My solution is for the CBC to cancel 85% of its "original" programming. After reviewing the top 30 Canadian TV ratings for each week of 2011, the only CBC shows to make the list consistently are Hockey Night in Canada and Dragon's Den. The Rick Mercer Report showed up a few times, and Heartland cracked the bottom of the list twice. American syndicated game shows Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy get better ratings on the CBC than almost everything else they air!
Read the full story.
cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
Just who is the winner in partnership between Yellow Pages and CBC
In a press release dated August 20, 2013 in Market Watch it was announced that Yellow Pages Group and Canada's national public broadcaster (CBC) have extended an existing collaboration to provide CBC.ca users with local business listings and information.
But we have to wonder at the wisdom of this partnership. Internet technology is advancing at a phenomenal pace and one company that that is pushing the limits is the biggest search engine for local business and that giant is Google.
IT World recently published an article relating to the giant of search engines. Try searching in google for "coffee spots near me" or "coffee spots in Ottawa". A small Google maps window will show up showing you where those shops are ... and how to get to them. It's pretty simple for the average person to find what they want immediately when it comes to local business listings and information.
Another website ("SeeBest-web-design") had an excellent article called "Effective Business advertising: Four obsolete Marketing Methods in the Digital Age". I won't go into the whole article but one paragraph caught my eye: "While many yellow page directory services have created online versions to go along with the printed book, these are equally as ineffective. No one uses business directories to locate information on products or services, preferring instead to directly search for information on a search engine such as Google or Bing, or via social search in Facebook. Due to the high cost of advertising in yellow page and directory services, and the dwindling number of people looking to them for answers, the Yellow Pages are obsolete when it comes to advertising your business."
So there you have it. In my opinion I guess the winner would be Yellow Pages as they get cash and the losers would be the taxpayers of Canada who pay almost $100,000,000 a month to the coffers of the CBC.
Just another example of waste.
But we have to wonder at the wisdom of this partnership. Internet technology is advancing at a phenomenal pace and one company that that is pushing the limits is the biggest search engine for local business and that giant is Google.
IT World recently published an article relating to the giant of search engines. Try searching in google for "coffee spots near me" or "coffee spots in Ottawa". A small Google maps window will show up showing you where those shops are ... and how to get to them. It's pretty simple for the average person to find what they want immediately when it comes to local business listings and information.
Another website ("SeeBest-web-design") had an excellent article called "Effective Business advertising: Four obsolete Marketing Methods in the Digital Age". I won't go into the whole article but one paragraph caught my eye: "While many yellow page directory services have created online versions to go along with the printed book, these are equally as ineffective. No one uses business directories to locate information on products or services, preferring instead to directly search for information on a search engine such as Google or Bing, or via social search in Facebook. Due to the high cost of advertising in yellow page and directory services, and the dwindling number of people looking to them for answers, the Yellow Pages are obsolete when it comes to advertising your business."
So there you have it. In my opinion I guess the winner would be Yellow Pages as they get cash and the losers would be the taxpayers of Canada who pay almost $100,000,000 a month to the coffers of the CBC.
Just another example of waste.
CBC Music losing millions
The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. will lose millions of dollars a year on its free music service for the foreseeable future, as the high cost of content surpasses the advertising revenue the service earns.
CBC Music was launched in February just as the broadcaster was bracing for deep budget cuts that would lead to the loss of 650 jobs and prompt the CBC to request permission to sell advertising on its Radio 2 service.
Read the full story.
CBC Music was launched in February just as the broadcaster was bracing for deep budget cuts that would lead to the loss of 650 jobs and prompt the CBC to request permission to sell advertising on its Radio 2 service.
Read the full story.
Two Doctors, the CBC and a Judgement
On Feb. 27, 1996, Dr. Martin Myers, a respected cardiologist at Toronto's Sunnybrook hospital, sat down to watch TV. He thought he was going to see a program in which he had taken part about the pharmaceutical industry. As an expert in heart drugs, he had given an interview to explain a complicated medical debate over a drug used to treat high blood pressure.
What he saw was a sensational exposé about killer drugs, kickback schemes and secret files. The tease for the program was a voice clip that said, "People are dying, people who don't need to die are dying."
To his shock, the program went on to insinuate that he had helped Canada's Health Protection Branch cover up a major scandal involving tens of thousands of deaths. It implied that he was knowingly helping a drug manufacturer push a dangerous medication.
Dr. Myers asked for an apology plus $25,000.
The CBC decided to fight.
A very expensive decision. Last November, a judge awarded Dr. Myers a hefty $200,000, plus interest and costs.
Read the full story.
What he saw was a sensational exposé about killer drugs, kickback schemes and secret files. The tease for the program was a voice clip that said, "People are dying, people who don't need to die are dying."
To his shock, the program went on to insinuate that he had helped Canada's Health Protection Branch cover up a major scandal involving tens of thousands of deaths. It implied that he was knowingly helping a drug manufacturer push a dangerous medication.
Dr. Myers asked for an apology plus $25,000.
The CBC decided to fight.
A very expensive decision. Last November, a judge awarded Dr. Myers a hefty $200,000, plus interest and costs.
Read the full story.
CBC report on 38,000 robocall complaints - a clear and obvious lie?
“CBC reported that there were 38,000 robocall complaints to Elections Canada, a clear and obvious lie.
Why did they do that?
Are they actually that incompetent that they beleived that in one month a year after the election there were 38,000 legitimate complaints, or are they actually that blatantly biased? Or both?
The LeadNow website that produced the so called complaints could be accessed by anyone in the world as many times as they wanted, and a multiple complaints produced by simply clicking one button multiple times.
It is not reasonable to believe that the CBC actually thought those were legitimate complaints, which is born out when the backtracked later.
All the CBC does is tell lie after lie to Canadians.”
Read the actual story.
Why did they do that?
Are they actually that incompetent that they beleived that in one month a year after the election there were 38,000 legitimate complaints, or are they actually that blatantly biased? Or both?
The LeadNow website that produced the so called complaints could be accessed by anyone in the world as many times as they wanted, and a multiple complaints produced by simply clicking one button multiple times.
It is not reasonable to believe that the CBC actually thought those were legitimate complaints, which is born out when the backtracked later.
All the CBC does is tell lie after lie to Canadians.”
Read the actual story.
CBC TV has finally lost its standing as an important Canadian institution
The CBC move to become ultra-light in an effort to woo younger viewers and boost its ratings has been a dismal failure. The age of the average CBC audience has not declined appreciably. The audience numbers have not risen, especially in comparison to the gains made by CTV and Global since the rating system was changed. Shows like Little Mosque on the Prairie and Insecurity have served to turn loyal CBC viewers away from the network. The National’s weak efforts since it was revamped have served to cut anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of the CBC News audience. The dismal treatment of current affairs mainstays like The 5th Estate and Marketplace have eroded both their numbers and their positive affect on how we view the work and importance of CBC TV.
CBC TV, it seems, has finally lost its standing as an important Canadian institution. Twenty-five years of budget cuts and six years of management dumbing down the content have worked their magic to make CBC TV just another station, and an unpopular one at that. The fact that the CBC costs Canadians a billion dollars per year only serves to make citizens care more about the money and less about what the network has to offer.
Stephen Harper will not have to sell off the CBC, he won’t even have to do anything drastic. All he has to do is stand aside and let the CBC drift further and further into irrelevancy.
Read the full story.
CBC TV, it seems, has finally lost its standing as an important Canadian institution. Twenty-five years of budget cuts and six years of management dumbing down the content have worked their magic to make CBC TV just another station, and an unpopular one at that. The fact that the CBC costs Canadians a billion dollars per year only serves to make citizens care more about the money and less about what the network has to offer.
Stephen Harper will not have to sell off the CBC, he won’t even have to do anything drastic. All he has to do is stand aside and let the CBC drift further and further into irrelevancy.
Read the full story.
CBC competes directly with private broadcasters in some areas
Recently I’ve been thinking about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and how it spends the billion dollars a year it gets from the Canadian taxpayer.
It annoys me a bit that the CBC competes directly with private broadcasters in some areas. Particularly areas where the private sector does a better job.
Like local news. In Montreal, the market leader among anglophones is CTV’s CFCF. It kills in the ratings. It has more hours of original local news than its competitors combined. It has more journalists, and more of its news is local.
So why is CBC trying to compete? More importantly, why is the CBC trying to compete by doing the same thing?
What if the funds that went into the CBC were instead transferred to the Canada Media Fund, which helps fund television series no matter what network they air on? What if we focused our money more on creating better Canadian television series, ones Canadians actually wanted to watch? What if we got rid of the overhead and gave all that money directly to the people who actually produce Canadian television programming?
And what if, instead of a network that carries the CBC network to distant communities, infrastructure was used to bring both private and public Canadian programming to them? What if CBC’s production facilities were made available to ordinary Canadians to make their own television, which could then be uploaded to YouTube or the CBC’s website for people to see?
Read the full story.
It annoys me a bit that the CBC competes directly with private broadcasters in some areas. Particularly areas where the private sector does a better job.
Like local news. In Montreal, the market leader among anglophones is CTV’s CFCF. It kills in the ratings. It has more hours of original local news than its competitors combined. It has more journalists, and more of its news is local.
So why is CBC trying to compete? More importantly, why is the CBC trying to compete by doing the same thing?
What if the funds that went into the CBC were instead transferred to the Canada Media Fund, which helps fund television series no matter what network they air on? What if we focused our money more on creating better Canadian television series, ones Canadians actually wanted to watch? What if we got rid of the overhead and gave all that money directly to the people who actually produce Canadian television programming?
And what if, instead of a network that carries the CBC network to distant communities, infrastructure was used to bring both private and public Canadian programming to them? What if CBC’s production facilities were made available to ordinary Canadians to make their own television, which could then be uploaded to YouTube or the CBC’s website for people to see?
Read the full story.
CBC viewership is down 40% over the last two years
There’s no surprise CBC TV viewers went missing in action during last fall’s NHL lockout.
But now there’s debate over the pubcaster’s actual audience decline after Barry Kiefl’s media trends blog this week indicated that, based on the CBC’s own data, viewership is down 40% over the last two years.
Kiefl said CBC TV’s primetime share was 5.3% at the mid-point of the 2012-13 TV season, down sharply from a 9.3% share in 2010-11.
Even with the loss of live TV hockey on Saturday nights through fall 2012, the CBC said its primetime audience was only down 21%.
Read the full story.
But now there’s debate over the pubcaster’s actual audience decline after Barry Kiefl’s media trends blog this week indicated that, based on the CBC’s own data, viewership is down 40% over the last two years.
Kiefl said CBC TV’s primetime share was 5.3% at the mid-point of the 2012-13 TV season, down sharply from a 9.3% share in 2010-11.
Even with the loss of live TV hockey on Saturday nights through fall 2012, the CBC said its primetime audience was only down 21%.
Read the full story.
Canadians prefer Duck Dynasty to most CBC shows
CBC TV has an audience crisis, according to the most recent data released by CBC. CBC is required by the government to report on its financial and audience performance on a quarterly basis.
The CBC’s latest report confirms that many programs on the main TV service, despite efforts to be more “popular,” have fallen to audience levels not much greater than many specialty channels. Those who deny the crisis fail to realize that Canadians prefer Duck Dynasty to most CBC shows, including the national news.
Read the full story.
The CBC’s latest report confirms that many programs on the main TV service, despite efforts to be more “popular,” have fallen to audience levels not much greater than many specialty channels. Those who deny the crisis fail to realize that Canadians prefer Duck Dynasty to most CBC shows, including the national news.
Read the full story.
"The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong"
The CBC is warning the federal government that its efforts to control salary negotiations at the Crown agency could be at odds with the Broadcasting Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, leading to litigation.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. chief executive Hubert Lacroix sent a letter to the Commons finance committee today, pleading for an amendment to the budget implementation bill to ensure the broadcaster's independence.
But when Liberal MP Scott Brison read parts of the letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the minister stiffly dismissed any possibility of changes to the bill.
"The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong," Flaherty said.
"All Crown agencies have a responsibility through ministers, back to Parliament, to the people of Canada. They can't do whatever they want, particularly with taxpayers money. They can't just go off and pay their executives and pay everybody else whatever they want to pay them."
Read the full story.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. chief executive Hubert Lacroix sent a letter to the Commons finance committee today, pleading for an amendment to the budget implementation bill to ensure the broadcaster's independence.
But when Liberal MP Scott Brison read parts of the letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the minister stiffly dismissed any possibility of changes to the bill.
"The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong," Flaherty said.
"All Crown agencies have a responsibility through ministers, back to Parliament, to the people of Canada. They can't do whatever they want, particularly with taxpayers money. They can't just go off and pay their executives and pay everybody else whatever they want to pay them."
Read the full story.
CBC botched rebranding effort despite spending $400,000 on the notion
The CBC will not change the name of Radio Canada to “Ici” -- which translates into "here" in English -- after all, despite spending $400,000 on the notion.
“We apologize for the confusion that was created in people’s minds when we introduced the term ICI as a common denominator for all of our platforms. Our intention was never to distance ourselves from Radio-Canada and everything it represents,” said CBC Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix in a statement on CBC's website.
With taxpayers ponying up more than $1 billion a year to fund the corportion, most critics said that the word “Canada” needed to stay in the name.
Read the full story.
“We apologize for the confusion that was created in people’s minds when we introduced the term ICI as a common denominator for all of our platforms. Our intention was never to distance ourselves from Radio-Canada and everything it represents,” said CBC Radio-Canada president Hubert Lacroix in a statement on CBC's website.
With taxpayers ponying up more than $1 billion a year to fund the corportion, most critics said that the word “Canada” needed to stay in the name.
Read the full story.
CBC expected to 'break even' in broadcast of 2014, 2016 Olympics
Despite the fierce competition for the rights to broadcast the Olympic Games, it turns out the spectacular event is not a guaranteed money-maker.
"I expect the CBC will break even," said sports-marketing expert Howard Bloom.
While neither the CBC nor the International Olympic Committee have disclosed the price tag for those broadcast rights, some estimates have put it between $95 and $110 million ...
Coverage will also mean huge production costs for the CBC.
"The problem isn't that there's less demand for sports or entertainment," said Lee. "It's that with things like social media - YouTube - people get it for free."
Read the full story.
"I expect the CBC will break even," said sports-marketing expert Howard Bloom.
While neither the CBC nor the International Olympic Committee have disclosed the price tag for those broadcast rights, some estimates have put it between $95 and $110 million ...
Coverage will also mean huge production costs for the CBC.
"The problem isn't that there's less demand for sports or entertainment," said Lee. "It's that with things like social media - YouTube - people get it for free."
Read the full story.
Documentary on the biases of the CBC
Over the years, I have become increasingly alienated from the CBC’s radio and television networks. On almost any issue, I can tell you where the CBC stands.
Rather than just being angry, I decided to make a documentary on the biases of the CBC — and in this case bias against Israel and bias against conservatives.
To be honest, I could have made this film about a whole bunch of other problems at the CBC — its Toronto-centricity, its anti-Americanism, its support for environmental lunacy, and so on and so forth. Bias against Israel and bias against conservatives are personal — so I ran with those two concepts.
Read the full story.
Rather than just being angry, I decided to make a documentary on the biases of the CBC — and in this case bias against Israel and bias against conservatives.
To be honest, I could have made this film about a whole bunch of other problems at the CBC — its Toronto-centricity, its anti-Americanism, its support for environmental lunacy, and so on and so forth. Bias against Israel and bias against conservatives are personal — so I ran with those two concepts.
Read the full story.
CBC seems to have a double standard about public accountability
CBC journalists can be relied upon to dig for details on public sector stories that are of interest to Canadians.
The vigour the agency’s journalists are bringing to chase the Mike Duffy-Prime Minister’s Office fiasco playing out in Ottawa is an example of this reporting tradition. In doing its media work, the CBC decries secrecy on public matters of public interest — often very conspicuously referencing government stonewalling it feels it encounters as part of its reporting on stories.
It should do what it can to draw attention to this issue and other public accountability matters connected to Canadian governments. However, the CBC seems to have a double standard about public accountability when it comes to behaving as a Crown corporation. A recent effort by The Record to have the costs made public that are associated with setting up the new CBC Radio and online station serving Waterloo Region went nowhere.
Read the full story.
The vigour the agency’s journalists are bringing to chase the Mike Duffy-Prime Minister’s Office fiasco playing out in Ottawa is an example of this reporting tradition. In doing its media work, the CBC decries secrecy on public matters of public interest — often very conspicuously referencing government stonewalling it feels it encounters as part of its reporting on stories.
It should do what it can to draw attention to this issue and other public accountability matters connected to Canadian governments. However, the CBC seems to have a double standard about public accountability when it comes to behaving as a Crown corporation. A recent effort by The Record to have the costs made public that are associated with setting up the new CBC Radio and online station serving Waterloo Region went nowhere.
Read the full story.
CBC wasted close to a million dollars on a movie it will never broadcast
CBC wasted close to a million dollars on a movie it will never broadcast, but don't expect the state broadcaster to cough up details.
Mulroney: The Opera, which opened in theatres across Canada on Saturday, was started in partnership with CBC, but the Crown corporation's name doesn't appear in the credits. That's because it blew off the musical send-up of former prime minister Brian Mulroney over fear of political fallout.
"Yes, we were involved in the early development of Mulroney: The Opera. But as usual with our program development projects, we don't make those expenditures public," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
Asked directly about claims from inside the film industry that CBC spent close to $1 million of taxpayers' money, the state broadcaster again refused to release any details.
CBC is fighting the information commissioner in court to stop the release of documents on several different files.
Read the full story.
Mulroney: The Opera, which opened in theatres across Canada on Saturday, was started in partnership with CBC, but the Crown corporation's name doesn't appear in the credits. That's because it blew off the musical send-up of former prime minister Brian Mulroney over fear of political fallout.
"Yes, we were involved in the early development of Mulroney: The Opera. But as usual with our program development projects, we don't make those expenditures public," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
Asked directly about claims from inside the film industry that CBC spent close to $1 million of taxpayers' money, the state broadcaster again refused to release any details.
CBC is fighting the information commissioner in court to stop the release of documents on several different files.
Read the full story.
CBC DEFENDS NEIL MACDONALD’S EXPLOITING CBC NEWS PLATFORMS TO ATTACK ISRAEL
Macdonald’s June 6 analysis piece correlated a story about alleged political bias at the IRS and sexual abuse in the U.S. military to the Middle East conflict. Amazingly, he managed to twist these unrelated world affairs stories into criticisms of Israel by stating: “In Canada, do Stephen Harper and his most partisan supporters actually think, down deep, that Israel may actually bear some of the blame for its troubles with the Palestinians?”
There is no evidence to substantiate claims that Canada’s Prime Minister and his “most partisan supporters” deep down assign blame to Israel for the impasses and quarrels with the Palestinians, but MacDonald had no problem raising this question that serves to malign Israel, Canadian support for the Jewish state, and which exonerates Palestinian transgressions and elevates the Palestinian cause.
In response to the overwhelming response of HRC (Honest Reporting Canada) members who registered complaints with the CBC, Editor-in-Chief Jennifer McGuire defended Macdonald’s comments and altogether ignored his historical anti-Israel bias.
BUT
“CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices has very clear policies on its journalists expressing opinion: “Our value of impartiality precludes our news and current affairs staff from expressing their personal opinions on matters of controversy on all our platforms.”
“CBC policy is clear that even the perception of bias should be avoided.”
Read the full story.
There is no evidence to substantiate claims that Canada’s Prime Minister and his “most partisan supporters” deep down assign blame to Israel for the impasses and quarrels with the Palestinians, but MacDonald had no problem raising this question that serves to malign Israel, Canadian support for the Jewish state, and which exonerates Palestinian transgressions and elevates the Palestinian cause.
In response to the overwhelming response of HRC (Honest Reporting Canada) members who registered complaints with the CBC, Editor-in-Chief Jennifer McGuire defended Macdonald’s comments and altogether ignored his historical anti-Israel bias.
BUT
“CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices has very clear policies on its journalists expressing opinion: “Our value of impartiality precludes our news and current affairs staff from expressing their personal opinions on matters of controversy on all our platforms.”
“CBC policy is clear that even the perception of bias should be avoided.”
Read the full story.
CBC is in precarious position
The CRTC renewed the licences for all of the CBC's broadcast services, giving the green light for a three-year period to the CBC's request to introduce ads on Radio Two and its French language counterpart Espace Musique.
Today's CRTC decision grants CBC a five-year licence that requires minimum amounts of Canadian programming overall and during prime time when most viewers are watching. The decision is silent on the precarious position the CBC is in concerning its future access to professional hockey ad revenue.
"Next year when its agreement with the NHL expires, the chances are very good that a competitor will win the right to Hockey Night in Canada. In this scenario, the CBC will face a cut to its bottom line of $200 million --"
Read the full story.
Today's CRTC decision grants CBC a five-year licence that requires minimum amounts of Canadian programming overall and during prime time when most viewers are watching. The decision is silent on the precarious position the CBC is in concerning its future access to professional hockey ad revenue.
"Next year when its agreement with the NHL expires, the chances are very good that a competitor will win the right to Hockey Night in Canada. In this scenario, the CBC will face a cut to its bottom line of $200 million --"
Read the full story.
The CBC is coming under friendly fire
The CBC is coming under friendly fire.
The broadcaster is refusing to air an ad - produced by the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting - over concerns it would jeopardize its neutrality.
On Monday, Friend's spokesman Ian Morrison expressed disappointment at CBC's rejection of the ad, which he maintained is meant to highlight how the Conservative government is "gradually transforming the CBC from an independent public broadcaster into something that is approaching a state broadcaster - the kind of thing you would associate with Russia, even today, with China, with Cuba."
Treasury Board spokesman Matthew Conway said the feds want to keep an eye on crown corporations to ensure they're "financially viable and costs are sustainable."
Morrision said the government has "no credibility" on the issue and that Friends plans to spend some $60,000 to air the ad. It has approached both CTV and TVA, a Sun News sister network.
The CBC receives roughly $1.1 billion in federal government funding annually.
Read the full story.
The broadcaster is refusing to air an ad - produced by the Friends of Canadian Broadcasting - over concerns it would jeopardize its neutrality.
On Monday, Friend's spokesman Ian Morrison expressed disappointment at CBC's rejection of the ad, which he maintained is meant to highlight how the Conservative government is "gradually transforming the CBC from an independent public broadcaster into something that is approaching a state broadcaster - the kind of thing you would associate with Russia, even today, with China, with Cuba."
Treasury Board spokesman Matthew Conway said the feds want to keep an eye on crown corporations to ensure they're "financially viable and costs are sustainable."
Morrision said the government has "no credibility" on the issue and that Friends plans to spend some $60,000 to air the ad. It has approached both CTV and TVA, a Sun News sister network.
The CBC receives roughly $1.1 billion in federal government funding annually.
Read the full story.
Things You'll Never See On The CBC
2009: CBC Refuses to run CPC anti-Ignatieff attack ads. "We'll only accept political advertising like that when there is an election campaign on," he told Canwest. "We have generally pretty strict guidelines."
2013: Justin Trudeau's "teacher" ad aired on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada during the Ottawa/Philadelphia broadcast tonight, at least once. I must have missed Stephen Harper's visit to Rideau Hall earlier today.
Do YOU see a double standard here?
Read all of the comments!
2013: Justin Trudeau's "teacher" ad aired on CBC's Hockey Night in Canada during the Ottawa/Philadelphia broadcast tonight, at least once. I must have missed Stephen Harper's visit to Rideau Hall earlier today.
Do YOU see a double standard here?
Read all of the comments!
We don’t work for ‘union bosses,’ Tories say, taking aim at CBC
The Conservative government says it won’t take “marching orders from union bosses” as it defends controversial legislation that gives cabinet new powers over spending at independent Crown corporations.
... the government position was expressed by Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Poilievre, an MP Prime Minister Stephen Harper often relies on to stir controversy and speak for the government on hot files.
“I am not here to take marching orders from union bosses,” said Mr. Poilievre. “I represent taxpayers and frankly taxpayers expect us to keep costs under control so that we can keep taxes down. It is for those taxpayers that we work. Not union bosses.”
The national actors union ACTRA released a strongly worded statement Wednesday condemning what it described as the “Conservative government’s assault on CBC’s collective bargaining and journalistic independence.”
The union represents 22,000 professional performers and negotiates on their behalf with the CBC.
Read the full story.
... the government position was expressed by Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Poilievre, an MP Prime Minister Stephen Harper often relies on to stir controversy and speak for the government on hot files.
“I am not here to take marching orders from union bosses,” said Mr. Poilievre. “I represent taxpayers and frankly taxpayers expect us to keep costs under control so that we can keep taxes down. It is for those taxpayers that we work. Not union bosses.”
The national actors union ACTRA released a strongly worded statement Wednesday condemning what it described as the “Conservative government’s assault on CBC’s collective bargaining and journalistic independence.”
The union represents 22,000 professional performers and negotiates on their behalf with the CBC.
Read the full story.
CBC's Hubert Lacroix Warns Of Legal Showdown
The CBC is warning the federal government that its efforts to control salary negotiations at the Crown agency could be at odds with the Broadcasting Act and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, leading to litigation.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. chief executive Hubert Lacroix sent a letter to the Commons finance committee today, pleading for an amendment to the budget implementation bill to ensure the broadcaster's independence.
But when Liberal MP Scott Brison read parts of the letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the minister stiffly dismissed any possibility of changes to the bill.
"The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong," Flaherty said.
"All Crown agencies have a responsibility through ministers, back to Parliament, to the people of Canada. They can't do whatever they want, particularly with taxpayers money. They can't just go off and pay their executives and pay everybody else whatever they want to pay them."
Read the full story.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. chief executive Hubert Lacroix sent a letter to the Commons finance committee today, pleading for an amendment to the budget implementation bill to ensure the broadcaster's independence.
But when Liberal MP Scott Brison read parts of the letter to Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, the minister stiffly dismissed any possibility of changes to the bill.
"The CBC may think it is a special, independent, Crown agency. This is wrong," Flaherty said.
"All Crown agencies have a responsibility through ministers, back to Parliament, to the people of Canada. They can't do whatever they want, particularly with taxpayers money. They can't just go off and pay their executives and pay everybody else whatever they want to pay them."
Read the full story.
Conflict of interest for David Suzuki and CBC?
Despite CBC ethics rules that appear to be to the contrary, environmental activist and CBC host David Suzuki is lending his star power to a political race.
The CBC has a rule that on-air personalities, both freelance and full-time, remain politically neutral and never endorse political candidates.
“(Employees) are restricted from engaging in political activity defined as running for public office or publicly supporting a candidate,” the rule reads.
Conservative MP Rob Anders is crying foul.
“It shows a collusion, it shows a conflict of interest and I think both the CBC and Suzuki are playing favourites, and I think it’s a scandalous abuse of taxpayer funds.”
Read the full story.
The CBC has a rule that on-air personalities, both freelance and full-time, remain politically neutral and never endorse political candidates.
“(Employees) are restricted from engaging in political activity defined as running for public office or publicly supporting a candidate,” the rule reads.
Conservative MP Rob Anders is crying foul.
“It shows a collusion, it shows a conflict of interest and I think both the CBC and Suzuki are playing favourites, and I think it’s a scandalous abuse of taxpayer funds.”
Read the full story.
CBC - Hubert Lacroix’s game: Sacrifice a pawn to save your king
The president of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is standing in a place where people lie for a living, telling a bunch of hard truths.
This is how forthright he can now be: Asked at the town hall if he will guarantee there will be no more job losses after the current round of 650 ends in 2015, Lacroix says plainly, “Absolutely not. You know that. Because in the normal course of any organization, as you evolve and you get better, things change.”
“It used to be that CBC was for people growing up like me, or Radio-Canada, it was everything. It was sports, it was news, it was Bobino,” he explains. “Now? Radio-Canada can’t be that. For the people who are growing up, it might be sports, it might be radio, it might be online, it might be our news, it might be Toc toc toc, but it needs to be something special for everybody out there.
“If we can’t create this relationship,” he says, “then we fail and we’re not relevant and we go.”
Read the full story.
This is how forthright he can now be: Asked at the town hall if he will guarantee there will be no more job losses after the current round of 650 ends in 2015, Lacroix says plainly, “Absolutely not. You know that. Because in the normal course of any organization, as you evolve and you get better, things change.”
“It used to be that CBC was for people growing up like me, or Radio-Canada, it was everything. It was sports, it was news, it was Bobino,” he explains. “Now? Radio-Canada can’t be that. For the people who are growing up, it might be sports, it might be radio, it might be online, it might be our news, it might be Toc toc toc, but it needs to be something special for everybody out there.
“If we can’t create this relationship,” he says, “then we fail and we’re not relevant and we go.”
Read the full story.
Since when do CBC personalities promote the idea of "none is too many"?
Don Cherry is a well-loved CBC personality and a Canadian treasure. But even a Canadian saint can go too far.
Recently, Cherry gave an interview to a newspaper in France. The interviewer asked Cherry about immigration. Did he support a policy, espoused by some extremists in Australia, of zero immigration? Cherry's reply was shocking:
"Oh, I think Canada is full too! Although it's the second largest country in the world, our surface area has been reduced. Our immigration policy is disgusting: We plunder southern countries by depriving them of future leaders, and we want to increase our population to support economic growth. It's crazy!"
Just joking! It wasn't Don Cherry who gave that interview to a French newspaper. It was his fellow CBC star, David Suzuki. But other than that, every word above is accurate.
Since when do CBC personalities promote the idea of "none is too many"? That was the unofficial motto of Canada's immigration platform in the 1940s that barred the doors to Jews seeking to flee the Holocaust.
Read the full story.
Recently, Cherry gave an interview to a newspaper in France. The interviewer asked Cherry about immigration. Did he support a policy, espoused by some extremists in Australia, of zero immigration? Cherry's reply was shocking:
"Oh, I think Canada is full too! Although it's the second largest country in the world, our surface area has been reduced. Our immigration policy is disgusting: We plunder southern countries by depriving them of future leaders, and we want to increase our population to support economic growth. It's crazy!"
Just joking! It wasn't Don Cherry who gave that interview to a French newspaper. It was his fellow CBC star, David Suzuki. But other than that, every word above is accurate.
Since when do CBC personalities promote the idea of "none is too many"? That was the unofficial motto of Canada's immigration platform in the 1940s that barred the doors to Jews seeking to flee the Holocaust.
Read the full story.
CBC outsources to a labour force scattered all over the globe
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is a national news source.
In March of 2008 the news site added a user commenting forum, that can be seen at the bottom of most news and sports stories.
On June 25th 2013 the CBC unveiled the newest version of it's forum software amid some surprise and a storm of objections, drawing nearly 2200 comments about the forums themselves.
In a blog post of June 26, 2013 Jennifer McGuire, CBC's editor in chief gives us some idea what is involved in moderation of such an active forum. She tells us the forums receive up to 300,000 comments a month and often can peak at 1,000 per hour on active stories. She also tells us that about 75 to 80 percent of the comments they receive are published.
A little bit of simple math begs the question: What happens to the other 20 to 25%?
Ms Mcguire also tells us the CBC does not do the actual moderation. Like the software, this is outsourced. This time, to a company named ICUC Moderation which is based in Winnepeg, Manitoba. ICUC in turn employs "telecommuters", outsourcing their own labour force to people scattered all over the globe. A comment posted in Ontario might be moderated in Argentina.
Having looked into this I believe the problem is structural, a result of "double outsourcing":
1 - The individuals doing moderation are scattered all over the globe. By virtue of distance it is difficult to envision each moderator receiving proper training... or any training at all.
2 - ICUC management is one step removed from the stream of individual comments. It is not possible for them to adequately oversee the comment by comment decisions of each Moderator. Thus; it is entirely possible that some moderators will "game the system", meeting quotas to get their paycheque, or moderate in unfair, even biased ways without ICUC knowing about it.
3 - In particular the common practice of disallowing comments about moderation leaves one to think they are hiding widespread user dissatisfaction from their bosses.
Since the CBC is two steps removed from the actual moderation, it is beyond unlikely they would catch a bad moderator -or company- until someone brings it to their attention.
If you experience questionable moderation of your comments, here are a few people you can write to about it:
Being more than two steps removed from the moderation process, it is very unlikely that any of these people will know about the problem unless we bring it to their attention.
Read the full story.
In March of 2008 the news site added a user commenting forum, that can be seen at the bottom of most news and sports stories.
On June 25th 2013 the CBC unveiled the newest version of it's forum software amid some surprise and a storm of objections, drawing nearly 2200 comments about the forums themselves.
In a blog post of June 26, 2013 Jennifer McGuire, CBC's editor in chief gives us some idea what is involved in moderation of such an active forum. She tells us the forums receive up to 300,000 comments a month and often can peak at 1,000 per hour on active stories. She also tells us that about 75 to 80 percent of the comments they receive are published.
A little bit of simple math begs the question: What happens to the other 20 to 25%?
Ms Mcguire also tells us the CBC does not do the actual moderation. Like the software, this is outsourced. This time, to a company named ICUC Moderation which is based in Winnepeg, Manitoba. ICUC in turn employs "telecommuters", outsourcing their own labour force to people scattered all over the globe. A comment posted in Ontario might be moderated in Argentina.
Having looked into this I believe the problem is structural, a result of "double outsourcing":
1 - The individuals doing moderation are scattered all over the globe. By virtue of distance it is difficult to envision each moderator receiving proper training... or any training at all.
2 - ICUC management is one step removed from the stream of individual comments. It is not possible for them to adequately oversee the comment by comment decisions of each Moderator. Thus; it is entirely possible that some moderators will "game the system", meeting quotas to get their paycheque, or moderate in unfair, even biased ways without ICUC knowing about it.
3 - In particular the common practice of disallowing comments about moderation leaves one to think they are hiding widespread user dissatisfaction from their bosses.
Since the CBC is two steps removed from the actual moderation, it is beyond unlikely they would catch a bad moderator -or company- until someone brings it to their attention.
If you experience questionable moderation of your comments, here are a few people you can write to about it:
- The CBC's content moderator cbc.moderator@cbc.ca
- Andrew Yates, Producer, Community team andrew.yates@cbc.ca
- Jennifer McGuire Editor in Chief jennifer.mcguire@cbc.ca
- Hubert T. Lacroix President and CEO ht.lacroix@cbc.ca
Being more than two steps removed from the moderation process, it is very unlikely that any of these people will know about the problem unless we bring it to their attention.
Read the full story.
CBC job posting: "any race except Caucasian" can apply
A line in a CBC job posting for a children's show that read "any race except Caucasian" can apply has since been removed.
The broadcaster removed the line Monday after it drew public ire. The CBC attributed its being posted initially to human error.
Read the full story.
The broadcaster removed the line Monday after it drew public ire. The CBC attributed its being posted initially to human error.
Read the full story.
Ottawa MD (Dr. Frans Leenen) makes legal history with huge libel award against CBC
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.
In an interview at the Ottawa Heart Institute, where he serves as director of the Hypertension Unit — he is also a professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Ottawa — Leenen described how the show changed his life. "There was a change in the way colleagues perceived me," he recalls. "It was almost as if there had been a death in the family. And in a way it was very much like there had been a [professional] death."
Leenen says a researcher's integrity and independence are his most valuable assets, and the CBC tried to destroy both. "This program," he says, "said I was beholden to the drug companies."
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.
In an interview at the Ottawa Heart Institute, where he serves as director of the Hypertension Unit — he is also a professor of medicine and pharmacology at the University of Ottawa — Leenen described how the show changed his life. "There was a change in the way colleagues perceived me," he recalls. "It was almost as if there had been a death in the family. And in a way it was very much like there had been a [professional] death."
Leenen says a researcher's integrity and independence are his most valuable assets, and the CBC tried to destroy both. "This program," he says, "said I was beholden to the drug companies."
Read the full story.
CBC was ordered to pay close to $1 million in damages to medical scientist Dr. Frans Leenen
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.
The CBC said it respects the court's decision, but expressed concern that important guidelines about investigative journalism will not be reviewed by the top justices.
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.
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.
The CBC said it respects the court's decision, but expressed concern that important guidelines about investigative journalism will not be reviewed by the top justices.
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.
"unbiased reporter" actually "considered an employee" of CBC
A journalist put forward by The Canadian Press news agency as an unbiased reporter on matters related to the CBC is listed as an employee of the state broadcaster, according to documents released through access to information requests.
Jennifer Ditchburn has provided extensive coverage of CBC, often writing highly favourable stories, without ever revealing that she is on its payroll.
According to CBC's own documents, Ditchburn is considered an employee.
Read the full story.
Jennifer Ditchburn has provided extensive coverage of CBC, often writing highly favourable stories, without ever revealing that she is on its payroll.
According to CBC's own documents, Ditchburn is considered an employee.
Read the full story.
CBC Radio-Canada reports failed to show balance, impartiality, and accuracy
In a stinging rebuke, Radio-Canada ombudsman Pierre Tourangeau said journalist Ginette Lamarche was biased, used unverified facts and was inaccurate in her recent reporting on Israel.
Tourangeau overturned a finding by the state broadcaster's complaints department that had largely dismissed complaints from Honest Reporting Canada over five reports on Mideast issues aired last December. Tourangeau found the reports failed to show balance, impartiality, and accuracy as required by Radio-Canada's own journalistic standards.
Read the full story.
Tourangeau overturned a finding by the state broadcaster's complaints department that had largely dismissed complaints from Honest Reporting Canada over five reports on Mideast issues aired last December. Tourangeau found the reports failed to show balance, impartiality, and accuracy as required by Radio-Canada's own journalistic standards.
Read the full story.
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