National Post

CBC BIAS

National Post - March 12, 2004

CBC still doesn't get it

More evidence of how taxpayers' money mismanaged

Gillian Cosgrove

These are busy times for this division of the Post's CBC Watch, a public service that provides Canadians, especially those whose political views are to the right of Sheila Copps's, with evidence of how their property is being mismanaged.

Just two weeks ago, we lamented the fact that the CBC's main channel and its "all news" specialty channel, Newsworld, had refused to give Canadians the chance to assess a potential new prime minister by providing live coverage of the first official Conservative leadership debate. Our plea landed on deaf ears. Last Sunday, when the second and last party-staged debate was held, Newsworld first ran a replay of The Antiques Road Show, then up popped Evan Solomon on Hot Type with the exclusive revelation that fast foods can make you obese. Both programs were crammed with commercials.

Meanwhile, over at rival CTV Newsnet, the private broadcaster was fulfilling the role that, ironically, is the mandate of the state broadcaster. It ran, virtually free of commercials, more than two hours of live coverage of the Tory debate and the news scrums before and after. Little wonder, then, that Tony Clement, Stephen Harper and Belinda Stronach all pledged that, if they topple the Liberals, they will, at the very least, review the future of the CBC and strip it down to a size that makes it less of a drain on the public purse and return it to its mandate.

A CBC spokeswoman said the taxpayer-funded broadcaster refused to carry the debates because they were produced by the Conservative party and "the CBC would not be able to have control over the format and questions." You do things the CBC's way in Canadian public affairs, or it's the highway.

Although the CBC couldn't be bothered to run the Conservative debates, it deemed it newsworthy to broadcast live the concession speech of Senator John Edwards when, to nobody's surprise, he dropped out of the Democratic nomination race. Seems American presidential politics, even the ruminations of losers, are important to the CBC. Conservative leadership politics in Canada aren't, eh?

CBC PASSES ON THE BIG SCOOP

Last week, the Sun newspapers had a scoop: the audio tape of panicky proceedings at a meeting of the Ontario Liberal caucus, which had been inadvertently broadcast over the parliamentary channel. The explosive proceedings stemmed from the fact that many MPs fear, in the wake of Adscam, they will lose their seats if Paul Martin calls a spring election. Heated accusations were laid as the Chretien and Martin parties-within-the-party indulged in a no-holds-barred screaming match. This was big news because, in public at least, the Grits were adopting a "What me worry?" approach.

Now, it emerges that the CBC had the tapes first - but, to the shame of its hard-working reporters in the field, refused to broadcast them due to some "legal considerations" that did nothing to hinder the Toronto Sun from splashing it on page one, or CTV National News from leading with an item on the fiasco.

HONDERICH IN CAP AND GOWN?

In our neck of the woods - Toronto, the navel-gazing capital of the world - one of nastiest power plays of 2004 thus far is the pole-axing of bow-tied John Honderich as publisher of the Toronto Star, an organ that, on his watch, never encountered a trendy leftist cause it didn't embrace. (It was said that, like his father, Beland, John ran the paper with a bleeding heart and an iron fist.) Mr. Honderich, a 28-year Star veteran, lost a power struggle to TorStar CEO Rob Prichard.

Which does not mean Mr. Honderich will be departing the halls of power in downtown Toronto. Sources in the academic community predict he will succeed the debonair Claude Lajeunesse as president of Ryerson University.

The appointment of Mr. Honderich would be good news for staff at Ryerson's Journalism division, a seedbed of the politically correct views he espoused at the Star.