Fact: every senior federal arts position in Canada is held by a francophone.
Telefilm Canada: Carolle Brabant, executive director; Michel Roy, chairman of the board
CBC/Radio-Canada: Hubert Lacroix
CRTC: Jean-Pierre Blais
Canada Council for the Arts: Simon Brault, director and CEO; Pierre Lassonde, chairman of the board
National Film Board of Canada: Claude Joli-Coeur
That’s a flush.
Add the federal heritage minister, Mélanie Joly, and the game starts to look rigged.
Read the full story here.
cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
New CBC Tax Dollars Screws Private Media
New federal funding isn’t paying for journalists in the hinterlands. It’s further solidifying the Corp.’s dominance of the mobile news pie, to the loss of everyone.
Back in June 2014, when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation lost the rights for Hockey Night in Canada, Canada’s private news media’s future was set, more or less, to “Screwed.”
The Ceeb was losing its fattest revenue vein and entering survival mode just as news reportage was migrating to smartphones from newspapers, televisions, radios and desktop computers. It was then, as the broadcaster looked to reinvent itself, that all of us should have demanded its mandate be revisited — for every other news organization’s sake.
Two years later, without that re-examination, the CBC’s future is healthy while its competitors in privately owned print news cling to life. The reason: the CBC’s wholesale migration to the mobile web, by way of which our tax dollars are underwriting print news (and now even newspaper-like opinion) for the price — zero — that most Canadians are willing to pay to read such stuff on their iPhones.
The new federal money isn’t saving the mythical, journalists-in-the-hinterlands CBC. It’s further solidifying the Corp.’s dominance of the Canadian mobile news pie, to the loss of everyone, including the non-broadcast newspapers and news websites, which are so vital to Canadian democracy. And, yes, that means Metro, too.
The CBC’s mandate was last revised in 1991. Unsurprisingly, the words “digital” and “online” don’t appear. Instead, the mandate notes the CBC “should provide radio and television services” (in other words, the “broadcast” part of CBC) and should deliver these services “by the most appropriate and efficient means.”
So when the CBC moves to increasingly monopolize the national, print-based smartphone audience, devaluing what the public thinks such news costs to produce, while simultaneously slashing regional newsrooms (in Edmonton and myriad other smaller markets, it’s a running joke that few hold the high-pay title of “reporter” any longer), I have to cry foul.
While other media struggle to find new ways to pay journalists, the CBC simply continues to lure talent with a publicly funded alternative.
Read the full story here.
Back in June 2014, when the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation lost the rights for Hockey Night in Canada, Canada’s private news media’s future was set, more or less, to “Screwed.”
The Ceeb was losing its fattest revenue vein and entering survival mode just as news reportage was migrating to smartphones from newspapers, televisions, radios and desktop computers. It was then, as the broadcaster looked to reinvent itself, that all of us should have demanded its mandate be revisited — for every other news organization’s sake.
Two years later, without that re-examination, the CBC’s future is healthy while its competitors in privately owned print news cling to life. The reason: the CBC’s wholesale migration to the mobile web, by way of which our tax dollars are underwriting print news (and now even newspaper-like opinion) for the price — zero — that most Canadians are willing to pay to read such stuff on their iPhones.
The new federal money isn’t saving the mythical, journalists-in-the-hinterlands CBC. It’s further solidifying the Corp.’s dominance of the Canadian mobile news pie, to the loss of everyone, including the non-broadcast newspapers and news websites, which are so vital to Canadian democracy. And, yes, that means Metro, too.
The CBC’s mandate was last revised in 1991. Unsurprisingly, the words “digital” and “online” don’t appear. Instead, the mandate notes the CBC “should provide radio and television services” (in other words, the “broadcast” part of CBC) and should deliver these services “by the most appropriate and efficient means.”
So when the CBC moves to increasingly monopolize the national, print-based smartphone audience, devaluing what the public thinks such news costs to produce, while simultaneously slashing regional newsrooms (in Edmonton and myriad other smaller markets, it’s a running joke that few hold the high-pay title of “reporter” any longer), I have to cry foul.
While other media struggle to find new ways to pay journalists, the CBC simply continues to lure talent with a publicly funded alternative.
Read the full story here.
CBC top executives asked to defend perceived competition
CBC’s top executives were asked to defend the public broadcaster’s perceived competition with private media during a hearing of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Tuesday.
Asked about future new investments, particularly in local communities, Lacroix and English and French services heads Heather Conway and Louis Lalande were vague.
Conservative MP Peter Van Loan questioned the broadcaster’s programming choices, saying “some critics” believe the CBC “fails to be and should be more of a genuine public broadcaster” by broadcasting more Canadian art and documentaries, and fewer sitcoms and other entertainment programming that tries to “emulate mainstream broadcasters.” He also said “news is not a comfortable fit” with its mandate.
Even Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan, a former CTV broadcaster, questioned the CBC’s investments, particularly its plan to start commissioning online opinion pieces.
Read the full story here.
Asked about future new investments, particularly in local communities, Lacroix and English and French services heads Heather Conway and Louis Lalande were vague.
Conservative MP Peter Van Loan questioned the broadcaster’s programming choices, saying “some critics” believe the CBC “fails to be and should be more of a genuine public broadcaster” by broadcasting more Canadian art and documentaries, and fewer sitcoms and other entertainment programming that tries to “emulate mainstream broadcasters.” He also said “news is not a comfortable fit” with its mandate.
Even Liberal MP Seamus O’Regan, a former CTV broadcaster, questioned the CBC’s investments, particularly its plan to start commissioning online opinion pieces.
Read the full story here.
Reclaiming the English Language from the CBC
The concept of language as a kind of lens or filter, or even straitjacket, cannot be over-stated. Wittgenstein said that the limits of language are the limits of one's world.
By that token, bilingual or multilingual people have broader vision. It is not what we look at — poverty, injustice, overpopulation, environmental degradation — that is paramount. Rather, it is the linguistic construction built in to filter that reality, to bring it into sharp focus, or make us blind to it.
The question becomes then, whose lens are we wearing? What filter are we looking through? How do we remove it?
When the CBC boasts that the country is diverse we must counter by saying that it is culturally fragmented and without a moral compass. When the CBC says that immigration is the solution we have to demand that they prove that there is a problem. When the CBC states that the population of Newfoundland has stagnated we must declare that it has stabilized. And when they concede that the stratospheric rise of Vancouver property values and the consequent lack of affordable housing is driven by "offshore" buyers, we must insist that they call a spade a spade. It's Chinese buyers, Mother Corp.
We must, in other words, reclaim the English language. Standard, plain English that is, the one with the clear lens. Not CBC-Speak.
Read the full story here.
By that token, bilingual or multilingual people have broader vision. It is not what we look at — poverty, injustice, overpopulation, environmental degradation — that is paramount. Rather, it is the linguistic construction built in to filter that reality, to bring it into sharp focus, or make us blind to it.
The question becomes then, whose lens are we wearing? What filter are we looking through? How do we remove it?
When the CBC boasts that the country is diverse we must counter by saying that it is culturally fragmented and without a moral compass. When the CBC says that immigration is the solution we have to demand that they prove that there is a problem. When the CBC states that the population of Newfoundland has stagnated we must declare that it has stabilized. And when they concede that the stratospheric rise of Vancouver property values and the consequent lack of affordable housing is driven by "offshore" buyers, we must insist that they call a spade a spade. It's Chinese buyers, Mother Corp.
We must, in other words, reclaim the English language. Standard, plain English that is, the one with the clear lens. Not CBC-Speak.
Read the full story here.
Tax payer funded CBC offers meaningless politically correct mushiness
Issues such as man’s impact on climate change, bloated public sector salaries, union power, immigration, public sector debt, crippling of our economy through dumb policy decisions or inaction and content in our education system is so poorly covered in Canada from both sides of the aisle, if at all.
Whereas in the US, and quoting from the article below ” on almost any day of the year, year in year out, Fox News draws more viewers than CNN.
We are seeing a flight to quality. Non-Fox news fares poorly because it’s mediocre — timid, politically biased and untrustworthy.
Where is the Canadian equivalent of Fox News ?
In my opinion, it is unfortunately missing in our sea of left meaningless politically correct mushiness like CTV or tax payer funded CBC for more balanced reporting on such topics as the last federal election but also:
Read the full story here.
Whereas in the US, and quoting from the article below ” on almost any day of the year, year in year out, Fox News draws more viewers than CNN.
We are seeing a flight to quality. Non-Fox news fares poorly because it’s mediocre — timid, politically biased and untrustworthy.
Where is the Canadian equivalent of Fox News ?
In my opinion, it is unfortunately missing in our sea of left meaningless politically correct mushiness like CTV or tax payer funded CBC for more balanced reporting on such topics as the last federal election but also:
Read the full story here.
CBC employees overpaid and have questionable performance
News media is undergoing a rapid and beautiful process of creative destruction: digitalization means vastly lower costs, fewer barriers to entry, and a wider variety of competing options for consumers to enjoy. Amid this innovation and weeding out stands the too-big-to-fail albatross, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Already costing taxpayers $1.04 billion in 2015 and facing rising competition, the CBC's fiscal burden is set to jump by $75 million in 2016 and $150 million in 2017. Regarding the higher price tag of the state broadcaster, Finance Minister Bill Morneau has deflected by saying that “believing in innovation is also believing in the talent and in the creativity of Canadians.” Apologists further contend this is necessary to save the CBC from "extinction."
That begs the question: if the CBC is growing obsolete and people favour other sources, ones that do not cost the taxpayer, how is that a bad thing?
The truth is that the CBC has become a gravy train for elites, with the backing of government unions. These elites have managed to persuade people that they are desperate and hard done by, while the average salary at the broadcaster is $100,528 per year. That is well into the top 10 per cent of all Canadian earners and 23 per cent more than the average earnings of a private-sector TV employee, even before the CBC's luxurious benefits.
Not only are CBC employees overpaid, their performance has been questionable.
While full privatization of the CBC would be ideal, legislators would do well to at least stop the bleeding. That would mean reining in the network to its limited mandate of radio and television, and not bowing to requests for more funding until that is realized.
Read the full story here.
Already costing taxpayers $1.04 billion in 2015 and facing rising competition, the CBC's fiscal burden is set to jump by $75 million in 2016 and $150 million in 2017. Regarding the higher price tag of the state broadcaster, Finance Minister Bill Morneau has deflected by saying that “believing in innovation is also believing in the talent and in the creativity of Canadians.” Apologists further contend this is necessary to save the CBC from "extinction."
That begs the question: if the CBC is growing obsolete and people favour other sources, ones that do not cost the taxpayer, how is that a bad thing?
The truth is that the CBC has become a gravy train for elites, with the backing of government unions. These elites have managed to persuade people that they are desperate and hard done by, while the average salary at the broadcaster is $100,528 per year. That is well into the top 10 per cent of all Canadian earners and 23 per cent more than the average earnings of a private-sector TV employee, even before the CBC's luxurious benefits.
Not only are CBC employees overpaid, their performance has been questionable.
While full privatization of the CBC would be ideal, legislators would do well to at least stop the bleeding. That would mean reining in the network to its limited mandate of radio and television, and not bowing to requests for more funding until that is realized.
Read the full story here.
CBC under attack - accused of being uber predator
The CBC came under attack Thursday by executives from legacy and new media, as a panel of MPs looking at how to address the crisis of dwindling revenues in the local news business held its latest meeting.
John Honderich, chair of Torstar Corp., pulled no punches, telling the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage “there is a crisis of declining good journalism across Canada and at this point we only see the situation getting worse.”
Honderich said The Toronto Star, his company’s flagship publication, will have 170 journalists in its newsroom at the end of this year, down from 470 ten years ago. He noted as an example careers advertising, which once brought in $75 million in revenue each year for the company, and now no longer exists as a revenue stream because of free online portals.
“While the CBC has done many wonderful things, it is important you know that, from my vantage point, it is not some wonderful, benevolent entity,” iPolitics publisher James Baxter told the panel of MPs. “It’s an uber-predator.”
“Because of the nature of its web content, the CBC is not competing with Huffington Post and CNN, but instead crushes the Globe and Mail, Postmedia and, yes, iPolitics.”
Read the full story here.
John Honderich, chair of Torstar Corp., pulled no punches, telling the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage “there is a crisis of declining good journalism across Canada and at this point we only see the situation getting worse.”
Honderich said The Toronto Star, his company’s flagship publication, will have 170 journalists in its newsroom at the end of this year, down from 470 ten years ago. He noted as an example careers advertising, which once brought in $75 million in revenue each year for the company, and now no longer exists as a revenue stream because of free online portals.
“While the CBC has done many wonderful things, it is important you know that, from my vantage point, it is not some wonderful, benevolent entity,” iPolitics publisher James Baxter told the panel of MPs. “It’s an uber-predator.”
“Because of the nature of its web content, the CBC is not competing with Huffington Post and CNN, but instead crushes the Globe and Mail, Postmedia and, yes, iPolitics.”
Read the full story here.
CBC complaint quashed by Competition Bureau
The Competition Bureau has rejected a CBC complaint about an Olympic television partnership forged by Bell Globemedia and Rogers Communications.
In a news release yesterday, the bureau said the alliance, which plans to bid for the rights to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2012 Olympic Games, does not violate the Competition Act.
"The bureau carefully examined the allegations and found no evidence to suggest that a Bell Globemedia-Rogers partnership would impair the CBC/Radio-Canada's ability to compete for the broadcasting rights," the bureau said.
The CBC filed its complaint in August after a Globe and Mail report revealed Globemedia and Rogers were planning to team up to bid for the television rights to the two Olympics.
The CBC argued that the alliance cornered the market on the two major sports networks -- TSN, owned by Globemedia, and Sportsnet, owned by Rogers. The CBC said the partnership denied it a major Olympic sports cable partner.
The CBC also said the Globemedia-Rogers deal raised issues under the abuse of dominance, mergers and criminal provisions of the act.
Read the full story here.
In a news release yesterday, the bureau said the alliance, which plans to bid for the rights to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and 2012 Olympic Games, does not violate the Competition Act.
"The bureau carefully examined the allegations and found no evidence to suggest that a Bell Globemedia-Rogers partnership would impair the CBC/Radio-Canada's ability to compete for the broadcasting rights," the bureau said.
The CBC filed its complaint in August after a Globe and Mail report revealed Globemedia and Rogers were planning to team up to bid for the television rights to the two Olympics.
The CBC argued that the alliance cornered the market on the two major sports networks -- TSN, owned by Globemedia, and Sportsnet, owned by Rogers. The CBC said the partnership denied it a major Olympic sports cable partner.
The CBC also said the Globemedia-Rogers deal raised issues under the abuse of dominance, mergers and criminal provisions of the act.
Read the full story here.
Why Was CBC Peter Mansbridge Permitted to Support the Mother Canada Project?
"I decided that you can't cover a controversy by being in one."
That's Peter Mansbridge's revelatory explanation as to why his name no longer appears -- after many months -- as an Honourary Patron of the controversial Never Forgotten war memorial proposed for Cape Breton Island.
Apart from the fact that this is one of the basic tenets of journalism -- along with get your facts right, and don't misspell someone's name -- it avoids answering the really important question in this whole fiasco.
What were CBC executives thinking when they gave Mansbridge permission to become an Honourary Patron of the Mother Canada project?
The very idea breaks CBC's very clear rules on preserving journalistic impartiality.
Read the full story here.
That's Peter Mansbridge's revelatory explanation as to why his name no longer appears -- after many months -- as an Honourary Patron of the controversial Never Forgotten war memorial proposed for Cape Breton Island.
Apart from the fact that this is one of the basic tenets of journalism -- along with get your facts right, and don't misspell someone's name -- it avoids answering the really important question in this whole fiasco.
What were CBC executives thinking when they gave Mansbridge permission to become an Honourary Patron of the Mother Canada project?
The very idea breaks CBC's very clear rules on preserving journalistic impartiality.
Read the full story here.
CBC Bungles Upcoming Rollout of Opinion Section
If anyone still thought CBC’s decision to launch an “Opinion site” next month was a good idea, an op-ed published by the CBC today should set her/him sober.
The hit piece—and yes, I’m aware this response is a hit piece as well, but at least it is published on my own independent blog, not paid for by taxpayers—entitled “Canadian Taxpayers Federation has 5 members—why should we care what they think?” was written by Dougald Lamont, a senior policy advisor for Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette.
Beginning the comedy of errors in this article’s encapsulation of why the CBC should not be in the business of telling us what to think, the public (de facto state propaganda) broadcaster described the Liberal MP’s staffer as “a lecturer in government and business relations at the University of Winnipeg and a long-time Liberal working in policy and communications.” This vague bio fails to disclose that Lamont works for a Liberal MP. CBC simply stating he is a “long-time Liberal working in policy and communications” does not suffice. Why not be crystal clear and put “former campaign director of communications and now senior policy advisor for Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette”?
Read the full article here.
The hit piece—and yes, I’m aware this response is a hit piece as well, but at least it is published on my own independent blog, not paid for by taxpayers—entitled “Canadian Taxpayers Federation has 5 members—why should we care what they think?” was written by Dougald Lamont, a senior policy advisor for Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette.
Beginning the comedy of errors in this article’s encapsulation of why the CBC should not be in the business of telling us what to think, the public (de facto state propaganda) broadcaster described the Liberal MP’s staffer as “a lecturer in government and business relations at the University of Winnipeg and a long-time Liberal working in policy and communications.” This vague bio fails to disclose that Lamont works for a Liberal MP. CBC simply stating he is a “long-time Liberal working in policy and communications” does not suffice. Why not be crystal clear and put “former campaign director of communications and now senior policy advisor for Liberal MP Robert-Falcon Ouellette”?
Read the full article here.
Quebec Broadcasters Take Aim At CBC
CBC accused of using government funds to 'outpace' private counterparts.
A group of Quebec broadcasters has fired back at CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert Lacroix over remarks made during an appearance at the University of British Columbia on Tuesday.
Groupe Serdy president and CEO Sébastien Arsenault, Groupe V Média president and CEO Maxime Rémillard, and TVA Group president and CEO Julie Tremblay released a joint statement Wednesday saying Lacroix had mischaracterized their position as a desire to keep the public broadcaster locked into the “status quo.”
The executives said they are actually advocating for a “thorough review” of CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate as part of the review of Canada’s broadcast system announced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
The statement argued that if there is “no accountability” for an additional $675 million in government funding CBC/Radio-Canada is slated to receive, the “already precarious balance” between the public broadcaster and the rest of the industry “will be destroyed.”
The executives expressed concern the funding could amount to a “blank cheque” for CBC/Radio-Canada to step up its “already ferocious competition” against private broadcasters.
Read the full story here.
A group of Quebec broadcasters has fired back at CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert Lacroix over remarks made during an appearance at the University of British Columbia on Tuesday.
Groupe Serdy president and CEO Sébastien Arsenault, Groupe V Média president and CEO Maxime Rémillard, and TVA Group president and CEO Julie Tremblay released a joint statement Wednesday saying Lacroix had mischaracterized their position as a desire to keep the public broadcaster locked into the “status quo.”
The executives said they are actually advocating for a “thorough review” of CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate as part of the review of Canada’s broadcast system announced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
The statement argued that if there is “no accountability” for an additional $675 million in government funding CBC/Radio-Canada is slated to receive, the “already precarious balance” between the public broadcaster and the rest of the industry “will be destroyed.”
The executives expressed concern the funding could amount to a “blank cheque” for CBC/Radio-Canada to step up its “already ferocious competition” against private broadcasters.
Read the full story here.
CBC being sued by gay Iranian refugee
A gay Iranian refugee living in Vancouver is suing the CBC, along with former CBC journalists Evan Solomon and Farid Haerinejad claiming they outed him in a documentary.
He claims the film Out in Iran: Inside Iran’s Secret Gay World ruined his life.
The 2007 documentary looks at the struggle for human rights of gay activists in Iran, and the climate of fear and violence perpetrated by the state.
The suit centres around a sequence filmed with a hidden camera in a Tehran food court in 2006 that was a hang out for gays and transgender people.
In the documentary, presenter Solomon can be heard stating “We keep our camera hidden, but Mani (a character in the film) has told the crowd that we’re there to film, and there’s group consent.”
On camera after the documentary finishes, Solomon says “And about the people you saw in that item, all of them agreed to show their faces on camera, fully aware of the potential consequences”
Farzam Dadashzadeh, who claims he appears in the film, denies both.
Farzam claims the content of the film, which includes images of homosexuals who had been lashed or hung by authorites, proves its makers were well aware of the consequences for Iranian gays. He alleges they put his life in danger by failing to get his consent.
The CBC say it’s aware of the suit, and considering its next steps.
Read the full story here.
He claims the film Out in Iran: Inside Iran’s Secret Gay World ruined his life.
The 2007 documentary looks at the struggle for human rights of gay activists in Iran, and the climate of fear and violence perpetrated by the state.
The suit centres around a sequence filmed with a hidden camera in a Tehran food court in 2006 that was a hang out for gays and transgender people.
In the documentary, presenter Solomon can be heard stating “We keep our camera hidden, but Mani (a character in the film) has told the crowd that we’re there to film, and there’s group consent.”
On camera after the documentary finishes, Solomon says “And about the people you saw in that item, all of them agreed to show their faces on camera, fully aware of the potential consequences”
Farzam Dadashzadeh, who claims he appears in the film, denies both.
Farzam claims the content of the film, which includes images of homosexuals who had been lashed or hung by authorites, proves its makers were well aware of the consequences for Iranian gays. He alleges they put his life in danger by failing to get his consent.
The CBC say it’s aware of the suit, and considering its next steps.
Read the full story here.
Another lawsuit at CBC for wrongful dismissal
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. fired a senior human resources manager who was in psychological crisis brought about by the “toxic work environment” at the national broadcaster, according to her lawsuit for wrongful dismissal.
Days before she was dismissed last month, allegedly without cause or reasonable notice, Julia Evans, 37, was “experiencing severe bouts of stress, anxiety and depression as a direct result of a toxic work environment engendered by (the CBC).”
Five days after her termination, her doctor said she was “unfit to work” and “instructed her to remain off work as a result of her illness,” according to her statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court. She “remains under constant medical care.”
The lawsuit is the third major legal action for wrongful dismissal in the fallout from the Jian Ghomeshi affair and the independent inquiry into bullying and harassment at the CBC.
Read the full story here.
Days before she was dismissed last month, allegedly without cause or reasonable notice, Julia Evans, 37, was “experiencing severe bouts of stress, anxiety and depression as a direct result of a toxic work environment engendered by (the CBC).”
Five days after her termination, her doctor said she was “unfit to work” and “instructed her to remain off work as a result of her illness,” according to her statement of claim filed in Ontario Superior Court. She “remains under constant medical care.”
The lawsuit is the third major legal action for wrongful dismissal in the fallout from the Jian Ghomeshi affair and the independent inquiry into bullying and harassment at the CBC.
Read the full story here.
CBC 1 Billion Subsidy Gives Unfair Advertising Advantage
Last month, the CBC announced that it has hired talented columnist Robyn Urback away from the National Post to set up an online “opinion vertical,” which sounds like a clearing house for hot takes.
The CBC is a creature of the Broadcasting Act, which was last updated in 1991, the same year the World Wide Web was created. In a strict reading of the act, the CBC has no business setting up an online hot-take factory, any more than it has the mandate to set up a national chain of poutine restaurants.
But MPs have not done their jobs and updated the act, and the previous government pushed the CBC to generate more of its own revenue. So managers have wandered into the internet with their gimlet eyes fixed on acquiring clicks.
In the YouTube era, fewer people are settling in to watch Peter Mansbridge deliver the news every night, and the corporation has to make itself relevent to Canadians if it wants to generate revenue and maintain public support.
So the CBC is offering clickbait.
Unlike the BBC, it sells ads on the internet and is moving aggressively to create web-only content, including opinion columns. The CBC tells me it will pay union scale — 55 cents a word — which will immediately make it a very desirable market for opinion typists.
For those of us trying to make our livings in the independent news business, this is worrying. It may be difficult to compete for ad sales and journalism talent with a news organization funded by taxpayers.
There has been a massive migration of advertising to Google and Facebook and a huge influx of venture capital to unsustainable digital startups, leading to an increasingly desperate struggle for a rapidly diminishing pool of advertising.
None of that is the CBC’s fault, but it’s a big player in that battle for ads, making it harder for newspapers to find a working revenue model.
Want to sell ads or hire a columnist? CBC can outbid you. Want to erect a paywall? Why should readers pay for your product if they can get free stories from the CBC?
Read the full story here.
The CBC is a creature of the Broadcasting Act, which was last updated in 1991, the same year the World Wide Web was created. In a strict reading of the act, the CBC has no business setting up an online hot-take factory, any more than it has the mandate to set up a national chain of poutine restaurants.
But MPs have not done their jobs and updated the act, and the previous government pushed the CBC to generate more of its own revenue. So managers have wandered into the internet with their gimlet eyes fixed on acquiring clicks.
In the YouTube era, fewer people are settling in to watch Peter Mansbridge deliver the news every night, and the corporation has to make itself relevent to Canadians if it wants to generate revenue and maintain public support.
So the CBC is offering clickbait.
Unlike the BBC, it sells ads on the internet and is moving aggressively to create web-only content, including opinion columns. The CBC tells me it will pay union scale — 55 cents a word — which will immediately make it a very desirable market for opinion typists.
For those of us trying to make our livings in the independent news business, this is worrying. It may be difficult to compete for ad sales and journalism talent with a news organization funded by taxpayers.
There has been a massive migration of advertising to Google and Facebook and a huge influx of venture capital to unsustainable digital startups, leading to an increasingly desperate struggle for a rapidly diminishing pool of advertising.
None of that is the CBC’s fault, but it’s a big player in that battle for ads, making it harder for newspapers to find a working revenue model.
Want to sell ads or hire a columnist? CBC can outbid you. Want to erect a paywall? Why should readers pay for your product if they can get free stories from the CBC?
Read the full story here.
History of CBC intimidation
Cheryl Eckstein senior, chief executive officer of the newly founded Compassionate Healthcare Network (CHN), has just learned how difficult it is to get out a pro-life message in the face of media opposition.
During a presentation on euthanasia to a parliamentary sub-committee in Ottawa last November, Mrs. Eckstein showed a brief clip from a CBC Fifth Estate programme. Her video clip was a portion of the German pre-war propaganda movie, I accuse, which she chose because of its direct application to the Sue Rodriguez case.
Ten days later, Mrs. Eckstein received a phone call from Kelly Crichton, executive producer at the Fifth Estate, who told her that she had not asked for permission to use the clip and that she had misrepresented the point of the documentary.
“She was contentious, and spoke very fast,” Mrs. Eckstein recalls. “I was to the point of tears when she told me that their lawyers would be contacting me.”
Although Mrs. Eckstein tried to explain to Ms. Crichton why she used the clip, she found that “Crichton was not interested in listening to me. She seemed determined to go on with her verbal battering, insisted that the matter was in the hands of their attorneys.”
In the Ottawa Sun, Peter Stockland wrote that Kelly Crichton “said she only wanted to impress on Eckstein that CBC does not permit ‘unauthorized’ use of its programs, and has a strict policy against their use for political purposes.”
On December 4, Liberal MP Don Boudria rose in the House of Commons to speak as a matter of privilege. Mr. Boudria contended that Kelly Crichton’s call to Cheryl Eckstein has breached the privileges of MPs who have the right to listen to any witness “without intimidation of anyone else.”
The implication of the phone call, Mr. Boudria said, was that the CBC was threatening to sue Mrs. Eckstein.
Read the full story here.
During a presentation on euthanasia to a parliamentary sub-committee in Ottawa last November, Mrs. Eckstein showed a brief clip from a CBC Fifth Estate programme. Her video clip was a portion of the German pre-war propaganda movie, I accuse, which she chose because of its direct application to the Sue Rodriguez case.
Ten days later, Mrs. Eckstein received a phone call from Kelly Crichton, executive producer at the Fifth Estate, who told her that she had not asked for permission to use the clip and that she had misrepresented the point of the documentary.
“She was contentious, and spoke very fast,” Mrs. Eckstein recalls. “I was to the point of tears when she told me that their lawyers would be contacting me.”
Although Mrs. Eckstein tried to explain to Ms. Crichton why she used the clip, she found that “Crichton was not interested in listening to me. She seemed determined to go on with her verbal battering, insisted that the matter was in the hands of their attorneys.”
In the Ottawa Sun, Peter Stockland wrote that Kelly Crichton “said she only wanted to impress on Eckstein that CBC does not permit ‘unauthorized’ use of its programs, and has a strict policy against their use for political purposes.”
On December 4, Liberal MP Don Boudria rose in the House of Commons to speak as a matter of privilege. Mr. Boudria contended that Kelly Crichton’s call to Cheryl Eckstein has breached the privileges of MPs who have the right to listen to any witness “without intimidation of anyone else.”
The implication of the phone call, Mr. Boudria said, was that the CBC was threatening to sue Mrs. Eckstein.
Read the full story here.
CBC Hubert Lacroix’s answer stuns Conservative senator
Senators said they were stunned to hear the head of CBC justify the earnings of one of the broadcaster’s top executives based on the fact that she is a woman.
After questioning Hubert Lacroix about anchor Amanda Lang’s conflict of interest issues during a Senate communications committee hearing Tuesday, Conservative senator Don Plett asked about another CBC employee who may be in conflict of interest at work – Maryse Bertrand.
Plett said he read that Bertrand, who is the vice president of real estate services and legal services general counsel for the CBC, is also a director of Metro Richelieu as well as on the board of National Bank.
From Metro, Plett said, she will receive upwards of $90,000 a year. From the National Bank, she earns $117,000 a year – and she also works for the CBC.
“You do not tell us salaries, you give us a range—her remuneration at CBC is between 274,000 and 519,000 annually, so I have a suspicion it’s upward of 400,000,” said Plett.
“$400,000 working for CBC, I would assume is a full-time job. If she’s making over $200,000 a year doing other work, how can she properly serve the Canadian public by doing her work in the real estate industry and as legal counsel for the CBC?” asked Plett.
To which Lacroix answered, “Women on boards is a key subject matter in this country. Not enough spectacular women make it to boards of directors of important companies. Maryse Bertrand is a really seasoned executive. We were very fortunate — I was very fortunate — to be able to convince her to leave her law practice and join us.”
That answer angered both Plett and Conservative senator Leo Housakos.
Housakos said he was stunned by Lacroix’s answer – and that people expect Lacroix to live by the same high standards set by the CBC.
“You answered the question Senator Plett asked by simply saying that you find it justified that Ms. Bertrand would make $.25 million to $.50 million a year as a senior executive in an important role at CBC/Radio‑Canada, while serving on a bunch of other boards because she’s a qualified woman and you think that’s a positive thing. With all due respect, that’s not acceptable.”
After questioning Hubert Lacroix about anchor Amanda Lang’s conflict of interest issues during a Senate communications committee hearing Tuesday, Conservative senator Don Plett asked about another CBC employee who may be in conflict of interest at work – Maryse Bertrand.
Plett said he read that Bertrand, who is the vice president of real estate services and legal services general counsel for the CBC, is also a director of Metro Richelieu as well as on the board of National Bank.
From Metro, Plett said, she will receive upwards of $90,000 a year. From the National Bank, she earns $117,000 a year – and she also works for the CBC.
“You do not tell us salaries, you give us a range—her remuneration at CBC is between 274,000 and 519,000 annually, so I have a suspicion it’s upward of 400,000,” said Plett.
“$400,000 working for CBC, I would assume is a full-time job. If she’s making over $200,000 a year doing other work, how can she properly serve the Canadian public by doing her work in the real estate industry and as legal counsel for the CBC?” asked Plett.
To which Lacroix answered, “Women on boards is a key subject matter in this country. Not enough spectacular women make it to boards of directors of important companies. Maryse Bertrand is a really seasoned executive. We were very fortunate — I was very fortunate — to be able to convince her to leave her law practice and join us.”
That answer angered both Plett and Conservative senator Leo Housakos.
Housakos said he was stunned by Lacroix’s answer – and that people expect Lacroix to live by the same high standards set by the CBC.
“You answered the question Senator Plett asked by simply saying that you find it justified that Ms. Bertrand would make $.25 million to $.50 million a year as a senior executive in an important role at CBC/Radio‑Canada, while serving on a bunch of other boards because she’s a qualified woman and you think that’s a positive thing. With all due respect, that’s not acceptable.”
The CBC threatened to sue NDP
Noah Richler ran for MP as the NDP candidate in the riding of St. Paul’s in the last election. He had great hopes for raising the level of the debate and, even though his opponent was multi-term Liberal incumbent Carolyn Bennett, of winning. He did neither, and his very entertaining new book, The Candidate: Fear And Loathing On The Campaign Trail (Doubleday, $34), recounts why. He talks to NOW about what went wrong.
Read the full story here.
- The CBC threatened to sue the party over a satiric video that tweaked sections of Peter Mansbridge’s interview with Stephen Harper.
Read the full story here.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix caught by auditors
CBC President Hubert Lacroix was caught by auditors over-claiming his expenses more than $30,000 over a 6 year period. Caught red-handed he was embarrassed and paid the money back. Only discovery by auditors convinced him to pay back the money.
CBC reporters now have to turn their sights internally as auditors reveal the same sort of culture of entitlement that snared Senators Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy recently.
“We’ve been reporting a lot on ineligible expense claims by public officials, now we have a story in our own backyard,” CBC reporter Rosemary Barton reported on Friday.
This story is the tip of the iceberg of the corruption at the heart of Canada’s publicly funded broadcaster. Much like the BBC on which it is modeled, the CBC is hiding its secrets from public scrutiny through deception and lawyers. The CBC spends more than $3 million every year for external lawyers to hide issues like this, along with an extensive internal legal department.
Read the full story here.
CBC reporters now have to turn their sights internally as auditors reveal the same sort of culture of entitlement that snared Senators Pamela Wallin and Mike Duffy recently.
“We’ve been reporting a lot on ineligible expense claims by public officials, now we have a story in our own backyard,” CBC reporter Rosemary Barton reported on Friday.
This story is the tip of the iceberg of the corruption at the heart of Canada’s publicly funded broadcaster. Much like the BBC on which it is modeled, the CBC is hiding its secrets from public scrutiny through deception and lawyers. The CBC spends more than $3 million every year for external lawyers to hide issues like this, along with an extensive internal legal department.
Read the full story here.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix’s 2020 plan comes under scrutiny
For the last two years as we have struggled to make sense of CBC President Hubert Lacroix’s 2020 plan and his focus on exclusively promoting CBC’s digital presence while gutting television news and programming, and sidelining radio, many of you have urged us to be more outspoken about this sudden and largely unexplained shift in priority that has resulted in an unprecedented number of layoffs, (one in four CMG members have been affected).
Within our own ranks, initially some of my colleagues were reluctant to criticize Lacroix’s vision for various reasons, including a lack of real information. In the intervening months, we have seen an increasing number of media analysts take aim at Lacroix’s 2020 plan, wondering as we have, whether it is an excuse to downsize and cut staff masquerading as an enlightened plan to support digital technology or as a considered attempt at moving the public broadcaster forward.
This issue continues to be crucial as Lacroix is promoting his plan to the new Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly – who worked for him in Montreal in his private practice (mergers & acquisitions specialist), at Stikeman Elliott pre-CBC.
Read the full story here.
Within our own ranks, initially some of my colleagues were reluctant to criticize Lacroix’s vision for various reasons, including a lack of real information. In the intervening months, we have seen an increasing number of media analysts take aim at Lacroix’s 2020 plan, wondering as we have, whether it is an excuse to downsize and cut staff masquerading as an enlightened plan to support digital technology or as a considered attempt at moving the public broadcaster forward.
This issue continues to be crucial as Lacroix is promoting his plan to the new Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly – who worked for him in Montreal in his private practice (mergers & acquisitions specialist), at Stikeman Elliott pre-CBC.
Read the full story here.
CBC Peter Mansbridge's departure is a golden opportunity
Nothing in Peter Mansbridge's three-decade tenure as CBC news anchor so graphically illustrates the problem with television news as his manner of leaving.
In the CBC's official news release, Jennifer McGuire says: "Peter has been paramount to making CBC News the most trusted brand in news in this country."
McGuire's use of the term "brand" gets to the root of the problem.
One of the functions of a good public broadcaster is to experiment, to be creative and take risks in ways commercial media can't or won't. Mansbridge's departure is a golden opportunity for CBC to re-think its news operations and develop new formats more in line with public service less and less defined by the need to make a profit for shareholders.
Read the full story here.
In the CBC's official news release, Jennifer McGuire says: "Peter has been paramount to making CBC News the most trusted brand in news in this country."
McGuire's use of the term "brand" gets to the root of the problem.
One of the functions of a good public broadcaster is to experiment, to be creative and take risks in ways commercial media can't or won't. Mansbridge's departure is a golden opportunity for CBC to re-think its news operations and develop new formats more in line with public service less and less defined by the need to make a profit for shareholders.
Read the full story here.
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