Twitter identifies CBC/Radio-Canada as “government-funded media”. CBC and Radio Canada decided the day before yesterday to withdraw from the Twitter platform in retaliation against this label, which they believe is misleading.
Is it right or wrong to say they are “government-funded media” when they get over a billion dollars a year from the government?
CBC/Radio-Canada defines itself on its own website as “Canada’s public service broadcaster”.
In response to Twitter, Radio-Canada wrote: “Our journalism is impartial and independent. To claim otherwise is wrong.” For independence, I agree. But for impartiality? Not sure.
WHO ARE YOU?
What is the difference between a private broadcaster and a public broadcaster? That’s the ownership question: who owns the media? Whose is this?
In private, it’s the shareholders (majority and minority) and in public… it’s the government. Provincial for Télé-Québec, federal for Radio-Canada.
To put it simply, I would say that all Canadian taxpayers own CBC/Radio-Canada. This allows us to ask a series of questions.
– Why do we support public broadcasts that are no different from private broadcasts?
– Why do we pay twice for the same programs at tou.tv Extra?
– Why did a national broadcaster enter into an agreement with a private company (Telus) that allows its customers to have free access to content that should be available to ALL Canadians?
– And the most basic question: Why, when Canadians have a multitude of opinions on a multitude of issues, are only a tiny fraction of those concerns/opinions represented on CBC/Radio-Canada? (Read the ROC’s English media and you will see that their criticism of the public broadcaster also revolves around these issues.)
- Listen to the interview with Julie-Miville Dechêne, former Radio-Canada Ombudsman via QUB radio :
THE BATTLE OF IDEAS
Every second Friday I am a panelist on the show Le Monde à l’envers hosted by Stéphan Bureau on TVA.
I’m not teaching you anything by telling you I camp further to the right.
However, among the other panelists with whom I have had the pleasure of crossing swords since last September, we find many figures from the left.
Judith Lussier, the awakened one, author of the books We Can’t Say Anything More and Annulé(e): Reflections on the Culture of Abortion.
Émilise Lessard-Therrien, former member of Québec solidaire, Quebec’s bright party.
Louis T., the Wokes’ favorite comedian. Raed Hammoud, documentary filmmaker, presenter and columnist.
The Loco Locass and Author Biz whose heart is on the left.
And the famous multidisciplinary artist Serge Denoncourt, whose attachment to progressive values is well established.
Name me one show on Radio-Canada where we find such a variety of opinions every week. Find me a show where a Guy Nantel (more in the middle) fights with Judith Lussier, where a “capitalist” like Vincent Guzzo goes up against a “leftist” like Emilise Lessard-Therrien.
But isn’t it the job of a broadcaster paid for by ALL Canadians to reflect ALL Canadians’ opinions as faithfully as possible?
The biggest criticism taxpayers have of CBC/Radio-Canada is that they don’t identify with it.
