The complainant, Marc Poitras, objected to the characterization of a platform speech by the Liberal Party leader as “striking hopeful notes.” He’s right – there was no justification and it appeared to be editorializing in a news piece.
COMPLAINT
You wrote to highlight part of a story about a policy speech given by Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau. The story, entitled “Justin Trudeau vows to end 1st-past-the-post voting in platform speech,” carried two bylines, Rosemary Barton and Trinh Theresa Do. You assumed the story had been written by Ms. Barton (reasonable assumption) and you thought she had editorialized in her characterization of the Liberal leader’s speech and the way it was contrasted with the Conservative Party’s policies. The line in question was this:
His speech struck many hopeful notes and drew a stark contrast between the Liberals and the “cynical” Conservatives under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
CBC Ombudsman REVIEW
I agree that this sentence falls short of CBC standards.
The difficulty here was that since the whole sentence was unclear, it might not have been obvious to you that this was in fact a quotation. It compressed so many thoughts into one short sentence that it lost clarity. It left the impression of bias.
On this score, the article fails. I recommend CBC news managers review how this happened so that those involved can learn from the mistake.
Read the full complaint and review here.
cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
CBC News reports unsubstantiated facts
The complainant, Scott Sorli, accused CBC News of “stenography journalism” and repeating unsubstantiated facts when it reported on a Sunday Times (of London) story. The story had only anonymous sources in Downing Street and the Foreign Office who claimed that Russia and China had cracked the code of some documents leaked by Edward Snowden and, as a result, British officials had to pull some spies. There is no policy prohibition on reporting other people’s work, but it isn’t the best journalism.
CBC Ombudsman - The reporting based on the Sunday Times work is an important reminder that once CBC News passes on the information, there is a responsibility to ensure that it fully conforms to CBC standards. Hindsight might have led to a different handling of the story, but there was no violation of policy.
Read the full report.
CBC Ombudsman - The reporting based on the Sunday Times work is an important reminder that once CBC News passes on the information, there is a responsibility to ensure that it fully conforms to CBC standards. Hindsight might have led to a different handling of the story, but there was no violation of policy.
Read the full report.
CBC Pays $85,000 Libel Suit
In a significant defamation case, the Colour Your World company has won $85,000 in damages against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation for a report about the potential health hazards of mercury in latex paint.
Mr. Justice William P. Somers of the Ontario Court's General Division found the CBC liable for a 12-minute report broadcast on its Marketplace program in April 1990.
Read the full story.
Mr. Justice William P. Somers of the Ontario Court's General Division found the CBC liable for a 12-minute report broadcast on its Marketplace program in April 1990.
Read the full story.
Libel suit against the CBC
Tony Merchant, his wife Senator Pana Merchant, and his law firm have a launched a libel suit against the CBC according to a published report in the Regina Leader-Post.
The suit is over a report from earlier this year which says Merchant hid $1.7 million dollars in an offshore tax haven.
Merchant’s name was on a list of 450 Canadians revealed in documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington D.C. showing secret bank accounts for 130,000 wealthy people around the world.
Those records were obtained by the CBC and in April the broadcaster published a story saying Merchant moved the money overseas even when he was in a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over taxes.
Read the full story.
The suit is over a report from earlier this year which says Merchant hid $1.7 million dollars in an offshore tax haven.
Merchant’s name was on a list of 450 Canadians revealed in documents leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in Washington D.C. showing secret bank accounts for 130,000 wealthy people around the world.
Those records were obtained by the CBC and in April the broadcaster published a story saying Merchant moved the money overseas even when he was in a battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over taxes.
Read the full story.
CBC locked in battle against a wheelchair advocat
CBC Charlottetown has been locked into a Human Rights Commission battle against a wheelchair advocate for over 5 years.
The legal tactics of the CBC lawyer handling the case raises many questions about the Public Broadcaster. The strategy of lawyer Alan Parish from Halifax is drag it out forever which is great for his fees but should a publicly funded news service be embroiled in such a costly and vexatious lawsuit vs Human Rights?
The wheel chair advocate has turned to ‘crowd source’ legal advice.CBC has spent over 100,000.00 dollars in legal fees to this stage, a similar case in Nova Scotia challenged a Judicial Review related to a Human Rights Commission complaint, it dragged on for over ten years and was then sent back to Human Rights hearings.
Parish has put the PEI Human Rights lawyer on notice that if she says one word in the Judicial Review application, CBC will go after them for costs too.
Read the full story.
The legal tactics of the CBC lawyer handling the case raises many questions about the Public Broadcaster. The strategy of lawyer Alan Parish from Halifax is drag it out forever which is great for his fees but should a publicly funded news service be embroiled in such a costly and vexatious lawsuit vs Human Rights?
The wheel chair advocate has turned to ‘crowd source’ legal advice.CBC has spent over 100,000.00 dollars in legal fees to this stage, a similar case in Nova Scotia challenged a Judicial Review related to a Human Rights Commission complaint, it dragged on for over ten years and was then sent back to Human Rights hearings.
Parish has put the PEI Human Rights lawyer on notice that if she says one word in the Judicial Review application, CBC will go after them for costs too.
Read the full story.
High damages for libel against The Fifth Estate and the CBC awarded ...
If you thought that headline was a mouthful, try swallowing a damages award of $950,000 and a costs award over $800,000 as the CBC had to in the libel lawsuit brought by Dr. Frans Leenan.
After winning his case in Ontario’s Superior Court, Dr. Leenen said, ‘Four years ago we proposed to settle this law suit for $10,000 and an on-air apology. It was refused…The Fifth Estate persisted and took me through 10 weeks of trial.’
The trial judge awarded very high damages for libel against The Fifth Estate and the CBC as well as individual reporters and producers. The CBC appealed. Ontario’s Court of Appeal disagreed with the CBC, and ruled that Dr. Leenen had been libelled. Finally, the CBC tried to take the case to Canada’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court ruled against the CBC in February, with yet another costs award. Dr. Leenen’s long legal journey is over. The case should be a lesson for documentary producers and journalists everywhere.
Read the full story.
After winning his case in Ontario’s Superior Court, Dr. Leenen said, ‘Four years ago we proposed to settle this law suit for $10,000 and an on-air apology. It was refused…The Fifth Estate persisted and took me through 10 weeks of trial.’
The trial judge awarded very high damages for libel against The Fifth Estate and the CBC as well as individual reporters and producers. The CBC appealed. Ontario’s Court of Appeal disagreed with the CBC, and ruled that Dr. Leenen had been libelled. Finally, the CBC tried to take the case to Canada’s highest court, the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Supreme Court ruled against the CBC in February, with yet another costs award. Dr. Leenen’s long legal journey is over. The case should be a lesson for documentary producers and journalists everywhere.
Read the full story.
Lawsuit against CBC North
Mandeep Sidhu, a former Whitehorse mayoral candidate, is appealing a Yukon Supreme Court judge's decision to quash his lawsuit against CBC North.
Sidhu was seeking more than $2 million in damages over a CBC News online article from June 2013 that he says "cast him in a negative light.”
Despite changes to the story made after he emailed his complaints, Sidhu said in an interview earlier this year that it continues to harm his "public image and reputation.”
Ombudsman Esther Enkin wrote in her complaint review from August 2013 that the article lacked context and misrepresented the events of the case.
"Accuracy is a fundamental in journalism. It is set out in CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices. This story is imprecise and sloppy.
"The coverage fell short of the standards of CBC journalism. There was no obvious bias, but there was inadequate reporting,” Enkin concluded.
Read the full story.
Sidhu was seeking more than $2 million in damages over a CBC News online article from June 2013 that he says "cast him in a negative light.”
Despite changes to the story made after he emailed his complaints, Sidhu said in an interview earlier this year that it continues to harm his "public image and reputation.”
Ombudsman Esther Enkin wrote in her complaint review from August 2013 that the article lacked context and misrepresented the events of the case.
"Accuracy is a fundamental in journalism. It is set out in CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices. This story is imprecise and sloppy.
"The coverage fell short of the standards of CBC journalism. There was no obvious bias, but there was inadequate reporting,” Enkin concluded.
Read the full story.
AARC lawsuit against the CBC
In February 2009, AARC became the subject of controversy when former patients accused the clinic of abuse and medical malpractice.
On February 13, the CBC newsmagazine the fifth estate aired an investigative report called "Powerless", in which former patients specified alleged instances of abuse at AARC.
On 15 April 2011, AARC commenced a lawsuit against the CBC. The CBC is defending the action. In that lawsuit, AARC denies the suggestion that it failed to investigate reports of abuse.
It is easy to present an inaccurate view when only part of the story is told and video clips are edited to show only the negative.
See the complete Wikipedia article here.
On February 13, the CBC newsmagazine the fifth estate aired an investigative report called "Powerless", in which former patients specified alleged instances of abuse at AARC.
On 15 April 2011, AARC commenced a lawsuit against the CBC. The CBC is defending the action. In that lawsuit, AARC denies the suggestion that it failed to investigate reports of abuse.
It is easy to present an inaccurate view when only part of the story is told and video clips are edited to show only the negative.
See the complete Wikipedia article here.
CBC ordered to pay record award to Dr Frans Leenen
Dr. Frans Leenen thought his professional reputation had been left in tatters when the CBC broadcast a public affairs program on the use of calcium-channel blockers in 1996. Four years later, the CBC knows exactly how he felt.
In a blistering judgement released Apr. 20, Mr. Justice J.D. Cunningham of the Ontario Superior Court found the fifth estate guilty of acting with malice against the Ottawa hypertension specialist. He ordered the CBC to pay Leenen $950 000 in general, aggravated and punitive damages, plus his legal costs. Richard Dearden, one of the Ottawa lawyers who has represented Leenen since his suit was launched in 1996, says those costs will total more than $1 million.
Leenen now has the dubious distinction of being part of Canadian legal history. "This is the largest [defamation] award against the media in the history of the country," says a jubilant Dearden.
Read the full story.
In a blistering judgement released Apr. 20, Mr. Justice J.D. Cunningham of the Ontario Superior Court found the fifth estate guilty of acting with malice against the Ottawa hypertension specialist. He ordered the CBC to pay Leenen $950 000 in general, aggravated and punitive damages, plus his legal costs. Richard Dearden, one of the Ottawa lawyers who has represented Leenen since his suit was launched in 1996, says those costs will total more than $1 million.
Leenen now has the dubious distinction of being part of Canadian legal history. "This is the largest [defamation] award against the media in the history of the country," says a jubilant Dearden.
Read the full story.
CBC Union Wants 50 per cent Increase of Tax Money
The union representing CBC workers says the broadcaster needs a 50% increase in funding on top of the $1.1 billion it already gets from taxpayers.
Alex Levasseur, head of Radio-Canada's union, said the public broadcaster is headed for destruction if its "broken" funding model isn't changed.
Canadians need to ask themselves if they want the CBC, and how they're going to fund it properly, Levasseur said.
Read the full story.
Alex Levasseur, head of Radio-Canada's union, said the public broadcaster is headed for destruction if its "broken" funding model isn't changed.
Canadians need to ask themselves if they want the CBC, and how they're going to fund it properly, Levasseur said.
Read the full story.
Corrosive Element at CBC
The CBC will have more cash if the New Democrats are elected to govern the nation later this year. But a funding boost might not be enough to help the troubled public broadcaster, says one of its most outspoken critics.
Writer and journalism instructor Andrew Mitrovica is a former CBC employee, where he worked at the Fifth Estate.
Now an outspoken critic of CBC operations, he said while "money is always good," the NDP would also need to take a look at the inner workings of the public broadcaster if it wanted to successfully fix the organization.
"They need to think more deeply about organizational and structural problems at the CBC," Mitrovica said. "You've got to look at some of the people running the CBC."
He said there's been a corrosive element in the broadcaster that has been eating away at what the CBC is supposed to be about, and furthering the private financial interests of a few people rather than fulfilling its role to serve the public at large.
Read the full story.
Writer and journalism instructor Andrew Mitrovica is a former CBC employee, where he worked at the Fifth Estate.
Now an outspoken critic of CBC operations, he said while "money is always good," the NDP would also need to take a look at the inner workings of the public broadcaster if it wanted to successfully fix the organization.
"They need to think more deeply about organizational and structural problems at the CBC," Mitrovica said. "You've got to look at some of the people running the CBC."
He said there's been a corrosive element in the broadcaster that has been eating away at what the CBC is supposed to be about, and furthering the private financial interests of a few people rather than fulfilling its role to serve the public at large.
Read the full story.
CBC needs to rethink its purpose
Earlier this month, John Whittingdale rose in Britain’s House of Commons to announce a sweeping review of the BBC, promising a wholesale overhaul of the cherished public broadcaster’s mandate, funding, governance and programming.
If the BBC, with its more than £5-billion ($10.1-billion) in revenue, global reach and dominant position on British television, is in need of a rethink, what can be said of the CBC?
Either Canada’s public broadcaster will continue to limp along – resisting calls to refine its outdated and overly broad mandate to reflect a multichannel, multiplatform universe – or it will admit that much of the programming on which it spends its scarce resources is redundant.
The question facing Canadians is whether there’s a place for CBC, period.
Read the full story.
If the BBC, with its more than £5-billion ($10.1-billion) in revenue, global reach and dominant position on British television, is in need of a rethink, what can be said of the CBC?
Either Canada’s public broadcaster will continue to limp along – resisting calls to refine its outdated and overly broad mandate to reflect a multichannel, multiplatform universe – or it will admit that much of the programming on which it spends its scarce resources is redundant.
The question facing Canadians is whether there’s a place for CBC, period.
Read the full story.
Exposed - Senate report on CBC
On July 20, 2015, he Senate of Canada released a report that is garnering a lot of attention. Here is just a bit of what is included. Go tio the full report at the bottom.
The CBC/Radio-Canada is losing its audience to the hundreds of alternative channels and video-streaming services provided by private-sector companies that have converged broadcasting and telecommunications operations to take advantage of the multi-platform, Internet-based world of communications.
Some recommendations of the report:
Time for Change:
The CBC/Radio-Canada in the Twenty-first Century
The CBC/Radio-Canada is losing its audience to the hundreds of alternative channels and video-streaming services provided by private-sector companies that have converged broadcasting and telecommunications operations to take advantage of the multi-platform, Internet-based world of communications.
Some recommendations of the report:
- CBC/Radio-Canada, in consultation with the Government of Canada, explore alternative funding models and additional ways to generate revenue to minimize the Corporation’s dependence on government appropriations.
- CBC/Radio-Canada be more transparent in its operations, specifically with regard to the disclosure of financial information, procurement and contracts, and salaries; and it must make such disclosure easily accessible to the public.
- As a public broadcaster, the CBC/Radio-Canada must be mindful of its use of public funds, and review all non-executive salaries and compensation to ensure they are in line with those for comparable positions with private broadcasters.
- Both CBC/Radio-Canada Ombudsmen report to the Corporation’s Board of Directors to ensure accountability at all levels of the Corporation, including the Senior Executive Team.
Read the full report.
Senate report says CBC needs to be transparent and accountable
A Senate committee’s report into the CBC’s future released this week was aptly titled “Time for Change.” It is.
The CBC is losing audience to Netflix, YouTube and other online video streaming services. Its television ratings are falling and its content increasingly lacks relevance for Canadians.
Meanwhile, controversy over a corporate culture that rejects transparency and accountability has eroded public confidence in the CBC, as has scandal surrounding high-profile personalities.
The committee also made clear the CBC, like the British public broadcaster, the BBC, needs to be transparent and accountable for how it spends public money.
They've previously gone to court, courtesy of the taxpayer, to fight certain access to information requests.
Read the full story.
The CBC is losing audience to Netflix, YouTube and other online video streaming services. Its television ratings are falling and its content increasingly lacks relevance for Canadians.
Meanwhile, controversy over a corporate culture that rejects transparency and accountability has eroded public confidence in the CBC, as has scandal surrounding high-profile personalities.
The committee also made clear the CBC, like the British public broadcaster, the BBC, needs to be transparent and accountable for how it spends public money.
They've previously gone to court, courtesy of the taxpayer, to fight certain access to information requests.
Read the full story.
730 CBC employees make over $100k a year
While the CBC did disclose that approximately 730 employees are paid more than $100,000 a year, the taxpayer funded corporation won't tell Parliament who they are and exactly how much they earn.
The only employee whose salary range and expenses the broadcaster was willing to divulge was CBC/Radio-Canada President Hubert Lacroix. The CBC said Lacroix's salary, set by the Governor in Council, was between $358,400 and $421,600 in 2011.
Read the full story.
The only employee whose salary range and expenses the broadcaster was willing to divulge was CBC/Radio-Canada President Hubert Lacroix. The CBC said Lacroix's salary, set by the Governor in Council, was between $358,400 and $421,600 in 2011.
Read the full story.
Exposed - CBC Sunshine Club
This is quite the sunshine list of CBC employees being paid with Canadian Taxpayer money.
In the "can you believe this" department: as of April 14, 2014 over 10% of the "CBC ON-AIR GROUPS" made over $100,000 a year.
Your tax dollars hard at work.
See the CBC document here.
In the "can you believe this" department: as of April 14, 2014 over 10% of the "CBC ON-AIR GROUPS" made over $100,000 a year.
- 4 employees made of $300k/year with the average pay among the 4 being almost $486k/year
- 6 employees made between $250k and $299k with the average being just over $270k/year
- 9 employees made between $200k and $249k with the average being just over $226k/year
- 21 employees made between $150k and $199k with the average being just over $179k/year
- 89 employees made between $100k and $149k with the average being just over $121k/year
Over $20 million dollars a year going to the CBC Sunshine Club and another $80 million going to the rest of the CBC employees in this group.
See the CBC document here.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix insulted taxpayers
CBC says Peter Mansbridge makes just $80,000
CBC president Hubert Lacroix insulted and disrespected taxpayers by not fully disclosing the salaries of high-level CBC employees, said senators on a committee studying the public broadcaster's future.
For instance, Lacroix's submission revealed that the host of CBC's The National, Peter Mansbridge, one of the most famous journalists in Canada, makes roughly $80,000 -- the same as a lower-level reporter.
The CBC has often refused to disclose its financial information, despite its annual $1-billion taxpayer subsidy.
Read the full story.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix insulted and disrespected taxpayers by not fully disclosing the salaries of high-level CBC employees, said senators on a committee studying the public broadcaster's future.
For instance, Lacroix's submission revealed that the host of CBC's The National, Peter Mansbridge, one of the most famous journalists in Canada, makes roughly $80,000 -- the same as a lower-level reporter.
The CBC has often refused to disclose its financial information, despite its annual $1-billion taxpayer subsidy.
Read the full story.
Will CBC respond to Senate request?
A Senate committee is calling on Canada’s public broadcaster to publicly disclose how much employees make and ensure non-executives aren’t getting paid more than their peers in private broadcasting.
The Senate’s communications committee is also calling on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to find new ways to fund its operations to limit the amount of funding it receives from the federal government.
The report also references scandals involving former radio host Jian Ghomeshi and business correspondent Amanda Lang in calling for stricter policies to prevent problems, rather than having to react after they become public.
Read the full story.
The Senate’s communications committee is also calling on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to find new ways to fund its operations to limit the amount of funding it receives from the federal government.
The report also references scandals involving former radio host Jian Ghomeshi and business correspondent Amanda Lang in calling for stricter policies to prevent problems, rather than having to react after they become public.
Read the full story.
NDP promise of hope to CBC
The NDP is promising to restore $115 million to the CBC.
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair made the election commitment in Montreal on Thursday.
That means increasing current funding to CBC/Radio-Canada by $115 million over three fiscal years in hopes it will allow the public broadcaster to evolve in a changing media landscape, Mulcair said.
The Prime Minister's Office said the CBC faces "challenges in this rapidly changing media environment to which no mainstream broadcaster is immune."
"The CBC's viewership has declined, despite getting more than $1 billion in direct subsidies every year from taxpayers. CBC is responsible for its own operations, and it is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch and listen to," a PMO spokesperson wrote in email to CBC News.
Read the full story
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair made the election commitment in Montreal on Thursday.
That means increasing current funding to CBC/Radio-Canada by $115 million over three fiscal years in hopes it will allow the public broadcaster to evolve in a changing media landscape, Mulcair said.
The Prime Minister's Office said the CBC faces "challenges in this rapidly changing media environment to which no mainstream broadcaster is immune."
"The CBC's viewership has declined, despite getting more than $1 billion in direct subsidies every year from taxpayers. CBC is responsible for its own operations, and it is up to the CBC to provide programming that Canadians actually want to watch and listen to," a PMO spokesperson wrote in email to CBC News.
Read the full story
U.K. Government Questions Funding of Public Broadcaster
The U.K.’s right-wing Conservative Party government kicked off a review process Thursday that will question the purpose, scale and funding of publicly-owned broadcaster the BBC, whose revenue last year totaled £4.81 billion ($7.48 billion).
In his introduction to the consultation document, Whittingdale said the government must seek answers to some “hard question.” These included: “What should the BBC be trying to achieve in an age where consumer choice is now far more extensive than it has been before?
The review process will lead to the passing into legislation of a new 10-year charter for the BBC, which will come into force at the beginning of 2017. This charter will protect the BBC’s freedom, and imposes on it a requirement to be politically impartial, but also restricts the scope of its operations and defines the way it is funded. It also sets out how the BBC is governed.
Whittingdale said in Parliament that revenue from the compulsory television license, which last year contributed £3.74 billion ($5.82 billion) to the BBC’s treasure chest, will remain at the present level in the short-term, but the review would look at whether the broadcaster could be funded by a voluntary subscription instead in the long-term.
Read the full story.
PS - good idea for the CBC?
In his introduction to the consultation document, Whittingdale said the government must seek answers to some “hard question.” These included: “What should the BBC be trying to achieve in an age where consumer choice is now far more extensive than it has been before?
The review process will lead to the passing into legislation of a new 10-year charter for the BBC, which will come into force at the beginning of 2017. This charter will protect the BBC’s freedom, and imposes on it a requirement to be politically impartial, but also restricts the scope of its operations and defines the way it is funded. It also sets out how the BBC is governed.
Whittingdale said in Parliament that revenue from the compulsory television license, which last year contributed £3.74 billion ($5.82 billion) to the BBC’s treasure chest, will remain at the present level in the short-term, but the review would look at whether the broadcaster could be funded by a voluntary subscription instead in the long-term.
Read the full story.
PS - good idea for the CBC?
Jokes don't last long as CBC President Hubert Lacroix address journalism class
On Jan. 21, Hubert Lacroix, the CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, addressed a journalism class in order to discuss the future of Canada’s public broadcaster.
“Before I start this, full transparency: I’m a double McGill grad,” he said, and the students in the class laughed. After making a few more jokes about his background, Lacroix began talking about CBC, and the jokes were soon a thing of the past. Instead, during the nearly 90-minutes he spent talking to students, three themes seemed to keep coming back: financing, Canadian content, and scandals.
Understandably, concerns came through on the many scandals the CBC has lately been associated with.
Read the full story.
“Before I start this, full transparency: I’m a double McGill grad,” he said, and the students in the class laughed. After making a few more jokes about his background, Lacroix began talking about CBC, and the jokes were soon a thing of the past. Instead, during the nearly 90-minutes he spent talking to students, three themes seemed to keep coming back: financing, Canadian content, and scandals.
Understandably, concerns came through on the many scandals the CBC has lately been associated with.
Read the full story.
CBC puts bottom line before Canadian identity
The NHL's new 12-year, multi-billion dollar television rights deal with Rogers made it obvious that the public broadcaster no longer has the means to compete with private interests in the high-stakes game of professional sports.
In addition to no longer competing for pro sports broadcasting rights, CBC president Hubert Lacroix said the network "will also cover fewer events and fewer sports. In addition, our involvement in amateur sports will be reduced. We will only broadcast events that allow us to break even."
The CBC's mandate specifically states that it should "contribute to shared national consciousness and identity." With more sports set to disappear, a Canadian identity that is already so hard to define will be receiving fewer contributions from our public broadcaster.
Read the full story.
In addition to no longer competing for pro sports broadcasting rights, CBC president Hubert Lacroix said the network "will also cover fewer events and fewer sports. In addition, our involvement in amateur sports will be reduced. We will only broadcast events that allow us to break even."
The CBC's mandate specifically states that it should "contribute to shared national consciousness and identity." With more sports set to disappear, a Canadian identity that is already so hard to define will be receiving fewer contributions from our public broadcaster.
Read the full story.
Did CBC documentary distort a piece of human history
Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and author Paul Watson says he quit The Toronto Star after he was repeatedly told to back off from reporting a story he thought merited “significant public interest.”
Since last year, Watson had been pursuing a story about complaints from federal civil servants and experts involved in the search for the Franklin expedition in the Arctic.
However, Watson said many of those working on the project felt the facts around the discovery of the long-lost HMS Erebus had been distorted.
In May, Watson received a copy of a letter former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie sent to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq and to the Prime Minister’s Office.
In the letter, Balsillie raises concerns about the “misleading characterization” of the search project presented in the CBC’s documentary “Franklin’s Lost Ships” which aired April 9.
Balsillie’s letter takes aim at The Royal Canadian Geographical Society in particular for creating “new and exaggerated narratives” in the CBC documentary for its own “exclusive benefit” and that of its partners.
Balsillie goes on to list other errors in the CBC documentary.
“Those 129 men died trying to expand the horizons of human knowledge,” Watson said.
“That’s a story of human history and if facts are being misrepresented, that’s distorting a piece of human history. That to me is not a small thing.”
Read the full story.
Since last year, Watson had been pursuing a story about complaints from federal civil servants and experts involved in the search for the Franklin expedition in the Arctic.
However, Watson said many of those working on the project felt the facts around the discovery of the long-lost HMS Erebus had been distorted.
In May, Watson received a copy of a letter former BlackBerry co-CEO Jim Balsillie sent to Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq and to the Prime Minister’s Office.
In the letter, Balsillie raises concerns about the “misleading characterization” of the search project presented in the CBC’s documentary “Franklin’s Lost Ships” which aired April 9.
Balsillie’s letter takes aim at The Royal Canadian Geographical Society in particular for creating “new and exaggerated narratives” in the CBC documentary for its own “exclusive benefit” and that of its partners.
Balsillie goes on to list other errors in the CBC documentary.
“Those 129 men died trying to expand the horizons of human knowledge,” Watson said.
“That’s a story of human history and if facts are being misrepresented, that’s distorting a piece of human history. That to me is not a small thing.”
Read the full story.
CBC needs to more than just apologize
The Janice Rubin report into the Jian Ghomeshi affair released last week confirmed the CBC failed to deal with "behaviour that was disrespectful, including behaviour that is considered to create an intimidating, humiliating, hostile or offensive work environment."
In response, president and chief executive Hubert Lacroix apologized to Canadians for this massive lapse in professional conduct.
The report calls for a number of measures that'll go a long way toward cleaning up this mess: an independent survey in which staff can anonymously take part; a confidential hotline so employees can call in with concerns; and an ombudsman for workplace issues.
Unless these measures are put in place, CBC's apology will ring false.
Canadians shell out $1 billion a year for this operation. They deserve better.
We wouldn't accept this culture from a regular government office. The CBC should be treated no differently.
Read the full story.
In response, president and chief executive Hubert Lacroix apologized to Canadians for this massive lapse in professional conduct.
The report calls for a number of measures that'll go a long way toward cleaning up this mess: an independent survey in which staff can anonymously take part; a confidential hotline so employees can call in with concerns; and an ombudsman for workplace issues.
Unless these measures are put in place, CBC's apology will ring false.
Canadians shell out $1 billion a year for this operation. They deserve better.
We wouldn't accept this culture from a regular government office. The CBC should be treated no differently.
Read the full story.
Does CBC president Hubert Lacroix believe in transparency
For a man who says he is dedicated to transparency, CBC president Hubert Lacroix has a funny way of showing it.
In spite of taking a $1,500-per-month after-tax living allowance to cover his trips to Ottawa, Lacroix also submitted receipts for reimbursement pocketing an extra $29,678 in ineligible expenses.
That’s on top of his salary, which ranges between $358,400 and $421,600 per year plus perks.
Sen. Don Plett, recently the subject of CBC stories on his own expenses, was particularly outraged.
Plett pressed Lacroix on why he discovered the mistake in June, paid back in September but the public did not find out until Sun Media reported on the issue in February.
Despite his claims of promoting transparency, Lacroix’s tenure at CBC has been one of trying to keep the public from knowing how tax dollars are spent.
Read the full story.
In spite of taking a $1,500-per-month after-tax living allowance to cover his trips to Ottawa, Lacroix also submitted receipts for reimbursement pocketing an extra $29,678 in ineligible expenses.
That’s on top of his salary, which ranges between $358,400 and $421,600 per year plus perks.
Sen. Don Plett, recently the subject of CBC stories on his own expenses, was particularly outraged.
Plett pressed Lacroix on why he discovered the mistake in June, paid back in September but the public did not find out until Sun Media reported on the issue in February.
Despite his claims of promoting transparency, Lacroix’s tenure at CBC has been one of trying to keep the public from knowing how tax dollars are spent.
Read the full story.
Hubert Lacroix continues to bring disdain and disgust
The embattled CEO of Canadian Broadcasting Corp. continues to bring disdain and disgust while appearing at a Senate Committee. Hubert Lacroix has been found to file over 40,000 dollars fraudulent expenses, lost the NHL Hockey contract, marshalled the cover up of Jian Ghomeshi and the number of issues of such catastrophic effects. The double standards all seem fine with Mssr. Lacroix.
While the unravelling of CBC continues at every level there are to many disasters to attend to. The corporation promised a thorough review of Sexual complaints however, an investigation into a known pervert in CBC Charlottetown continues to be buried in the mire. Like answers in PEI on sexual predator, Lacroix does not make any sense.
At some point you might expect someone to step up and take action, maybe firing Lacroix and a number of other cavalier coverup executives, they seem abundant as people start to see how CBC ‘works’.
Original article here.
While the unravelling of CBC continues at every level there are to many disasters to attend to. The corporation promised a thorough review of Sexual complaints however, an investigation into a known pervert in CBC Charlottetown continues to be buried in the mire. Like answers in PEI on sexual predator, Lacroix does not make any sense.
At some point you might expect someone to step up and take action, maybe firing Lacroix and a number of other cavalier coverup executives, they seem abundant as people start to see how CBC ‘works’.
Original article here.
Move to kill CBC comes from within
It seems that there’s a move a foot to kill the CBC. And it’s coming from within.
Hubert Lacroix, the reigning President of our Nation’s broadcaster looks like Gordon Gekko a business guy/bureaucrat brought in to dismantle the CBC one block at a time.
The big question is why are the staffers so quietly walking the plank as layer after layer of lay offs occur?
Has the CBC served its purpose and not needed in our country any longer?
Clearly the CBC needs to be re-defined and then Canadians need to decide if they want to fund it and use it.
Is it time for the CBC staff to buy the “Beeb” and run it as a co-op? Would CBC staff and their unions for example, take a 50% pay cut to take control over their own destinies instead of being bull dozed by one particular leader or party?
Could they compete in the current market place?
Read the full story here.
Hubert Lacroix, the reigning President of our Nation’s broadcaster looks like Gordon Gekko a business guy/bureaucrat brought in to dismantle the CBC one block at a time.
The big question is why are the staffers so quietly walking the plank as layer after layer of lay offs occur?
Has the CBC served its purpose and not needed in our country any longer?
Clearly the CBC needs to be re-defined and then Canadians need to decide if they want to fund it and use it.
Is it time for the CBC staff to buy the “Beeb” and run it as a co-op? Would CBC staff and their unions for example, take a 50% pay cut to take control over their own destinies instead of being bull dozed by one particular leader or party?
Could they compete in the current market place?
Read the full story here.
CBC HQ symbol of all that is wrong
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.
The CBC does many things well but needs to return to the principles of its public service role with alacrity.
Let the CBC get rid of its Toronto headquarters, a dysfunctional building with an enormous footprint in prime commercial real estate that is also, with its hollow core, the symbol of all that is wrong with its present culture, not least its treatment of virtually all criticism as mortal attack to which it must be impervious.
Read the full story.
CBC News Network Managing Editor Jennifer Harwood (and also a couple of rival journalists) reacted vindictively.
The CBC does many things well but needs to return to the principles of its public service role with alacrity.
Let the CBC get rid of its Toronto headquarters, a dysfunctional building with an enormous footprint in prime commercial real estate that is also, with its hollow core, the symbol of all that is wrong with its present culture, not least its treatment of virtually all criticism as mortal attack to which it must be impervious.
Read the full story.
Exposed - CBC to put TV and radio on back burner
A defiant CBC/Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix on Thursday refused to resign in the face of heated calls to do so at an earlier employee town hall meeting.
What he and Heather Conway, EVP of English Services, who was also on the call, are trying to do includes shifting the CBC from conventional TV to digital and mobile content and spaces, reduce in-house production and cut supper-hour newscasts to a baseline 30 minutes and in some cases 60 minutes or 90 minutes, and cut up to 1,500 staff by 2020 on top of those identified in April.
“We have to start to shift our investment dollars into building mobile product. That means not taking a traditional TV product and making it smaller for a smaller screen. That means producing content for a mobile device,” Conway explained.
That process, to start within 12 months, will mean inverting the CBC workforce from its current state of TV and radio first.
“We will start to say, let’s start producing for mobile first, then digital, then radio, then television,” Conway outlined.
Realizing that vision will entail additional job cuts to those already unveiled in April.
Read the full story.
What he and Heather Conway, EVP of English Services, who was also on the call, are trying to do includes shifting the CBC from conventional TV to digital and mobile content and spaces, reduce in-house production and cut supper-hour newscasts to a baseline 30 minutes and in some cases 60 minutes or 90 minutes, and cut up to 1,500 staff by 2020 on top of those identified in April.
“We have to start to shift our investment dollars into building mobile product. That means not taking a traditional TV product and making it smaller for a smaller screen. That means producing content for a mobile device,” Conway explained.
That process, to start within 12 months, will mean inverting the CBC workforce from its current state of TV and radio first.
“We will start to say, let’s start producing for mobile first, then digital, then radio, then television,” Conway outlined.
Realizing that vision will entail additional job cuts to those already unveiled in April.
Read the full story.
CBC slashing workforce
The CBC is slashing some 20 per cent of its workforce over the next five years, while cutting back evening newscasts and in-house production and raising the possibility of selling its flagship headquarters in Toronto.
By 2020, CBC plans to cut 1,000 to 1,500 positions (the broadcaster says it currently has 7,500 employees). It says that goal will in part be fulfilled by retirements and attrition and that roughly 500 of these jobs will be eliminated over the next 12 to 15 months.
The new job losses are in addition to the 657 the broadcaster announced in April. The CBC is grappling with a $130-million budget shortfall due to federal cuts, declining advertising revenues and the loss of hockey rights to Rogers Media.
Read the full story.
By 2020, CBC plans to cut 1,000 to 1,500 positions (the broadcaster says it currently has 7,500 employees). It says that goal will in part be fulfilled by retirements and attrition and that roughly 500 of these jobs will be eliminated over the next 12 to 15 months.
The new job losses are in addition to the 657 the broadcaster announced in April. The CBC is grappling with a $130-million budget shortfall due to federal cuts, declining advertising revenues and the loss of hockey rights to Rogers Media.
Read the full story.
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