, must seek revenue where it can, but it’s past time for the government to re-evaluate its mandate and funding level, and figure out what role the CBC should play in the Internet era.
Read the full story.
But the CBC has problems that go beyond declining ad revenues. In 2012 the Tories cut $115 million from its annual subsidy, reducing it to $1 billion. In November the CBC lost Hockey Night in Canada, which had provided a foamy stream of beer-ad revenue that will never come back.
CBC, in survival mode, must seek revenue where it can, but it’s past time for the government to re-evaluate its mandate and funding level, and figure out what role the CBC should play in the Internet era.
Read the full story.
Canadian Bestseller lays bare the truth about CBC
This book takes on the holy grail of the Canadian media landscape and lays bare the truth about CBC.
Reckless reporting at the state broadcaster has ruined lives and cost taxpayers millions upon millions in settlement costs yet no one has ever been held to account.
This book does what the consensus media cowards are afraid to do, tell the truth about CBC.
From reporting driven by vendettas to outright biases against conservatives, gun owners, Israel and any other group that doesn't fit their vision of Canada, CBC Exposed is a call to action to rein in this broadcasting giant.
Once you read this book you too will be convinced that the only way to tame the beast is to sell it.
CBC has power to do “fearless journalism"
CBC personalities including Peter Mansbridge, David Suzuki and Linden MacIntyre are speaking out against a CBC proposal to shut down in-house production of documentaries at the public broadcaster.
Some 75% of CBC documentaries are already produced by independent filmmakers. According to the petition, overall production of documentaries has already fallen dramatically in recent years.
MacIntyre, a veteran host of The Fifth Estate, said independent producers cannot take as many risks because of legal liability and financial pressures. An institution like the CBC has more power to do “fearless journalism,” he said.
Read the full story.
Some 75% of CBC documentaries are already produced by independent filmmakers. According to the petition, overall production of documentaries has already fallen dramatically in recent years.
MacIntyre, a veteran host of The Fifth Estate, said independent producers cannot take as many risks because of legal liability and financial pressures. An institution like the CBC has more power to do “fearless journalism,” he said.
Read the full story.
CBC must change to survive life after hockey
When Rogers Media in November scooped up all NHL broadcast rights for a dozen years, blowing up the pillars of the CBC’s television schedule in the process, it fell to Hubert Lacroix, the president of the public broadcaster, to survey the smoking crater and pronounce the new view to be not so bad.
We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating given recent events: Why not use the loss of NHL hockey as the spark to admit that the CBC model, which requires it to fulfill a public-service mandate while still pursuing commercial advertising dollars, no longer works?
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We’ve said this before, but it bears repeating given recent events: Why not use the loss of NHL hockey as the spark to admit that the CBC model, which requires it to fulfill a public-service mandate while still pursuing commercial advertising dollars, no longer works?
Read the full story.
CBC struggles with flagging ad revenue
The public broadcaster announced its five-year strategic plan Thursday as it grapples with a $130-million budget shortfall due to federal cuts, flagging advertising revenues and the loss of hockey rights to Rogers Media.
By 2020, the broadcaster plans to slash 1,000 to 1,500 jobs, although it says that goal will in part be fulfilled by retirements and attrition. These staff reductions are in addition to the 657 job cuts it announced in April.
Read the full story.
By 2020, the broadcaster plans to slash 1,000 to 1,500 jobs, although it says that goal will in part be fulfilled by retirements and attrition. These staff reductions are in addition to the 657 job cuts it announced in April.
Read the full story.
Popular Conspiracy Theory at CBC
Heather Conway is fairly certain nobody wants to stab her in the back just yet.
Give it some time. It has been less than seven months since Conway became the executive vice-president of CBC’s English services, giving her responsibility for CBC-TV, CBC News Network, the documentary channel, Radio One and 2, cbc.ca, other digital operations, and more than $750-million in annual spending. Even at the best of times, the position is one of the most scrutinized in the Canadian cultural industrial complex.
And in case you haven’t been paying attention, these are not the best of times for CBC.
Potential critics have been warming up in the wings. Within days of her appointment last fall, some began grousing that Conway – a former marketing executive with no direct programming experience – was a dismaying choice for one of the most powerful broadcasting jobs.
Then last month, while staff were still trying to digest a cut of 657 jobs announced in April, they responded icily as Conway helped unveil an overhaul of the public broadcaster that will axe about another 20 per cent of their colleagues, or 1,500 positions across English and French services, over the next five years. During a tense town hall where the strategy was launched, she was accused of being gleeful about the cuts.
One staffer, echoing a popular conspiracy theory, noted darkly that Conway and her boss, CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix, had each previously been associated with the Conservative Party of Canada, the CBC’s perceived Enemy No.1.
Read the full story.
Give it some time. It has been less than seven months since Conway became the executive vice-president of CBC’s English services, giving her responsibility for CBC-TV, CBC News Network, the documentary channel, Radio One and 2, cbc.ca, other digital operations, and more than $750-million in annual spending. Even at the best of times, the position is one of the most scrutinized in the Canadian cultural industrial complex.
And in case you haven’t been paying attention, these are not the best of times for CBC.
Potential critics have been warming up in the wings. Within days of her appointment last fall, some began grousing that Conway – a former marketing executive with no direct programming experience – was a dismaying choice for one of the most powerful broadcasting jobs.
Then last month, while staff were still trying to digest a cut of 657 jobs announced in April, they responded icily as Conway helped unveil an overhaul of the public broadcaster that will axe about another 20 per cent of their colleagues, or 1,500 positions across English and French services, over the next five years. During a tense town hall where the strategy was launched, she was accused of being gleeful about the cuts.
One staffer, echoing a popular conspiracy theory, noted darkly that Conway and her boss, CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix, had each previously been associated with the Conservative Party of Canada, the CBC’s perceived Enemy No.1.
Read the full story.
CBC lack of details very stressful
The CBC announced it has decided to eliminate four job classifications in sales: two CMG (Account Manager and National Account Manager) and two APS (Network Account Manager and Inside Sales Representative). Two new classifications have been created instead, and we’ve been informed that the new jobs are expected to be posted in early September. Also yesterday, we learned that CBC will be cutting 30 jobs in shared services (all affiliations) by April 1, 2015.
We understand that these announcements in Sales and Shared Services impact many members across the country and that the lack of details is very stressful. We are working to get more information to you as it becomes available and provide all the guidance we can.
Read the full story.
We understand that these announcements in Sales and Shared Services impact many members across the country and that the lack of details is very stressful. We are working to get more information to you as it becomes available and provide all the guidance we can.
Read the full story.
Should CBC compete with newspapers
Would Netflix want to get into the newspaper business? I doubt it. Then, why is CBC so keen on competing with the print media with its online offerings? Is it breaking the law in doing so?
For more than 20 years CBC has offered an Internet website, cbc.ca, but in the past few years this effort has been accelerated. In its recently released strategic plan, called “A Space for Us All,” CBC was coy about its plans to compete with print media. When it was pointed out on Twitter that the strategy said the CBC wanted to turn into a “public media company,” the CBC first denied that this phrase was in the document and then tried to rationalize it.
Read the full story.
For more than 20 years CBC has offered an Internet website, cbc.ca, but in the past few years this effort has been accelerated. In its recently released strategic plan, called “A Space for Us All,” CBC was coy about its plans to compete with print media. When it was pointed out on Twitter that the strategy said the CBC wanted to turn into a “public media company,” the CBC first denied that this phrase was in the document and then tried to rationalize it.
Read the full story.
High Profile CBC Layoffs
Veteran sportscasters Steve Armitage and Mark Lee are the latest high-profile casualties of budget cuts at the CBC.
The majority of CBC sportscasters are hired on contract. Of four prominent sportscasters the network had on staff, Scott Russell is keeping his job. Armitage and Lee were let go, while Brenda Irving is moving to another department.
Armitage and Lee learned they were being laid off in early May and recently wrapped up their final days at CBC.
Armitage joined CBC in 1965 as a late-night sports reporter in Halifax ...
He said he doesn't have "sour grapes" about being forced into retirement but made clear he disagrees with the direction CBC is taking on sports.
Read the full story.
The majority of CBC sportscasters are hired on contract. Of four prominent sportscasters the network had on staff, Scott Russell is keeping his job. Armitage and Lee were let go, while Brenda Irving is moving to another department.
Armitage and Lee learned they were being laid off in early May and recently wrapped up their final days at CBC.
Armitage joined CBC in 1965 as a late-night sports reporter in Halifax ...
He said he doesn't have "sour grapes" about being forced into retirement but made clear he disagrees with the direction CBC is taking on sports.
Read the full story.
Is CBC Ripping Off Music Publishers
Did you know that CBC is web-streaming its music archives for free?
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Canadians spend $500 million a year on music, with 34% of the music purchases taking place online, and with digital sales experiencing annual growth of 15%.
Right now, a number of media companies including Quebecor, Stingray Digital, Cogeco Cable, the Jim Pattison Group, and potentially more big hitters such as Rogers and Corus, are readying to lay formal complaints with the CRTC to stop the CBC's infringement.
And then there is the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada who expressed worry last month that the CBC may be ripping them off when it comes to royalty fees, since rights to their music were partially negotiated before the explosion of on-demand, web-based music turned the recording biz upside down.
Read the full story.
_________
Canadians spend $500 million a year on music, with 34% of the music purchases taking place online, and with digital sales experiencing annual growth of 15%.
Right now, a number of media companies including Quebecor, Stingray Digital, Cogeco Cable, the Jim Pattison Group, and potentially more big hitters such as Rogers and Corus, are readying to lay formal complaints with the CRTC to stop the CBC's infringement.
And then there is the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada who expressed worry last month that the CBC may be ripping them off when it comes to royalty fees, since rights to their music were partially negotiated before the explosion of on-demand, web-based music turned the recording biz upside down.
Read the full story.
CBC double standard
He (Hubert Lacroix) was found to have claimed almost $30,000 in improper expenses. They were for living expenses, but CBC rules stated he wasn't eligible for them.
On top of that, he still made the claims even though he'd negotiated a $1,500 monthly living allowance to pay for hotels in Ottawa when he commutes to CBC headquarters from his Montreal home.
Here's what he had to say about this on a CBC program: "Is it embarrassing to me? Am I upset, am I angry? I mean, I've been preaching transparency since day one."
Wait a second? Claims improper expense rules, then repays, then says sorry ... Sound familiar?
Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin repaid their improper claims. But then they were still suspended!
So where's the outrage over Lacroix? Talk about a double standard.
Read the full story.
On top of that, he still made the claims even though he'd negotiated a $1,500 monthly living allowance to pay for hotels in Ottawa when he commutes to CBC headquarters from his Montreal home.
Here's what he had to say about this on a CBC program: "Is it embarrassing to me? Am I upset, am I angry? I mean, I've been preaching transparency since day one."
Wait a second? Claims improper expense rules, then repays, then says sorry ... Sound familiar?
Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin repaid their improper claims. But then they were still suspended!
So where's the outrage over Lacroix? Talk about a double standard.
Read the full story.
CBC should face up to reality
Sometimes only a friend can tell another friend the things they need to hear — this is just such a time for the CBC. It’s time for the public broadcaster to re-evaluate its priorities and face up to reality. I am a friend of Canadian broadcasting and believe it’s high time for friends of the CBC to have an honest chat.
According to the Television Bureau of Canada, the CBC’s share of the 601 million TV hours watched by Canadians in 2013 was only 4.9%. This is a shockingly low number when you consider we spend $1.15 billion in government funding each year — representing 64.1% of the CBC’s overall budget.
The only CBC programming that draws significant viewers is HNIC — fifth in the top-10 regularly scheduled network programs in Canada. Now that HNIC is gone, the CBC’s share of hours tuned in will only fall.
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According to the Television Bureau of Canada, the CBC’s share of the 601 million TV hours watched by Canadians in 2013 was only 4.9%. This is a shockingly low number when you consider we spend $1.15 billion in government funding each year — representing 64.1% of the CBC’s overall budget.
The only CBC programming that draws significant viewers is HNIC — fifth in the top-10 regularly scheduled network programs in Canada. Now that HNIC is gone, the CBC’s share of hours tuned in will only fall.
Read the full story.
CBC’s new strategic plan is Bad Bad Bad
The future had never looked bleaker for the CBC than it did last month, after CEO Hubert Lacroix announced that he would be cutting as many 1,500 jobs over the next six years as part of a strategic effort to absorb the broadcaster’s many budget cuts. Lacroix tried to put the best possible face on the move, couching it in terms of an inevitable shift to cheaper, web-based production. “We’re going to lead now with mobility,” he said. “We’re going to lead with whatever widget you use.” But in the weeks since the news broke, the plan has been eviscerated from all sides. Here, three ways to complain about the decline of the Ceeb.
1. “It’s bad for newspapers.”
2. “It’s bad for employees.”
3. “It’s bad for Canada.”
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1. “It’s bad for newspapers.”
2. “It’s bad for employees.”
3. “It’s bad for Canada.”
Read the full story.
CBC's Hubert Lacroix says there is no business incentive to change
Despite losing millions in government funding, not to mention its marquee property NHL hockey, CBC head Hubert Lacroix says there is no future for the public broadcaster in becoming a “niche broadcaster,” restricting itself to doing only what Canada’s private broadcasters can’t – or won’t –do because there is no business incentive.
Lacroix told the committee that he has warned staff the CBC will face some “tough decisions” this year and in its next five-year strategic plan. These decisions won’t just encompass balancing the budget, he said, but will address more fundamental decisions about what the CBC is and what it does.
Read the full story.
Lacroix told the committee that he has warned staff the CBC will face some “tough decisions” this year and in its next five-year strategic plan. These decisions won’t just encompass balancing the budget, he said, but will address more fundamental decisions about what the CBC is and what it does.
Read the full story.
CBC's days may be numbered
I don't imagine that when Maslow composed his Hierarchy of Needs, he gave much thought to putting "public broadcaster" on there.
But, here we are in 2014, and the CBC is not just insisting that it still maintains a purpose in the modern media landscape, but a vital one.
Not only does the five-year strategy outlined on Thursday aim to make CBC "the public space at the heart of our conversations and experiences as Canadians" - no small feat, that - but it also vows that, in 2020, "three out of four Canadians will answer that CBC or Radio-Canada is very important to them personally."
Not unless the Canada of five years from now is one in which its citizens are prone to excessive hyperbole.
Read the full story.
But, here we are in 2014, and the CBC is not just insisting that it still maintains a purpose in the modern media landscape, but a vital one.
Not only does the five-year strategy outlined on Thursday aim to make CBC "the public space at the heart of our conversations and experiences as Canadians" - no small feat, that - but it also vows that, in 2020, "three out of four Canadians will answer that CBC or Radio-Canada is very important to them personally."
Not unless the Canada of five years from now is one in which its citizens are prone to excessive hyperbole.
Read the full story.
CBC’s biggest name cancelled
When Rogers Media in November scooped up all NHL broadcast rights for a dozen years, blowing up the pillars of the CBC’s television schedule in the process, it fell to Hubert Lacroix, the president of the public broadcaster, to survey the smoking crater and pronounce the new view to be not so bad.
Now, the other shoes are dropping all over the place. George Stroumboulopoulos, one of the CBC’s biggest names, had his 10-season talk show cancelled last week, though he found a hell of a life raft as the new host of Rogers’ Hockey Night on CBC, or whatever it will be called. In recent days, The Ron James Show, a long-running sketch comedy program, was cancelled, and two of CBC’s prime-time dramas, Cracked and Arctic Air, were dropped after two and three seasons, respectively.
Read the full story.
Now, the other shoes are dropping all over the place. George Stroumboulopoulos, one of the CBC’s biggest names, had his 10-season talk show cancelled last week, though he found a hell of a life raft as the new host of Rogers’ Hockey Night on CBC, or whatever it will be called. In recent days, The Ron James Show, a long-running sketch comedy program, was cancelled, and two of CBC’s prime-time dramas, Cracked and Arctic Air, were dropped after two and three seasons, respectively.
Read the full story.
What makes the CBC so special
What makes the CBC so special that it alone gets major gobs of public cash to run its news service?
I don’t mind that there are those viewers who prefer the CBC over the other news choices.
I just resent the rest of us having to pay for their preferences when the preferences of the rest of us are pay-as-you-go.
Want your news and analysis from a left-of-centre perspective? Great, turn the CBC into a cable service and pay for it yourself rather than taxing everyone to underwrite your smug tastes and worldviews – the way American lib-lefties largely fund PBS, NPR and MSNBC on their own.
The same goes for CBC Radio. With the transformation of AM radio into a largely “talk” landscape, the CBC is no longer needed for debate of public issues.
Read the full story.
I just resent the rest of us having to pay for their preferences when the preferences of the rest of us are pay-as-you-go.
Want your news and analysis from a left-of-centre perspective? Great, turn the CBC into a cable service and pay for it yourself rather than taxing everyone to underwrite your smug tastes and worldviews – the way American lib-lefties largely fund PBS, NPR and MSNBC on their own.
The same goes for CBC Radio. With the transformation of AM radio into a largely “talk” landscape, the CBC is no longer needed for debate of public issues.
Read the full story.
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