(What Was Wrong With CBC’s The National Mission Statement.)
Time allotment for The National stories on Friday:
What was wrong with The National on Friday:
- Well the CBC got to the Julie Payette story finally, albeit a couple days late. CBC’s Katie Simpson did give some people of faith to respond to Payette’s inappropriate comments from a Governor General and also included a Facebook comment from Andrew Scheer questioning why Trudeau praised Payette for her comments mocking religion. Unless the CBC couldn’t get a direct comment from Scheer in the past couple days, I find it interesting that Trudeau got a lengthy part of this segment to explain his thoughts on the matter but Scheer only gets a Facebook response included in the report. The report also didn’t make it clear how unprecedented Payette’s comments are for a Governor General, and didn’t show that the Liberals are promoting Payette’s divisive comments on Twitter.
- The next report proved The National can put together breaking news when it puts its mind to it. Environment Minister Catherine McKenna confronted a Rebel Media reporter out in B.C. for the controversial right-wing media outlet calling her Climate Barbie. Personally I think Rebel calling politicians names is completely juvenile, however I think they have a right to say it if they want to, but don’t expect to be taken seriously as a news organization then. I find it interesting that this event happened a few hours before The National aired and the flagship program was able to fit this in as its second report. Many other stories, like Payette’s, The National completely misses or reports days late. But this involved the infamous Rebel Media, which the Liberals and much of the media are using to try and smear Scheer because of his campaign manager’s involvement as an IT guy and one of the founders of the conservative outlet. (Full disclosure, I’ve written extensively on The Rebel’s antics over the past several months for Canadaland.) So of course the CBC seized on the opportunity to report on this story, but ignored the Rebel story from a year ago that was blowing up on social media again this week about McKenna’s department buying a brand new Tesla, old porsches, and other luxury cars for “emissions testing.” The National ‘s one-minute report only showed McKenna’s side of the exchange. The CBC should’ve included the part where the Rebel reporter asks McKenna to stop using the derogatory term “deniers” for anyone who is skeptical of climate change studies and models. (Again, I think it’s inappropriate for journalists to come up with cheap shot names for politicians, but as a columnist myself, columnists do give politicians the odd nickname, but when most people at your organization repeatedly call a politician climate barbie it’s no longer appropriate in my humble opinion, especially when that nickname will largely be interpreted, myself included, as misogynistic and sexist. If you don’t agree with McKenna then rally your ideas and research together and fight her ideas. Don’t attack her personally.)
- The National then did a segment on the latest job numbers that wasn’t very critical of quality of jobs–or lack thereof–and the number of part-time jobs. Otherwise the report was pretty accurate in saying the supposedly hot market is likely already cooling off. But the report still mostly would leave the viewer with a rosy picture of the job market in Canada.
- The next segment was an update on clearing up the confusion Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson started earlier this week by saying fewer than five cabinet ministers were exploiting the same ethics loophole Morneau used. It turned out it was just Morneau using it, which begs the question, why did Dawson’s office say that from the outset? The report then finished by saying Morneau is planning to put his assets in a blind trust. Guess that scandal is over in CBC’s eyes, despite the opposition still hammering Morneau over his decisions to mislead the public and not recuse himself from working on legislation that would affect the price of his shares in his family’s company. I think the CBC thinks the story is confusing enough that most Canadians don’t really care that an acting Finance Minister held over a million shares in an industry that he was actively regulating in the legislature. The fact that he misled the public and decided not to relinquish control of this asset just adds to the sketchiness of his actions. Somehow CBC’s The National doesn’t think so.
- Then there was a quick report on the use of the new Magnitsky Act against international human rights abusers in Canada. Have to commend the Liberal government on this one. Deserved more than a 20-second report by The National though.
The National then had a report on how the opposition, provinces, police, and Senators are asking the Trudeau government to slow down legalizing pot. The report was pretty balanced, but again they found a way to insert a relatively long clip of Trudeau walking and smiling.
- The next story worth mentioning was the rise in acid attacks in London, England, that have made it the acid attack capital of the world. The CBC reporter failed to explain that the increased immigration from certain areas of the world, and the culture those newcomers bring with them, is major factor in the epidemic. Instead, the reporter said it’s coming from East London, as if that explains why. Of course CBC would never posit the idea that too much immigration to a Western country from certain regions can have negative effects for the large cities of these countries. That doesn’t mean I’m anti-immigration, but CBC’s complete pro-immigration stance–lockstep with the Liberals–is outrageous when many European countries are facing tremendous problems from open door immigration policies. Instead, UK politicians’ ridiculous solution is to ban commonplace corrosive substances from minors and make them harder to obtain. Perhaps a second look at immigration policies in the UK are in order.
- The National then had an Ask Bob climate change edition where viewers got to send in questions for CBC’s science correspondent Bob McDonald. Heather Hiscox started off the segment with a primer where she said, “Our knowledge of climate change is still imperfect. But it is a field scientists have been building on for decades.” Okay, fair enough, but just because they’ve been building on it doesn’t mean they have any idea to what extent global warming is influenced by humans. Hiscox in her interview with McDonald asked him if he knew from his decades of covering climate change, if he knew it was going to be the pressing issue of today. Sorry, but geopolitics and possible nuclear war are far more pressing, the jury is still out on global warming and there are new game-changing technology just around the bend that might solve the problem quite rapidly. This whipping up of fear among Western citizenry to convince them to shoot themselves economically in the foot over this questionable phenomenon, while letting the developing world pollute to its heart’s content in these international agreements may not be the best solution. Both Hiscox and McDonald kept referencing the UN and its studies as if that international body can be trusted to be impartial. To be fair, some of McDonald’s explanations were interesting, but saying, “The Earth can heal itself if we stop pushing it. And I really believe we can if we take it seriously and stop saying that there is a debate about this. There is no debate.” Well there could be if you have some voices from the other side that CBC and the government call deniers. There are many scientists out there that are skeptical about the doomsday picture McDonald and the Liberal government paint. Perhaps the CBC should present this other side instead of just giving McDonald 20 minutes–pretty much half of The National program–to lectures us on the subject from upon high on his pulpit. This incredibly long interview left no time I guess to report on the Hillary Clinton scandal over how she apparently rigged the DNC against her opponent Bernie Sanders. It’s bizarre that this hasn’t been reported by The National or CBC at all. Instead the most recent reports on her are about her book tour into Canada and supposedly debunking her and Bill’s connection to a uranium deal with Russia. My God is the pro-Clinton bias clear.
- The final report was on gentrification in LA. I guess The National forgot about our own domestic problems with gentrification and a housing market that seems to only go up in prices. Perhaps a story on how Chinese gangs in Vancouver are laundering millions of dollars through casinos there might be influencing the housing market there and elsewhere in Canada. But that would be controversial, so instead The National reports on gentrification outside our borders.
If you’re fed up with CBC’s The National‘s bias make sure to share this on Twitter and Facebook. Also click on the link below and give a down vote.
Raving Canuck 