In the August issue of Policy Options, Dr. Conrad Winn claimed that CBC television news is biased in favour of the left. It is imperative that we discuss this alleged bias because the media, and CBC in particular, play an increasing- ly important role in the Canadian political debate. The claim was based on the results of a recent COMPAS survey (see www.compas.ca for the complete report). Among other issues, the study investigated the relationship between the probability of viewing a given network (e.g., CBC, CTV) and self-described politi- cal affiliation: left-wingers, right- wingers, and in the middle of the political spectrum. Regarding CBC, it was found that the left-wingers were 1.3 times as likely as self-labelled right-wingers to choose CBC televi- sion: 44 percent vs. 34 percent.
Based on this presumed CBC bias, it’s been argued that the network be prevented from collecting taxpayers money through annual budgets. The proposal is to restructure CBC along the lines of PBS in the United States, which is funded by viewers and corporate sponsorship. Undoubtedly, this would decrease the influence of CBC and leave the open field to private networks.
Read the full article and make up your own mind!
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.
Are the Liberals CBC Friendly?
Unsealed memos show Chretien's Liberals were no friends of the CBC.
Liberals who love to bash the Harper Conservatives for not giving CBC more money won't like some documents that have been made public after 20 years.
Documents from Jean Chretien's Cabinet circa 1994 show the Liberal PM's desire to freeze CBC funding.
There's more -- all of this information busts the myths that the Liberal Party are the best friend the state broadcaster could possibly have.
See the full video here.
Liberals who love to bash the Harper Conservatives for not giving CBC more money won't like some documents that have been made public after 20 years.
Documents from Jean Chretien's Cabinet circa 1994 show the Liberal PM's desire to freeze CBC funding.
There's more -- all of this information busts the myths that the Liberal Party are the best friend the state broadcaster could possibly have.
See the full video here.
Exposed - CBC is a hybrid broadcaster
There are probably at least 30 public broadcasters around the world, of which 18 are the most recognized. State broadcasters are arms of the government, propagandists for the party in power, such as Radio Moscow. Public broadcasters, by contrast, are funded, in whole or in part, by public money, but not public money as dispensed by the state, but through a variety of non-political mechanisms such as licence fees, small taxes on radio and television purchases and in much of Europe and in Japan, fees paid to sub-national governments such as provinces and states.
While Canada is one of a very few where the public money comes directly from the government, the Broadcast Act has given CBC some insulation from political interference by guaranteeing CBC’s editorial independence.
But last year, for the first time in its near 90-year history, the CBC was pushed into state broadcaster territory. The Harper Government’s 2013 Omnibus Budget Implementation Legislation placed the CBC under the purview of the Financial Administration Act. Now, Treasury Board is authorized to supervise, manage and actually sit in on CBC’s labour relations and negotiations, moving it along the grid from public to state broadcaster.
As it now stands, the CBC is a hybrid broadcaster– half public and half state. It is not a propaganda arm of the state, but neither is it totally free from political interference, as becomes clear in a review of its relationship with a succession of Canadian prime ministers.
In the last 24 years from 1990 to 2014, therefore, the CBC has lost $1,674.9 billion dollars in annual funding and is in a virtual frenzy of staff downsizing.
Last April, it cut 657 positions, about 10 per cent of CBC’s staff. Three months later, last summer, the corporation announced further cuts of 2,000 employees to be implemented over the next few years.
Read the full story.
While Canada is one of a very few where the public money comes directly from the government, the Broadcast Act has given CBC some insulation from political interference by guaranteeing CBC’s editorial independence.
But last year, for the first time in its near 90-year history, the CBC was pushed into state broadcaster territory. The Harper Government’s 2013 Omnibus Budget Implementation Legislation placed the CBC under the purview of the Financial Administration Act. Now, Treasury Board is authorized to supervise, manage and actually sit in on CBC’s labour relations and negotiations, moving it along the grid from public to state broadcaster.
As it now stands, the CBC is a hybrid broadcaster– half public and half state. It is not a propaganda arm of the state, but neither is it totally free from political interference, as becomes clear in a review of its relationship with a succession of Canadian prime ministers.
In the last 24 years from 1990 to 2014, therefore, the CBC has lost $1,674.9 billion dollars in annual funding and is in a virtual frenzy of staff downsizing.
Last April, it cut 657 positions, about 10 per cent of CBC’s staff. Three months later, last summer, the corporation announced further cuts of 2,000 employees to be implemented over the next few years.
Read the full story.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix refuses to resign
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.
“In the context of what we’re doing, and what you heard at the town hall, we tried to put things in perspective,” Lacroix told journalists during an afternoon conference call.
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 1500 staff by 2020 on top of those identified in April.
Lacroix was eager to insist the CBC’s current woes were not self-inflicted, but shared across the industry, and globally, saying that the Canadian financing model for traditional conventional TV is endangered by a fast-changing digital landscape.
Read the full story.
“In the context of what we’re doing, and what you heard at the town hall, we tried to put things in perspective,” Lacroix told journalists during an afternoon conference call.
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 1500 staff by 2020 on top of those identified in April.
Lacroix was eager to insist the CBC’s current woes were not self-inflicted, but shared across the industry, and globally, saying that the Canadian financing model for traditional conventional TV is endangered by a fast-changing digital landscape.
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix performance disingenuous and depressing
CBC’s leaders bring it to the brink of an existential crisis.
If there was any doubt that Canada’s public broadcaster is confronting an unprecedented existential crisis, it vanished Thursday. CBC President Hubert Lacroix unveiled the corporation’s latest five-year plan at a “town hall” meeting of staff in a performance that was as disingenuous as it was depressing.
The CBC’s enemies are not only circling their prey from the outside, including the Conservative government with its unrelenting budget cuts. Its enemies are also working from within. The CBC has a compliant board of directors overwhelmingly stacked with Conservative party donors and a president, also conservative, who appears ready to implement any budget cut in virtual silence.
According to the new CBC plan, priorities will be shifted from television and radio to digital and mobile services. This will reduce staff and affect a variety of programs, including local TV newscasts in many regions.
Read the full story here.
If there was any doubt that Canada’s public broadcaster is confronting an unprecedented existential crisis, it vanished Thursday. CBC President Hubert Lacroix unveiled the corporation’s latest five-year plan at a “town hall” meeting of staff in a performance that was as disingenuous as it was depressing.
The CBC’s enemies are not only circling their prey from the outside, including the Conservative government with its unrelenting budget cuts. Its enemies are also working from within. The CBC has a compliant board of directors overwhelmingly stacked with Conservative party donors and a president, also conservative, who appears ready to implement any budget cut in virtual silence.
According to the new CBC plan, priorities will be shifted from television and radio to digital and mobile services. This will reduce staff and affect a variety of programs, including local TV newscasts in many regions.
Read the full story here.
CBC story was not accurate and clear in its reporting
The complainant, Robert Tuomi, said CBC Windsor didn’t know one kind of auditor from another, and that distorted its coverage of the proposal for a new position of auditor general in Windsor. He thought a story was deliberately misleading in order to support the position of the mayor.
Overall, you thought the story lacked depth and context. You said CBC Windsor news staff did not understand the difference between an internal auditor and an auditor general. Because the distinction was not made, you said the story was inaccurate.
The original story did not fulfill the CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices requirement to be accurate and clear in its reporting.
CBC Journalistic policy states that in matters of controversy “we ensure that divergent views are reflected respectfully, taking into account their relevance to the debate and how widely held these views are.”
This story did not fulfill policy in its first iteration because it had an error of fact in describing a previous auditor and audit offices.
Read the full complaint and review here.
Overall, you thought the story lacked depth and context. You said CBC Windsor news staff did not understand the difference between an internal auditor and an auditor general. Because the distinction was not made, you said the story was inaccurate.
The original story did not fulfill the CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices requirement to be accurate and clear in its reporting.
CBC Journalistic policy states that in matters of controversy “we ensure that divergent views are reflected respectfully, taking into account their relevance to the debate and how widely held these views are.”
This story did not fulfill policy in its first iteration because it had an error of fact in describing a previous auditor and audit offices.
Read the full complaint and review here.
Exposed - Is CBC News Biased?
Published on Apr 12, 2015
Is CBC News Biased? Should Canadian Taxpayers Fund the CBC with $1 Billion Every Year?
The CBC should be accountable directly to all Canadians. But it is not. Instead, it is accountable to the Prime Minister. He controls CBC funding, and appoints the Board of Directors and President (through the Governor General). Consequently, most current CBC Board members are Conservative Party supporters. Also troubling is that every English-language CBC ombudsman to date has been a former CBC employee -- and therefore potentially biased in favor of the CBC. Given that this unconscionable risk of bias has been allowed, how much confidence can we have in the integrity of CBC management? Has the CBC ever voluntarily admitted to a scandal before being caught?
To ensure that CBC News is unbiased, and accountable to all Canadians, our T1 income tax forms should provide a box allowing anonymous, tax-deductible donations to the CBC. That should be the sole source of CBC funding. All other government funding should cease. Furthermore, the CBC Board of Directors should be elected by an independent body, such as Canada's university professors.
See more here.
Biased reporting from CBC
It is one thing to compete with your opponents in an election, but when you have to fight your so-called national broadcaster, i.e. the CBC, it gets pretty disgusting.
The Conservatives cut the state broadcaster's budget to $1 billion a year, so I have to assume that’s the reason they have thrown away their journalistic integrity and deliver biased and sanitized news. If governments are to be held hostage by the CBC if they don't give them what they want, we are in big trouble as a nation. This is one more reason why no network should be financed by the taxpayers. All networks should compete on a level playing field.
When we have to listen to CBC pundits, call people names, make snide remarks, speak rudely and interrupt them and they still consider themselves professionals, they have sunk as low as they can go.
Read the full letter in the Sarnia Observer here.
The Conservatives cut the state broadcaster's budget to $1 billion a year, so I have to assume that’s the reason they have thrown away their journalistic integrity and deliver biased and sanitized news. If governments are to be held hostage by the CBC if they don't give them what they want, we are in big trouble as a nation. This is one more reason why no network should be financed by the taxpayers. All networks should compete on a level playing field.
When we have to listen to CBC pundits, call people names, make snide remarks, speak rudely and interrupt them and they still consider themselves professionals, they have sunk as low as they can go.
Read the full letter in the Sarnia Observer here.
Exposed - CBC Headline Blatant Error
Check out the tweet above from @jimmydubyyc’s Twitter account three days ago on August 7th at 9:06 in the morning. My thanks to him for the screenshot. If ever you needed concrete proof that Canada’s national news service has an anti-Conservative bias, then the headline across that image says it all.
“Canada Loses 6,600 jobs. Unemployment rate remains at 6.8%. ”
The problem is that the truth is the exact opposite. Canada gained 6,600 jobs in July, 2015.
Now, take a look at this Google search page confirming that job growth. At the bottom of the first Google page, there are even a couple of CBC News items that say “modest job growth in July.”
So, what happened? A simple error? An employee who was out of line? Or, was the corporation that taxpayers fund to the tune of $1 billion dollars a year deliberately trying to make the Conservative Government’s economic record look bad? Whatever the reason, the onscreen message was a blatant error and nothing short of yellow journalism. And, those responsible should be fired!
Read the full story.
CBC allegedly violated U.S. copyright law
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is facing a lawsuit in the United States over the alleged use of a YouTube video without the owner’s permission.
In the suit filed Aug. 11 to the Western District court of New York state, Alfonzo Cutaia of Buffalo, N.Y., alleges that the CBC violated U.S. copyright law by using a video of a winter storm he filmed and uploaded to YouTube last year without his permission.
CNN is also named in the suit which claims CBC obtained the video — called Buffalo Lake Effect — from that organization.
The statement of claim, obtained by The Canadian Press, alleges CBC posted the video on the broadcaster’s website — cbc.ca — with the CBC logo as an overlay, and uploaded the video to Yahoo Screens’ website.
Read the full story.
In the suit filed Aug. 11 to the Western District court of New York state, Alfonzo Cutaia of Buffalo, N.Y., alleges that the CBC violated U.S. copyright law by using a video of a winter storm he filmed and uploaded to YouTube last year without his permission.
CNN is also named in the suit which claims CBC obtained the video — called Buffalo Lake Effect — from that organization.
The statement of claim, obtained by The Canadian Press, alleges CBC posted the video on the broadcaster’s website — cbc.ca — with the CBC logo as an overlay, and uploaded the video to Yahoo Screens’ website.
Read the full story.
CBC Fifth Estate needs to answer questions
One million people saw the program, which was subsequently rebroadcast on CBC's Newsworld. Six weeks after it aired, Myers and Leenen sued for libel. Folks at the fifth estate were caught off guard. The show's producer, Regush, and host Wood, stood by their story. Myers asked for an apology plus $25,000. Leenen asked for an apology plus $10,000. The CBC turned them down. Three years later, the Myers case went to trial.
In November, 1999, Justice Bellamy concluded that no "fair-minded person, nor indeed any reasonable person, could have come to hold the views about Dr. Myers which were conveyed in the program, given all the facts (reported and unreported) available to the defendants.
The judge awarded Myers $200,000 in damages, saying: "Nick Regush, before any research began, hypothesized that the program 'would tell the story of Canada's drug disaster.' In my view, the defendants had this thesis or angle in mind right from the start, and were unable to waiver from it, even as the research unfolded."
Next up was the trial on Leenen's lawsuit. If the first trial judge's written decree had caused consternation in the CBC's corridiors of power, the Leenen decision, six months later, was a knockout blow.
Justice Cunningham awarded Leenen general, aggravated and punitive damages totalling $950,000, together with costs, and ruled that the journalists twisted the facts and acted with malice. In a highly unusual measure, he slapped the host, producer, researcher and executive producer with hefty punitive and aggravated damages.
A long-time CBC employee says it's "flabbergasting and disgusting to a lot of people inside the CBC that management is considering appealing. It's costing 'real' money. There could still be some heads rolling because of this legal debacle. But many people I work with are stunned no one's been fired, that no one at the CBC seems to have been held accountable."
He adds: "It's quite an astonishing story. It's the biggest libel award in Canadian history and everybody at the CBC has their head in the sand. No one wants to touch this with a barge pole. It's classic CBC culture: If you stick your head in the sand, and don't see your critics, then they won't see you. Someone has to be accountable here. We're talking about $3-million worth of taxpayer's money. People are entitled to ask some questions and get some straight answers."
Read the full story.
In November, 1999, Justice Bellamy concluded that no "fair-minded person, nor indeed any reasonable person, could have come to hold the views about Dr. Myers which were conveyed in the program, given all the facts (reported and unreported) available to the defendants.
The judge awarded Myers $200,000 in damages, saying: "Nick Regush, before any research began, hypothesized that the program 'would tell the story of Canada's drug disaster.' In my view, the defendants had this thesis or angle in mind right from the start, and were unable to waiver from it, even as the research unfolded."
Next up was the trial on Leenen's lawsuit. If the first trial judge's written decree had caused consternation in the CBC's corridiors of power, the Leenen decision, six months later, was a knockout blow.
Justice Cunningham awarded Leenen general, aggravated and punitive damages totalling $950,000, together with costs, and ruled that the journalists twisted the facts and acted with malice. In a highly unusual measure, he slapped the host, producer, researcher and executive producer with hefty punitive and aggravated damages.
A long-time CBC employee says it's "flabbergasting and disgusting to a lot of people inside the CBC that management is considering appealing. It's costing 'real' money. There could still be some heads rolling because of this legal debacle. But many people I work with are stunned no one's been fired, that no one at the CBC seems to have been held accountable."
He adds: "It's quite an astonishing story. It's the biggest libel award in Canadian history and everybody at the CBC has their head in the sand. No one wants to touch this with a barge pole. It's classic CBC culture: If you stick your head in the sand, and don't see your critics, then they won't see you. Someone has to be accountable here. We're talking about $3-million worth of taxpayer's money. People are entitled to ask some questions and get some straight answers."
Read the full story.
CBC President Hubert Lacroix Kept Violation From Public
A day after Sun News host Brian Lilley reported that CBC President Hubert Lacroix repaid almost $30,000 in bogus travel claims, Lacroix admitted the claims were "clearly out of bounds."
Lacroix also said he didn't feel he needed to make the repayment public until Friday.
"There was an error inside our shop," he said. "Everybody that had to know knew."
Lacroix's claims violated CBC bylaws, and came on top of Lacroix's $1,500 monthly living allowance, car allowance, club memberships and annual salary between $350,000 and $421,000.
Read the full story.
Lacroix also said he didn't feel he needed to make the repayment public until Friday.
"There was an error inside our shop," he said. "Everybody that had to know knew."
Lacroix's claims violated CBC bylaws, and came on top of Lacroix's $1,500 monthly living allowance, car allowance, club memberships and annual salary between $350,000 and $421,000.
Read the full story.
CBC Fifth Estate loses appeal of million dollar defamation case
The CBC must pay one of the largest defamation penalties ever imposed on a Canadian media outlet after being denied its final avenue of appeal.
The Supreme Court of Canada announced Thursday that it will not hear the case. The top justices never give reasons for refusing to hear appeals.
Two years ago, the CBC was ordered to pay close to $1 million in damages to medical scientist Dr. Frans Leenen of the University of Ottawa because of a story that ran on the investigative program the fifth estate.
It was also told to pay another $200,000 in damages to a Toronto cardiologist, Dr. Martin Myers.
The two doctors had sued the CBC over a story about the safety of heart medication that had been broadcast in 1996.
They accused the investigative report of being malicious, unfair, defamatory and sensationalized.
It's not clear how much the CBC will have to pay in the end, because the corporation is still adding up court-ordered damages, legal fees, and other costs. The total is expected to be several million dollars.
Read the full story.
The Supreme Court of Canada announced Thursday that it will not hear the case. The top justices never give reasons for refusing to hear appeals.
Two years ago, the CBC was ordered to pay close to $1 million in damages to medical scientist Dr. Frans Leenen of the University of Ottawa because of a story that ran on the investigative program the fifth estate.
It was also told to pay another $200,000 in damages to a Toronto cardiologist, Dr. Martin Myers.
The two doctors had sued the CBC over a story about the safety of heart medication that had been broadcast in 1996.
They accused the investigative report of being malicious, unfair, defamatory and sensationalized.
It's not clear how much the CBC will have to pay in the end, because the corporation is still adding up court-ordered damages, legal fees, and other costs. The total is expected to be several million dollars.
Read the full story.
CBCs Fifth Estate Vendetta Against Brian Mulroney
Statement by former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney:
"For almost 15 years, the CBC's Fifth Estate program has carried on a vendetta against former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, designed to suggest illegal behavior by him in relation to the Airbus matter. Despite its failure to establish such behavior and despite the RCMP having stated - after a lengthy investigation at home and abroad - that it had no evidence to substantiate such suggestions, the Fifth Estate persists in continuing its efforts to tarnish Mr. Mulroney's name."
Read the full statement and see the whole story here.
"For almost 15 years, the CBC's Fifth Estate program has carried on a vendetta against former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, designed to suggest illegal behavior by him in relation to the Airbus matter. Despite its failure to establish such behavior and despite the RCMP having stated - after a lengthy investigation at home and abroad - that it had no evidence to substantiate such suggestions, the Fifth Estate persists in continuing its efforts to tarnish Mr. Mulroney's name."
Read the full statement and see the whole story here.
CBC misreads the law
While disagreement over CBC funding is as old as the broadcaster itself, the more uncomfortable discussion for the CBC is its coverage of the current election campaign – particularly its approach to national debates and political party advertising – which raises troubling questions about its relevance in the current media environment.
The most puzzling decision has been its refusal to broadcast debates hosted by other organizations. The CBC may be disappointed with the debate approach adopted by the political parties in this campaign, but that does not change the sense that if the national public broadcaster does not air programs in the national public interest, it calls into question the very need for a public broadcaster. Indeed, the CBC seems to have cut off its nose to spite its face by doing its best to prove its critics right.
The CBC’s odd coverage choices are not limited to the missing debates. Its use of video clips from the debates has also been unnecessarily restrictive. For example, before analyzing the recent Munk debates on the “At Issue” panel, host Peter Mansbridge warned viewers that “we are limited with the excerpts with the amount we are allowed to show.” A similar warning preceded the discussion at other debates.
Yet the reality is that there was no need to be restrictive in the use of video clips. Canadian copyright law permits the use of copyrighted works without permission as part of the fair dealing clause. News reporting is one of the enumerated purposes and even expanded clips would easily qualify under a fair dealing analysis. All news organizations are free to use as much of the video from debates as necessary to highlight key moments and positions of each leader. To suggest that the law creates significant limits on the ability to show debate clips is inaccurate.
In fact, the CBC’s misreading of the law is not limited to the use of clips within its news broadcasts.
Read the full story.
The most puzzling decision has been its refusal to broadcast debates hosted by other organizations. The CBC may be disappointed with the debate approach adopted by the political parties in this campaign, but that does not change the sense that if the national public broadcaster does not air programs in the national public interest, it calls into question the very need for a public broadcaster. Indeed, the CBC seems to have cut off its nose to spite its face by doing its best to prove its critics right.
The CBC’s odd coverage choices are not limited to the missing debates. Its use of video clips from the debates has also been unnecessarily restrictive. For example, before analyzing the recent Munk debates on the “At Issue” panel, host Peter Mansbridge warned viewers that “we are limited with the excerpts with the amount we are allowed to show.” A similar warning preceded the discussion at other debates.
Yet the reality is that there was no need to be restrictive in the use of video clips. Canadian copyright law permits the use of copyrighted works without permission as part of the fair dealing clause. News reporting is one of the enumerated purposes and even expanded clips would easily qualify under a fair dealing analysis. All news organizations are free to use as much of the video from debates as necessary to highlight key moments and positions of each leader. To suggest that the law creates significant limits on the ability to show debate clips is inaccurate.
In fact, the CBC’s misreading of the law is not limited to the use of clips within its news broadcasts.
Read the full story.
Time to opt out of CBC
It is time to scrap the CBC and sell off its assets to the highest bidder.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation STILL receives more than $1billion dollars of government funding each and every year.
That's right - more than $1 billion public dollars a year goes to supporting a broadcasting corporation whose market share continues to decline. This is not value for taxpayers, and we want to put an end to it.
At the NCC we are currently producing radio commercials to spread the word about this campaign and to build support for our petition, which you can find below.
Please support us with a donation today to help fund these ads!
There is simply no reason for our government to be in the television broadcast business any longer. The CBC unfairly competes with private sector broadcasters for advertising revenue and programming content - and these private broadcasters are already subject to effective Canadian content regulations.
Sigh the petition here!
CBC Billion Dollar Funding
The following chart shows total parliamentary funding of CBC each year over the last decade, including one-time grants. One-time grants are announced in government budgets or decided over the course of the budget year. These funds apply only in the year they are granted and do not form part of CBC's stable, long-term funding.
The chart below has been stated in 2011 dollars to reflect the impact of inflation on purchasing power and provide a consistent basis for comparison over time.
See the full report here.
The chart below has been stated in 2011 dollars to reflect the impact of inflation on purchasing power and provide a consistent basis for comparison over time.
See the full report here.
Exposed - real change at CBC starts with you
What case can be made for the Government to be in the public broadcasting business competing unfairly with the private sector in 2016?
The CBC receives advertising and cable/satellite fees-fees greater than CTV and Global but this is not enough for the greedy CBC who also receive more than a billion dollars of your tax money. And now the new Trudeau Government has promised at least an additional $150 million dollars a year to this biased, wasteful government broadcaster.
As is, Taxpayers continue to be hosed to the tune of about $100,000,000 (yes, 100 MILLION) of our taxes every 30 days with no CBC accountability to taxpayers as they continue with their biased news service serving only the extreme socialists and anti-Semitics.
What does it take for real change at the CBC? You! Our blog now contains a link to the Politicians contact info for you to make your voice heard. Act now and contact your MP, the Cabinet and Prime Minister ... tell them to stop wasting your money, and ... sell the CBC.
The CBC receives advertising and cable/satellite fees-fees greater than CTV and Global but this is not enough for the greedy CBC who also receive more than a billion dollars of your tax money. And now the new Trudeau Government has promised at least an additional $150 million dollars a year to this biased, wasteful government broadcaster.
As is, Taxpayers continue to be hosed to the tune of about $100,000,000 (yes, 100 MILLION) of our taxes every 30 days with no CBC accountability to taxpayers as they continue with their biased news service serving only the extreme socialists and anti-Semitics.
What does it take for real change at the CBC? You! Our blog now contains a link to the Politicians contact info for you to make your voice heard. Act now and contact your MP, the Cabinet and Prime Minister ... tell them to stop wasting your money, and ... sell the CBC.
Exposed - CBC has too few friends
The CBC’s problem isn’t just the lack of funding or the disruptive Internet, although those are major issues.
The problem isn’t that CBC has too many enemies. Its problem is too few friends.
Years ago, then-Liberal cabinet minister George Baker told me that the CBC “doesn’t have a single friend at the cabinet table.” That was during the Liberal years, when the public broadcaster endured a series of punishing cuts.
The CBC forgot how to make friends while private networks spent all their time pleasing people. The other networks built loyalty and audiences, at cost to the CBC.
Now it is cutting staff and newscast hours to refocus on digital products. Television has fallen to fourth out of four priorities, an admission of defeat after 60-plus years of trying to make a success of Canadian public television.
Read the full story.
The problem isn’t that CBC has too many enemies. Its problem is too few friends.
Years ago, then-Liberal cabinet minister George Baker told me that the CBC “doesn’t have a single friend at the cabinet table.” That was during the Liberal years, when the public broadcaster endured a series of punishing cuts.
The CBC forgot how to make friends while private networks spent all their time pleasing people. The other networks built loyalty and audiences, at cost to the CBC.
Now it is cutting staff and newscast hours to refocus on digital products. Television has fallen to fourth out of four priorities, an admission of defeat after 60-plus years of trying to make a success of Canadian public television.
Read the full story.
Exposed - CBC Unions Rethink Hubert Lacroix Pink Slip
The unions inside the CBC seem to have toned down earlier rhetoric suggesting the pubcaster's president, Hubert Lacroix, be pink-slipped.
There is, however, a sense of urgency and perhaps even a hint of impending agitation embedded in the wording of a letter ostensibly sent to congratulate Melanie Joly on her appointment as federal Heritage Minister.
Read the letter here.
There is, however, a sense of urgency and perhaps even a hint of impending agitation embedded in the wording of a letter ostensibly sent to congratulate Melanie Joly on her appointment as federal Heritage Minister.
Read the letter here.
CBC president Hubert Lacroix no longer has legitimacy
Unions representing majority of CBC and Radio-Canada employees launched a petition saying Hubert Lacroix and board of directors “no longer have legitimacy.”
The two unions representing the vast majority of CBC and Radio-Canada employees across the country are calling for CBC president Hubert Lacroix and the entire board of directors to step down, and are launching a petition on the matter amongst its members.
Lacroix was not made available for an interview.
Read the full story.
The two unions representing the vast majority of CBC and Radio-Canada employees across the country are calling for CBC president Hubert Lacroix and the entire board of directors to step down, and are launching a petition on the matter amongst its members.
Lacroix was not made available for an interview.
Read the full story.
Open Letter to CBC
This is a letter to us from a reader ... we have posted it here for your information WITH their permission to do so:
_______________________________________
Hello,
I am a French Canadian who has lived all across the country
and like to read the news in both official languages as sometimes it gives
different perspectives on a same topic.
However, I’ve been more and more disappointed with Radio-Canada as they
are so Quebec-centric it is making me sick.
I’m originally from Labrador and now live in St. John’s, and I’ve lived
in BC and Quebec. I’ve emailed
countless of times to Radio-Canada about how they forget (and steal) Canadians
who are not living in La Belle Province.
In sports, it is common to read “The Quebecer X and the Canadian Y” in
the same article, mentioning how our athletes succeeded. During the last Federal Election, the Bloc
was mentioned daily but good luck finding news about the Greens for example, a
national party as opposed to a regional, country breaker party. Their main news page
(http://radio-canada.ca/nouvelles) is filled with Quebec news and if you want
something from the Maritimes, BC or outside of Quebec, you got to do some work
because it is not that simple to find in a buggy (yes!!) web site. I’ve emailed them this month about this and
their response from Pierre Champoux was:
“L’auditoire de ICI Radio-Canada.ca se trouve principalement
au Québec et nous devons en tenir compte dans nos choix éditoriaux mais cela ne
signifie pas que nous ignorions les informations provenant des autres
provinces. Les pupitres nationaux sont en contact constant avec leurs collègues
des régions
du Québec et d'ailleurs au pays pour s’assurer de ne rien
oublier qui soit d’intérêt pour les Canadiens. “
Personal Translation: “The Radio-Canada audience is mostly
located in Quebec and we have to take that into account in our editorial
choices, but this does not mean that we are ignoring informations coming from
other provinces. National desks are in
constant communication with their colleagues in Quebec regions and elsewhere in
the country in order to make sure that nothing is forgotten that is interests
to Canadians.”
Radio-Canada (and CBC) is a NATIONAL organisation but most
importantly, the SAME organisation.
Their claim that their French speaking audience is mostly located in
Quebec is because they have alienated us outside Quebec to a point where we
don’t even look at what they are doing.
And regardless, this is not Radio-Canada’s mission. It is simply disgusting to see that I cannot
see what’s happening here in NL in their national space but god forbid
something going on in France, Spain, Europe of a small village in Quebec (a
small business about beard trimming in rural Quebec tonight:
http://ici.radio-canada.ca/regions/estrie/2015/12/18/006-barbe-tendance-homme-masculin.shtml)
can make its way there though.
The executives are completely disconnected from French
Canadians. They operate Radio-Canada as
a Quebec news outlet. I complained many
times, especially during the elections, and I got told that I was lying when I
have screenshot evidence of their poor, Quebec-oriented editorial choices. They are not listening and don’t want
to. They are not even using the same
web platform as CBC hence doubling the cost of developing a news web platform
for a single, national, news outlet.
Their web platform is buggy (select your region as Newfoundland and
Labrador and you end up with news from NB, or various rural regions of Quebec)
and virtually unusable (can wait 1 minute, in 2015, to get a page!!) at times
when CBC is always responding.
I could go on and on with my rant. But I am sick of seeing Radio-Canada being operated as a Quebec
news outlet, meaning that Quebecers are getting way more than what they are
paying for. This is stealing all tax payers.
I’ve discovered your site this morning and I found it simply
brilliant. I’m all for fairness and
seeing how CBC (and Radio-Canada) steal tax payers money, I believe it should
either be abolished, or the execs all be fired and sued for stealing tax payers
money. They know they are not
respecting their primary mandate, and this is simply wrong and against the
law. Coming from an area where French
speaking Canadians are a minority, I would believe Radio-Canada’s commitment
towards minority regions and realities if they were to get more executives from
outside Quebec, and invest more in their regional outlet outside Quebec. At the moment, everything is
Montreal-centric, then Quebec-centric and if there are crumbs left, than the
rest can have them.
Exposed - CBC Is a Luxury We Can No Longer Afford
The Road To Bankruptcy Is Paved With Good Intentions
I believe that when the CBC began, it was absolutely essential at almost any cost. It was one of the only mediums of communication, and for many parts of Canada it was the only television available. It was undeniably a key means of getting information out from coast-to-coast, and held great cultural value in terms of defining Canada a country. I believe it certainly justified its fairly high cost to the public purse in times past… wait for it… *sound of other shoe dropping*… Unfortunately for the CBC, the world we live in today is not the world of yesteryear.I believe the current financial commitment in tax dollars to the CBC should be slashed much more dramatically than the current budget suggests (roughly 10%), because its importance to Canadians is vastly diminished relative to even 15 years ago. Imagine what hundreds of millions of dollars could do in terms of plugging the holes in education, health care, or infrastructure? These are the priorities I believe most Canadians have, and the CBC, while a nice luxury to possess, is simply one we can’t afford any more.
Read the full story here.
CBC columnist vows to have a “party when Harper dies”
You run across a lot of lefty crazies on Twitter who wish conservatives harm, or call Stephen Harper "Adolf Hitler" -- but you certainly don’t expect something this insane from a CBC columnist:
Lyndon Penner is a gardening columnist for CBC News Saskatchewan and that he still has his job after sending out this tweet is stunning.
I will be filing a complaint with the CBC Ombudsman and will update with the response.
UPDATE: Lyndon has changed his Twitter account to @LyndonGardener
Read the full story here.
Lyndon Penner is a gardening columnist for CBC News Saskatchewan and that he still has his job after sending out this tweet is stunning.
I will be filing a complaint with the CBC Ombudsman and will update with the response.
UPDATE: Lyndon has changed his Twitter account to @LyndonGardener
Read the full story here.
Outside firm to review CBC managers behaviour
A senior member of staff at CBC issued an informal complaint against a fellow exec after the VP displayed “upsetting” behaviour in a meeting, the Star reports.
According to the Toronto-based media outlet, Heather Conway – executive vice-president of English Services – was accused of harassing the English branch’s chief business officer, Neil McEneaney.
McEneaney also asserted that Conway, who has herself called for a more respectful working environment in the past, apologised for her actions.
Despite the incident being played down, the broadcasting corporation has hired an outside firm to conduct a review of senior managers’ behaviour including Conway’s.
Read the full story.
According to the Toronto-based media outlet, Heather Conway – executive vice-president of English Services – was accused of harassing the English branch’s chief business officer, Neil McEneaney.
McEneaney also asserted that Conway, who has herself called for a more respectful working environment in the past, apologised for her actions.
Despite the incident being played down, the broadcasting corporation has hired an outside firm to conduct a review of senior managers’ behaviour including Conway’s.
Read the full story.
Is 150 million to CBC more important than other priorities
It’s been a heck of a year for the CBC — a scathing report denounced managers for their handling of the Jian Ghomeshi affair while former anchors Amanda Lang and Evan Solomon faced controversies of their own.
All the while, the CBC continued to grapple with steep budget cuts that slashed news broadcasts, gutted sports and documentary divisions and put for sale signs in front of aging facilities.
But with a more CBC-friendly Liberal government now holding the purse strings, could things finally be looking up for the beleaguered public broadcaster?
In a statement, the CBC said any new government funds would be put towards the ongoing five-year “Strategy 2020” that focuses on digital initiatives.
Assuming the money comes through at all.
Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said a harsh fiscal climate could force the Liberal government to reassess whether it can afford to spend more on the broadcaster.
“I’m not sure that most people would argue that spending another $150 million on the CBC is more important than many of the other priorities that the Liberals have identified,” Wudrick said from Ottawa.
Read the full story.
All the while, the CBC continued to grapple with steep budget cuts that slashed news broadcasts, gutted sports and documentary divisions and put for sale signs in front of aging facilities.
But with a more CBC-friendly Liberal government now holding the purse strings, could things finally be looking up for the beleaguered public broadcaster?
In a statement, the CBC said any new government funds would be put towards the ongoing five-year “Strategy 2020” that focuses on digital initiatives.
Assuming the money comes through at all.
Aaron Wudrick, federal director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, said a harsh fiscal climate could force the Liberal government to reassess whether it can afford to spend more on the broadcaster.
“I’m not sure that most people would argue that spending another $150 million on the CBC is more important than many of the other priorities that the Liberals have identified,” Wudrick said from Ottawa.
Read the full story.
CBC legal counsel argued AGAINST free speech
Canada’s state broadcaster has been busy proving themselves to be one of the most devoted enemies of freedom of speech and information sharing in the country.
I feel comfortable saying this based on the more than 400 pages of emails, memos and documents I’ve reviewed in what was their attempt to cover up their efforts to protect Justin Trudeau from attack ads. They even tried to censor the internet.
You may recall that CBC got angry with the Conservative Party for using a clip from one of their many behind the scenes, all access, Peter Mansbridge and Justin hang out moments in the now infamous and certainly ridiculous comments he made about the Boston Marathon bombers.
The CBC didn’t stop there and began on a multi-year push to have CBC news footage protected from being used in political ads despite existing jurisprudence, the law and CBC’s own legal opinion showing they didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Read the full story and watch the video here.
I feel comfortable saying this based on the more than 400 pages of emails, memos and documents I’ve reviewed in what was their attempt to cover up their efforts to protect Justin Trudeau from attack ads. They even tried to censor the internet.
You may recall that CBC got angry with the Conservative Party for using a clip from one of their many behind the scenes, all access, Peter Mansbridge and Justin hang out moments in the now infamous and certainly ridiculous comments he made about the Boston Marathon bombers.
The CBC didn’t stop there and began on a multi-year push to have CBC news footage protected from being used in political ads despite existing jurisprudence, the law and CBC’s own legal opinion showing they didn’t have a leg to stand on.
Read the full story and watch the video here.
Exposed - CBC pointing fingers to avoid own scandals
The CBC is carefully pointing the finger at waste and mismanagement in the Senate to avoid their own scandals.
CBC has changed it’s focus from direct attacks on Senator Mike Duffy to denouncing the Senate. CBC reporter Terry Milewski’s charges against the Senate can easily be made against the CBC itself.
His story is the kettle calling the pot black. The CBC misrepresents Canadians by spending 37 times more on PEI than major parts of Canada. CBC has expense scandals and sex scandals beyond anything in the Senate.
Read the full story here.
CBC has changed it’s focus from direct attacks on Senator Mike Duffy to denouncing the Senate. CBC reporter Terry Milewski’s charges against the Senate can easily be made against the CBC itself.
His story is the kettle calling the pot black. The CBC misrepresents Canadians by spending 37 times more on PEI than major parts of Canada. CBC has expense scandals and sex scandals beyond anything in the Senate.
Read the full story here.
CBC Interview Not Adherrent to CBC Standards
Yesterday, CBC Ombudsman Esther Enkin released a review entitled “Breaking the Silence: A controversial report and the question of balance” which found that a May 4 CBC As It Happens interview with a representative from anti-Israel NGO Breaking the Silence, was not adherent to CBC’s Journalistic Standards and Practices.
Read the full story here.
Read the full story here.
New Liberal Government to Protect CBC?
Story from the past ...
The Liberal Party of Canada is urging Canadians to sign a petition that will tell Stephen Harper to lay off the CBC’s budget; that “the Conservatives are using the CBC as a scapegoat for their budget deficits and are breaking their election promise to continue their funding.”
Fans/employees of the CBC may be excused for raising an eyebrow to see the Liberals criticizing any government eyeballing CBC budget cuts as part of a government-wide austerity plan for in 1996, as Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien and his finance minister Paul Martin were trying to dig Canada out from under its biggest debt load (measured relative to GDP), the Liberals imposed drastic cuts on the Crown corporation, chopping $414 million from a budget of what, at that time, was $1.4 billion a year. That’s a haircut of close to 30 per cent.
Read the full story.
The Liberal Party of Canada is urging Canadians to sign a petition that will tell Stephen Harper to lay off the CBC’s budget; that “the Conservatives are using the CBC as a scapegoat for their budget deficits and are breaking their election promise to continue their funding.”
Fans/employees of the CBC may be excused for raising an eyebrow to see the Liberals criticizing any government eyeballing CBC budget cuts as part of a government-wide austerity plan for in 1996, as Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien and his finance minister Paul Martin were trying to dig Canada out from under its biggest debt load (measured relative to GDP), the Liberals imposed drastic cuts on the Crown corporation, chopping $414 million from a budget of what, at that time, was $1.4 billion a year. That’s a haircut of close to 30 per cent.
Read the full story.
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