CBC

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Take that, BBC!
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Media
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v - t - e
“”I respect and cherish [the] CBC — for its journalistic integrity and and shitty sitcoms.
—[1][2]

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is Canada's public broadcaster (mockingly known as 'the Corpse'). Established in 1936, making it the oldest broadcasting network in Canada, it provides various television and radio services including CBC Radio One and CBC News. Many entertainment personalities, such as Dan Aykroyd, Michael J. Fox, John Candy, Mike Myers, Peter Jennings, Donald Sutherland, and Alex Trebek, are/were CBC alumni.

Objective[edit]

The Canada Broadcasting Act of 1991[3] states that the CBC should:

  • be predominantly and distinctively Canadian (duh),
  • reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions,
  • actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression,
  • be in English and in French, reflecting the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the particular needs and circumstances of English and French linguistic minorities,
  • strive to be of equivalent quality in English and French,
  • contribute to shared national consciousness and identity,
  • be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means and as resources become available for the purpose, and
  • reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada.

The commies are coming! The commies are coming![edit]

As with many publicly-funded stations, hardcore conservatives have accused the CBC of having a liberal bias, referring to the network as the "Communist Broadcasting Channel" (they then claim that the CBC needs to be, as usual, defunded or privatized). A noteworthy example came from the 2011 federal election, in which CBC's Vote Compass tool[4] was said to directly point the test taker to the Liberal Party if they were choosing more moderate positions. What some "reporters" failed to realize is that the Liberal Party (on the Canadian political spectrum) is considered the centrist party.[5]

Like the Beeb, the CBC is independent ("at arm's length") from the Canadian government, only tied by government funding. And unlike the BBC it employs private commercial advertising as well, a move sometimes criticized by left-wingers.[6] The CBC's taxpayer subsidy is third-lowest in the developed world, so it's not exactly sucking off the public teat.[7]

The CBC, over its existence, has featured commentators like anti-feminist Barbara Frum (mother of David Frum),[8] global warming denier Rex Murphy,[9] plagiarist Margaret Wente, Trump wannabe Kevin O'Leary,[10] arch-wingnut Tom Flanagan,[11][12] and "sportscaster" Don Cherry, who actually believes the metric system is communism.[13] The current contributors on the channel's top political panel ("At Issue" on The National) include Chantal Hébert, who has written for newspapers with political affiliations all over the place (but now sits as a columnist for the liberal Toronto Star), Andrew Coyne, whose work has been found in The Wall Street Journal, National Post and National Review, and Bruce Anderson, a former communications advisor for both the Liberals and Progressive Conservatives. Supporters of the more leftish New Democratic Party have actually complained that they don't have anyone to represent their views on "At Issue."[14]

Adding insult to injury, comedy shows such as the Rick Mercer Report, Royal Canadian Air Farce, and This Hour Has 22 Minutes deride liberals just as much as they do conservatives. Top CBC correspondent Terry Milewski has also pissed off Liberal prime ministers throughout his career, but it only became a big deal for the crazies when he asked just as hard-hitting questions to Stephen Harper.[15] If that's bias, it's some pretty shit bias.

See also[edit]

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ I am so fucking fed up with our news stations on Reddit
  2. ↑ Ok, a slightly better commentary here.
  3. ↑ http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/B-9.01/
  4. ↑ Bask in its commie-ness.
  5. ↑ A classic example of molehill mountaineeringWikipedia, in fact. (Subsequently, The Wall Street Journal used Vote Compass for its 2012 U.S. presidential election coverage, so it probably means WSJ is full of commies too.)
  6. ↑ "Behind the CBC's Hit Piece on Medicare"
  7. ↑ Commercial break, The Economist
  8. ↑ They even named their main Broadcasting Centre atrium after her.
  9. ↑ http://nationalpost.com/opinion/rex-murphy-all-global-warming-predictions-are-infallible-until-theyre-not
  10. ↑ O'Leary calls unions "parasites"
  11. ↑ CPC, Wildrose, CBC line up to cut ties to Flanagan, CBC
  12. ↑ And Yes, the same Flanagan who called for the assassination of Julian Assange on CBC
  13. ↑ Grab a bowl of popcorn
  14. ↑ The cognitive dissonance flowing yet, conservatives?
  15. ↑ Terry Milewski: an equal-opportunity offender, The Globe and Mail
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