“Carol’s Corner” seems to be a popular feature of our web site and we’ve had many enquiries about her identity. In fact, “Carol” is a composite Real Woman! Her column has been written by a number of contributors. “She” will continue to weigh in on all kinds of matters of interest to both our members and those who visit our site. Happy reading!

HOW DO YOU SOLVE A PROBLEM LIKE THE CBC?
DEFUND IT – NOW!

Answer: not with music.  And not with apathy either.

Many would protest that the CBC is the “glue that holds our great nation together.”  I would tell those people to check the container.  The expiry date on the glue has long passed!

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) launched its radio service in its present form in 1936, and its television service in 1952.  It is a Crown corporation that receives generous federal funding.  In 2006, CBC received $946 million from the federal government, as well as $60 million in “one-time supplementary funding”, which has mysteriously been repeated annually.  THAT’S OVER ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN ANNUAL GOVERNMENT FUNDING.

Many will recall the golden years of the CBC- the Wayne and Shuster show, Don Messer’s Jubilee (I am showing my age!), Mr. Dress-Up, The Friendly Giant, Front Page Challenge.  CBC personalities were models of professional integrity- Percy Saltzman, Pamela Wallin, Arthur Black, and many, many others.

An interesting phenomenon has recently occurred with the CBC. Usually the only CBC dissenters were “right-wing fanatics.”  But with relatively recent programming changes, now even the left-wing is jumping on the anti-CBC bandwagon.  It is fun to be on the same page with those who sport NDP and Green Party lawn signs come election time.

Both Conservative and Liberal Senators also publicly voiced concerns over the CBC in June of this year.  Liberal Senator Percy Downe and Conservative Senator Mike Duffy (a past CBC and CTV journalist) were questioning the large number of complaints against the CBC received by the Information Commissioner.

My beef against the CBC is simple- inane programming, ludicrous over-funding, poor journalism standards and the continued degradation of traditional moral standards.  Instead of advocating for a Canadian identity, CBC feeds us a diet of Toronto-centric news, political discontent, disasters, and Middle East confrontations. 

CBC does not celebrate Canadians.  Where are the stories of the Saskatchewan grain farmer or the Saskatchewan trapper?  Or even the Saskatchewan who homesteaded in that province decades and decades ago?  I want to hear their stories.  Heck, I would just like to hear the word “Saskatchewan” mentioned.

Whatever it is, the CBC goes on about an issue (especially if it is an attack on Prime Minister Harper), for much longer than necessary.  “News” implies a certain time-sensitive component and a certain level of importance; which the CBC likes to ignore.  Maybe we are just having a ‘slow-news-month’, but I get tired of hearing about the same issue for days and weeks on end.  As the kids say- “enough already.”

I don’t want to celebrate the homosexual lifestyle and I am not interested in celebrity gossip.  I don’t care about what Michael Enright thinks on any subject, and the CBC radio show “The Debaters” could only optimistically be called “mindless drivel.”

But all those complaints are trivial compared to the lack of journalistic standards.  A recent Vatican news story delivered with a negative slant (Catholics are not among the favoured class at the CBC) aired in June, with three dissenting Catholic feminists then asked about their comments on the story.  Why couldn’t the CBC have asked an authentic Catholic to comment on a Catholic situation?  There are 13 million Catholics in Canada (46% of Canadians), and I bet that a quick visit to a local church would produce any number of genuine Catholics eager to affirm Pope Benedict’s declaration.

I expressed my ire to the CBC, first writing the program director of the news story.  (the internet is a wonderful tool for discovering department heads at the CBC).  The program director told me that the “fair and balanced journalism” I expected would come if I listened all day to the CBC- “Balance does not, for instance, mean that every voice critical of the church's decision must be immediately juxtaposed with an equally strong voice approving of it.”  I then wrote the CBC ombudsman, and reiterated my concerns.  I also copied my letter to my Member of Parliament, who told me that he shared my negative sentiments regarding the CBC.  I also copied my letter to a Catholic media watchdog organization, the Catholic Civil Right’s League.  After one month of waiting for the ombudsman to reply, and no response, I am now writing the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), whose mandate is to deal with media complaints.  The interesting part about the CRTC is that all complaints become part of the public domain, and are on file when the CBC applies for its next license.

The bottom line is NOT to be a passive CBC complainer.  Don’t just grumble, get going!  Here are some effective steps to express your comments:

write the program director and the CBC ombudsman. Be clear about the problem and how you want it resolved;
write your MP (after all, the CBC is federally funded);
write a watchdog organization;
write a letter to the editor;
write the CRTC.

Canadians annually gift the CBC with a billion dollars of our tax money.  We should be getting much, much more from them.  Let’s start holding the CBC accountable to grassroot Canadians.