Angry in the Great White North

From the CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices:

The Corporation enjoys administrative and programming independence from political and governmental direction. This independence permits the Corporation to discharge the role assigned to it within the Canadian broadcasting system. The autonomy of the Corporation is assured through the authority conferred by Parliament upon its Board of Directors. The directors act as Parliament's "trustees" to define and to guard the public interest and to ensure the Corporation's mandate is fulfilled. This principle of the "arm's length" relationship between the CBC and government is critical to the Corporation's independence, particularly with respect to its journalistic activities.

To meet these expectations, the media must be socially responsible; in other words, freedom of the media and the constitutional protection that it enjoys require responsibility to the public it serves. The broadcast media in particular have an obligation to be fair, accurate, thorough, comprehensive and balanced in their presentation of information. This is unmistakably true of a public broadcasting agency, which is accountable through its Board of Directors to the Parliament and people of Canada. [emphasis added]

So how do you square that obligation with this?

Hi James,

I'm hoping you can help?

I'm looking for someone who was going to vote Conservative in the last election but changed their minds along the way because they were scared, freaked out or worried about the Conservatives, the Conservative agenda or its leader. So, instead, they voted Liberal. Now you're facing the same dilemma this time. If this describes you AND you are willing to travel for a couple of days next month AND you are willing to appear on television then please get in touch immediately.

If this doesn't describe you, please feel free to forward this email to someone you feel might fit this description. Thanks.

Is Stephanie Matteis a pro-Liberal shill? To give her the benefit of the doubt, she might be doing exactly what the CBC is telling her to do. She used to work for the Ottawa Citizen, hardly a pro-Liberal paper.

So what exactly is the CBC telling her to do?

Find people worried about NDP spending? No.

Find people worried about Liberal corruption? No.

Find people worried about the Conservatives and their "hidden agenda"? Bingo!

Not just worried. Freaked out worried. And switching their vote.

And the CBC will call it balanced and fair.

For Stephanie Matteis' sake, she'd better hope the Liberals win. If I was Stephen Harper, I'd be planning to nuke the CBC ten minutes after moving into my new digs as Prime Minister.

But until that happy day comes, we can contact the CBC and let them what we think of what passes for balanced programming at the CBC:

Communications - English Networks
250 Front Street West
P.O. Box 500, Station A
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6
1-866-306-INFO (4636) Toll-free
416-205-6688 (TDD)
E-mail: cbcinput@cbc.ca

And then there's the Ombudsman:

The Ombudsman, CBC English Services
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
P.O. Box 500, Station A
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6
e-mail: ombudsman@cbc.ca

And then there's the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Liza Frulla:

Liza Frulla
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Status of Women
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Canada
K1A 0M5
Telephone: (819) 997-7788
Fax: (819) 994-1267
e-mail: Liza_Frulla@pch.gc.ca

And the list would not be complete without providing an opportunity to get in touch with Robert Rabinovitch, the President and CEO of the CBC:

email: robert_Rabinovitch@cbc.ca

And all the rest of the CBC Board of Directors!

Helene Fortin
email: hfortin@ghl.com

Bernd Christmas
email: berndchristmas@membertou.ca

Peter Herrndorf
email: pherrndo@nac-cna.ca

Yasmin Jivraj
email: yasmin.jivray@acrodex.com

Nezhat Khosrowshahi
email: nezhat_khosrowshahi@cbc.ca

Howard McNutt
email: hmc@hmcinc.ca

Trina McQueen
email: tmcqueen@sympatico.ca

K. (Rai) Sahi
email: rsahi@morguard.com

Johanne Brune
email: Johanne.Brunet@hec.ca

And if you are not looking to send each person a customized note, then you can send one email to the whole lot of them.