Where Are Our Journalists (Part 5 - Public Broadcasting)

As a follow-up to Where Are Our Journalists? (part 4), I feel the need to make a number of observations.

An independent public broadcaster is an important cornerstone in a democratic society. A public broadcaster's role is to provide fair, balanced, unbiased, and carefully, thoroughly researched journalism. Only a public broadcaster can do this, because all other media is owned by companies whose directors have a particular point of view and generally insist on having that point of view reflected in the stories they cover and they way they cover them. It is called editorial bias. 

Beyond the views of the directors and shareholders, all media that obtains its financing from market sources, i.e. advertising, are subject to the biases of the companies that advertise in that media. 

See what's happening in this model? 

Free market, privately-held news media is going to be influenced, slanted in ways that serve the interests of the various entities that own them. Those interests may not always align with the public good. 

Furthermore, these free market news outlets rely on advertising for their financing. To get advertisers, they must prove there is a critical mass of potential consumers who will be exposed to the ads. Given there is a finite number of potential consumers, they are in competition for a share of eyes, ears and clicks. This leads to a tendency to sensationalize the stories they report and the way they report them. It leads to click bait, misleading headlines, and a constant quest for the scandalous and sordid. Lowest common denominator journalism.  

If we want a news source that covers the news fairly and without either editorial bias or the need to pander to sensationalism, we need an independent, publicly-funded broadcaster. One that is not beholden to agendas that are not necessarily in the public interest.

Most of the entities that control media have a decidedly conservative bent. 

Exhibit A: Party Endorsements by News Media in Recent Elections

See all the blue? People look to media to inform them on how to view their world. If the media is heavily slanted in one direction, it will influence how people think and how they vote.

Nearly every established democracy has such a public broadcaster. Most are better funded than the CBC. 

Exhibit B: Funding Per Capita For Public Broadcasters (2009)

As you can see, in 2009 Canadians paid $34 each per YEAR on the CBC. This is well below half of the average. This was before Harper really cut deeply. If we look at figures for 2014, this situation has clearly deteriorated.

Exhibit C: Funding Per Capita for Public Broadcasters (2014)

While many other countries have increased their funding for public broadcasting, Canada's has been reduced over the course of the Harper years. Why has this happened?

  The Liberals have never been fans of the CBC whenever they have been in power, but they accept that it is part of Canada's cultural fabric. The CPC, and especially PM Harper, did not accept it. They hated it and continue to hate it. They hate that public money is supporting any publicly beneficial organization, from Canada Post to the health system to Parks Canada. They feel that people should pay for services like postal delivery, health care and education. But they especially hate that public money is supporting an organization that asks questions and sheds light on things they would rather keep hidden. 

The CPC war on the CBC goes back well before 2006. Back in the days of the Northern Foundation and the National Citizens' Coalition, Harper was already engaged in a war of words with the public broadcaster. While in power in Ottawa, Harper steadily whittled away at the CBC, cutting funding, cutting jobs, bad-mouthing the CBC to fund-raise, installing a new Board of Directors comprised of hand-picked CPC supporters... He even went so far as to change the bargaining process so the Board of Directors had a say in compensation and staffing. It certainly appears that word went out: criticize the PM or the government and your name will go on the list for the next round of job cuts. This changed the culture at the CBC.

The changes were evident, from the cuts in staff, to the choices made in lead stories. The CBC, once the most reliable and relevant news source in Canada, became a mouthpiece for the Harper Government. 

After the Liberals won the 2015 election, there seemed to be a thaw. They were having funding increased, at least to pre-Harper levels. The Board of Directors has been replaced over time, with Directors appointed using an independent advisory board, with merit and understanding of broadcasting being criteria, rather than partisan affiliation.

But the restoration was not complete and there seems to have been a return to the kind of biased journalism that we saw from 2006 - 2015. 

There are probably several reasons for this.

- The culture within the CBC was altered during the Harper years. There were staffing changes beyond the Board. From on-air presences, to producers and story editors, to administration. 

- There may be fear that the CPC could be elected this year (2019) and there may be a sense that their survival in that scenario depends on the CPC not seeing them as a threat.

- For some reason they have also bought into the need to compete with all the other news media and their sensationalism.

There may be several other reason that are less easily discernible. More on this later...

What is CBC meant to do? What is its mandate? 

The CBC exists to do several things: To promote Canadian voices, talent, and stories through arts programming, music programming, and the development of Canadian dramatic series.... 

To bring Canadians together through sharing our stories to the rest of the country, so someone in Victoria can understand a bit of what life is like in PEI, etc... 

To provide balanced, unbiased news reporting and investigative journalism for the PUBLIC GOOD.

From the CBC's Organizational Profile web page: 

The mandate of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/Radio Canada) is to inform, enlighten and entertain; to contribute to the development of a shared national consciousness and identity; to reflect the regional and cultural diversity of Canada; and to contribute to the development of Canadian talent and culture. To achieve its mandate, the CBC/Radio Canada produces, procures, and distributes Canadian programming in English, French and eight Aboriginal languages and broadcasts a selection of programs around the world.

It is falling down on fulfilling this mandate. The CBC is not currently providing the fact-checking and public education Canadians need to navigate a world rife with "fake News" and the primacy of opinion over evidence. The CBC needs to be our bastion of truth. For some reason, or reasons, it is failing.

Models and Best Practices:

Looking outside Canada at other jurisdictions for models and best practices, we can take note of NKR, the Norwegian Public Broadcaster: "Guided by its public service remit, NRK does not serve any commercial or political interests, and provides strictly non-commercial programming, with no advertising apart from the sponsorship of some cultural and sporting events."

From the NRK website:

"NRK deliver reliable and unbiased news, information and documentaries; NRK offer entertainment, sport and other mainstream content; a wide range of programs based on quality, relevance and credibility.

NRK has an important objective around analysing and decoding the news, not least through discussion and debate.

Decentralising the NRK is crucial in order to represent Norwegian society in content production. NRK has 15 regional offices across the country including three large production centres in Tromsø, Trondheim and Bergen, who hold responsibility for key genre areas such as science, belief and nature.

The regional offices deliver daily regional content on radio, television and online, ensuring a central core of NRK's network output is made in different parts of the country.

As well as news and coverage of current affairs, this crucially also applies to content for children, belief, entertainment and stories about everyday life. This gives a wider range of colour to programmes, strengthening the representation of children and adults throughout the country.

The NRK reflects the geographical diversity of Norway, provides a range of local programs and maintains a local presence."

In Switzerland last year, the Swiss voted overwhelmingly to maintain funding levels for their public broadcaster, the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SSR). The push to defund the SSR was spearheaded by parties on the far right. The Swiss responded by formally recognising the importance of their public broadcaster.

The SSR lists their guiding principles as:

• credibility
• independence
• diversity
• creativity
• fairness

Quality of programming is safeguarded by a number of factors and processes:

"Quality is not a state; it has to be constantly regenerated. We have developed tools to measure, control and monitor our programme quality. Staff suggestions and proposals help us to enhance quality management in practical terms. We maintain a close dialogue with colleagues from other countries and from the research community.

And the public are also an important yardstick – the five Public Councils monitor programmes critically and independently. The public's opinion is sought even outside these councils, for example in group discussions on programme development. There are also numerous external control bodies that oversee our work and make suggestions for improvements: OFCOM and DETEC check whether legal principles are being fulfilled. As a policing body, the Swiss Press Council supervises the quality of public radio and Swiss journalism.

The five Ombudsman's Offices mediate in the case of any complaints from the general public regarding our journalistic services. If anyone is not satisfied, they can then submit a complaint to the Independent Complaints Authority (ICA), which will conduct legal proceedings."

The SSR also has a robust Journalism Standards Charter:

"The Journalism charter ensures that SRG SSR provides services of outstanding quality in terms of content and form alike, and is therefore a key element in the value that SRG SSR generates as a public service enterprise.

The Journalism Charter requires that programme-makers abide by ethical and professional standards and take the needs of the audience into account. It emphasises the independence of SRG SSR and its responsibility to society as a whole. The Charter demands that all of those involved in programme-making strive to get as close as possible to the truth and that in doing so they remain incorruptible.

It also underlines SRG SSR's role as an opinion former and sets out the conditions which must be met for this function to be performed effectively. The Journalism Charter insists that SRG SSR be prepared to admit its mistakes and learn from them. It further demands that SRG SSR be accountable for its public service activities."

Probably the best-known public broadcaster in the world is the BBC. Here is their mandate statement:

The BBC is a public service organisation. Our five public purposes are central to us serving the public and help us achieve our core mission to inform, educate and entertain.

The BBC's five public purposes are set out by the Royal Charter and Agreement, the constitutional basis for the BBC as presented to Parliament.

These purposes outline the values the BBC holds when striving to achieve its mission to inform, educate and entertain.

To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them

The BBC will provide accurate and impartial news, current affairs and factual programming of the highest editorial standards so that all audiences can engage fully with issues across the UK and the world.

To support learning for people of all ages

Educational content will help support learning for children and teenagers across the UK, whilst audiences will be encouraged to explore inspiring and challenging new subjects and activities through a range of partnerships.

To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services

Innovative content covering many different genres will be provided across a range of services and platforms, setting the standard both in the UK and globally.

To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom

The lives of the people in the United Kingdom today will be accurately and authentically portrayed in the BBC’s output and services to raise awareness of different cultures, contribute to social cohesion and invest in the development of each nation’s creative economy.

To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world

High quality, accurate, impartial news coverage will be delivered to international audiences, aiding understanding of the UK as a whole.

Now let us return to the CBC. 

The CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices resemble those of the BBC and other public broadcasters. 

• Our Mission and Principles

  Our Mission

  We are Canada’s national public news and information service. We are rooted in every region of the country and report on Canada and the world to provide a Canadian perspective on international news and current affairs.

  We provide Canadians with information when and how they want it, through an evolving range of media.

  • To serve the public interest

  Our mission is to inform, to reveal, to contribute to the understanding of issues of public interest and to encourage citizens to participate in our free and democratic society.

  • To reflect diversity

  We are committed to reflecting accurately the range of experiences and points of view of all citizens. All Canadians, of whatever origins, perspectives and beliefs, should feel that our news and current affairs coverage is relevant to them and lives up to our principles.

  We have a special responsibility to reflect regional and cultural diversity, as well as fostering respect and understanding across regions.

  • To protect our independence

  We are independent of all lobbies and of all political and economic influence. We uphold freedom of expression and freedom of the press, the touchstones of a free and democratic society. Public interest guides all our decisions.

  • To act responsibly and to be accountable

  We are aware of the impact of our work and are honest with our audiences. We do not hesitate to correct any mistake when necessary nor to follow up a story when a situation changes significantly. We do not plagiarize.

  The office of the Ombudsman reviews our practices against the standards set out in these policies. We openly provide the public with the means to judge and hold us to account by sharing with it research we may use to measure the quality and standards of our journalism.

  We manage our resources responsibly. We strive for journalistic excellence and best practices in all of our journalistic endeavours.

  • Accuracy

  We seek out the truth in all matters of public interest. We invest our time and our skills to learn, understand and clearly explain the facts to our audience. The production techniques we use serve to present the content in a clear and accessible manner.

  • Fairness

  In our information gathering and reporting, we treat individuals and organizations with openness and respect. We are mindful of their rights. We treat them even‑handedly.

  • Balance

  We contribute to informed debate on issues that matter to Canadians by reflecting a diversity of opinion. Our content on all platforms presents a wide range of subject matter and views.

  On issues 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. We also ensure that they are represented over a reasonable period of time.

  • Impartiality

  We provide professional judgment based on facts and expertise. We do not promote any particular point of view on matters of public debate.

  • Integrity

  The trust of the public is our most valued asset. We avoid putting ourselves in real or potential conflict of interest. This is essential to our credibility.
• Our Principles

• Scope

• News, Current Affairs and Public Affairs Content Commissioned by CBC and Produced by Third Parties

• Editorial Responsibility and Upward Referral

  We make ourselves familiar with the contents of the JSP. We apply the JSP to each situation in good faith and according to our best judgement.

  We keep up with best journalistic practices, share our experiences and ask ourselves questions before making editorial decisions.

  We refer to senior editorial management any question raising a doubt or any decision that could affect CBC’s credibility, independence or reputation as a provider of high-quality information.

  Journalistic Standards and Practices specify on occasion that certain matters must be referred to a specific level of management.

  The employee or manager making an editorial decision is accountable for that decision. Questions of a legal nature may be referred to CBC’s Law Department.

  The final editorial decision rests with the managers responsible for programs and online content.

  Many of the standards and practices listed herein are rooted in values outlined by CBC Corporate Policies. Employees governed by the Journalistic Standards and Practices should consult and be familiar with these policies.

So why is the CBC falling down on these? Here are some differences.

- We have one Ombudsperson, not 5 like Switzerland. 

- We don't have a network of public panels for consultation and review of its practices.

- We don't have a sufficient, stable, unassailable funding model. This means any change in government could result in slashing funding or a complete shut-down of the broadcaster. Recall that while the LPC is not crazy about the CBC, the CPC is the existential threat and so that is the party most likely to be pandered to.

- We have rot in the system left by a decade of partisan staffing decisions and organizational culture.

- We don't have a mechanism to prevent another CPC government from gutting the organisation and replacing key actors with partisans.

Given their disappointing coverage of late, why should we maintain the CBC?

- As previously noted, we NEED a purveyor of news that will be unbiased. It is critical to our democratic society. It used to be that, and it can be again.

- During emergencies, it is the CBC that steps up and fulfils the function of providing information and co-ordination. During the Fort Mac fires, CBC Alberta broadcast live 24/7, helping people reunite with family, directing people to resources, giving updates on the progress of the fire, and just offering a steady comforting voice to those whose lives were suddenly torn apart.

-  We need a means of educating the Canadian public on how things work in Canada. We live next to a behemoth and American programming and culture floods across the border. Now, more than ever, we need a public broadcaster that will keep people informed and in touch with our Canadian system, on our government, and on our culture.

Going Forward

All Canadians own the CBC. It is a publicly held entity. We need to develop a strategy to impress upon the government that we are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism and we demand change and improvement, including but not limited to:

- Legislated expanded funding which will increase with inflation and which will allow the CBC to operate without advertising revenue.

- Enshrined independence which can not be overturned by any future government

- A public inquiry or independent assessment of what is actually going on culturally and structurally within the CBC which is resulting in biased journalism. Such a process should produce a report with recommendations which will be made publicly available, unredacted, and which the government will enact.

- Greater oversight, more transparency, and greater accountability to the Canadian public and the public good.

I welcome discussion and ideas on this subject. Let's not just complain about this. Let's figure out a plan that can be presented to government. 

A starting point may be to take copious notes of examples of poor journalism (must be current and must be specific) and make sure the Ombudsman is made aware.

Ombudsperson
CBC
P.O. Box 500 Station A
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6

Phone: 416 2O5-2978

 Email: ombud@cbc.ca

We need to #FixTheCBC