It’s pretty tough to talk about moral authority in news, when the bean counters sell out for pennies and nickels.
Canada’s public broadcaster, the CBC, already financed to the tune of $1.2 billion in taxpayer funding, is propping up that public investment with advertising dollars on television and the web. Competition against private enterprise when backed with tax dollars is one thing, but when those ads seep close to the fine line of misinformation or useless information Canadians should be alarmed.
Earlier this week accessing a story on Trudeau’s response to Ontario triggering the notwithstanding clause to deal with CUPE and a pending strike, we were astounded by a banner ad on its news site.
In large letters Today’s Poll – Should critical race theory be taught in schools? Recognizing that phraseology as very American, we dug a little deeper, finding it a very odd poll to have on CBC.
The plot quickened thickly. To vote, an email address was needed which opened the door to getting on the receiving end of this operation’s news and commentaries. An about tab explained it as “a channel for anyone who loves America and isn’t ashamed to admit it.” The rest of the welcome read like a classic invitation to descend into a rabbit hole of dogma best left south of the border.
Having some clue about pricing, we hazard to guess that ad served on our office desktop earned CBC a princely sum of one nickel. Of course, the volume needed to turn a nickel a trick into something of consequence means this ad will have played out on that network and others, hundreds of thousands of times.
How can CBC executives reconcile promoting American platforms, hosting American issues to a public hopelessly confused already? It is a disgrace, but not unsurprising. Selling off credibility a nickel at a time is a fool’s game.
They are all at it
Quite frankly, we have no idea how we ended up on Liberal and NDP mailing lists.
Between begging for donations and personalized emails from cabinet ministers and the PM it has been enlightening yet troubling.
Case in point is the co-mingled effort by the Broadbent Insitutute to enter the on-line news business with something called Press Progress. Housed at the same address, both organizations share similar biases. A survey from the Institute wondered what is the biggest threat to the healthcare system today? Conservative politics, right- wing lobbyists, private corporations and their shareholders or all of the above? Many stories at Press Progress seem to reduce topics to an us and them conversation.
Absent from the survey is what role archaic data management systems play in the medical field. Labour shortages, the decades-long absence of a sustainable funding model and the high costs of administration hardly seem left or right issues. They are organizational issues.
Unfortunately, as on-line purveyors of news claim their niche, the public is becoming more polarized and less informed. Connecting the dots and understanding issues is becoming more difficult – even for those who consider journalism their life’s work.
Notwithstanding
There is great peril pre-supposing or predicting news. Friday may or may not result in a strike.
What is known for certain is that students and their parents suffer when labour woes affect education.
For many young families arranging someone to watch the kids while either parent works can be a real struggle. Students identified already as having missed crucial education components during the pandemic do not need further disruptions to their academic efforts.
The brinksmanship of government and union negotiations is tiring for all involved. It seems to be an unbreakable pattern where agreements conclude and contracts lapse. Why that keeps happening is anyone’s guess.
The use of the notwithstanding clause to keep education workers on the job will generate applause in some circles, much like the introduction of the Emergency Measures Act did months ago. We worried about it then and are uneasy with government actions now.
For us, flirting with fundamental rights and suspending freedoms in the name of political expediency is a dangerous gambit best left untried.
