Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

:CBC redirects here, as this is the most common use of the abbreviation in English. For other uses, see CBC (disambiguation).

Controversy

Allegations of media bias

Due to CBC's alleged liberal bias, it has been frequently subjected to harsh criticism, both by U.S. pundits, conservative talk-show hosts and even Canadians themselves. For example, in a January 2005 documentary aired by CBC exploring the conservative bias in the U.S. media, Fox News and Bill O'Reilly were singled out for their conservative stance, from 9/11 to the 2003 War In Iraq. This evoked an effusive and vehement response from both Bill O'Reilly himself and some conservative parts of the American public. Defenders of the CBC mocked O'Reilly with his claim that the CBC was using their "monopoly" of Canadian broadcasting to smear him when in fact the CBC is one of at least three major domestic television networks in Canada and often not the highest rated one.

Related Topics:
Liberal bias - Conservative - January - 2005 - Conservative bias - Fox News - Bill O'Reilly - 9/11 - 2003 War In Iraq

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Public versus private ownership

Controversies within the broadcast industry will often ensue when the CBC launches new services in areas that private broadcasters are already in, or wish to be in. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), which decides which new broadcast licenses will be granted, is, like the CBC, a government controlled body. The head of the CBC and the commissioners of the CRTC are all selected by the Prime Minister. This causes private broadcasters to suspect favouritism for the CBC.

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For instance, the CBC was given the first license for an all-news specialty service, namely CBC Newsworld. As with other specialty services, that decision automatically precluded any other new service, with a similar format of news and analysis, from launching. When the privately owned headline news service CTV Newsnet launched in 1997, it was restricted by condition of licence to using a constant 15-minute news cycle. Critics of the CBC contend CRTC favouritism is shown by the fact that CBC Newsworld has not faced equal threats of sanctions over its airing of programs outside the "all-news" format, such as the BBC version of Antiques Roadshow, although such a program does technically fall within its permitted range. The CBC, was, however, forced to remove repeats of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Royal Canadian Air Farce from the Newsworld schedule in 1997.

Related Topics:
Specialty service - CBC Newsworld - CTV Newsnet - 1997 - Antiques Roadshow - This Hour Has 22 Minutes - Royal Canadian Air Farce

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The CBC had directly intervened in every application by CTV to change the restrictions on Newsnet, up to the final decision by the CRTC, which largely removed the restriction in 2005. However, the CBC is not unique in this, as it is common for broadcasters to intervene against one another in licensing decisions. The Canadian market is very small (compared to the US), and some broadcasters feel it can not support the free market approach of the US. They argue it is better to favour a specific broadcaster in certain areas, so at least one Canadian channel will be able to prosper.

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Other allegations of favouritism have centred around, for instance, the awarding of prized radio frequencies (i.e. for CBLA-FM in Toronto). By the same token, though, not all of the CBC's applications are automatically approved; at one point the CBC asked for use of a similarly prized Montreal frequency in order to begin a third French radio network, but was denied in favour of a private broadcaster. Moreover, most if not all groups who receive a favourable decision by the CRTC have been accused at some point of having secured favouritism from the commission.

Related Topics:
CBLA-FM - Toronto - Montreal

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