CBC vs Quebecor

[killer_carlson]

Anyone else think CBC is playing this dispute poorly? I honestly think it is a ploy by their competitors to get access to information and pressure their funding model under the guise of fiscal prudence.

However, lately my take is that CBC has come out with some real odd decisions and departed from their mandate of balanced news production. They seem to be catering to the extreme left wing aspect of the news, which only fuels the fire of their critics.

It's like the last season of Boston Legal, where they knew they had one last shot to go nutter extreme with their messaging. It's like they have given up and resigned themselves that they are going to get their budget slashed.

By the way, there was a good editorial about the CBC refusing to disclose how much George Stombouloupolos spent entertaining friends at the Toronto International Film Festival. This could be the straw that shifts public opinion away from CBC.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/pl...515/story.html

For the record, I actually had preferred the CBC news content of all national options until the last 2 months.

[burn_this_city]

The CBC feels threatened by the Conservative government, so I'm not surprised they spin the news against them. They miss the good old days when the Liberals would plow more money into their inferior productions. Aside from the National and HNIC I don't watch any CBC programming. I would like to see how the taxpayer funding is allocated. Part of me thinks the majority of it is squandered on the bloated bureaucracy and shabby can-con programming. All subsidies going to media companies should end, if they can't swim, they can sink.

[Coys1882]

Stroumbo is lucky he isn't the CEO of ENMAX or Rick Bell would have him looking for work already!!

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

The CBC feels threatened by the Conservative government, so I'm not surprised they spin the news against them. They miss the good old days when the Liberals would plow more money into their inferior productions. Aside from the National and HNIC I don't watch any CBC programming. I would like to see how the taxpayer funding is allocated. Part of me thinks the majority of it is squandered on the bloated bureaucracy and shabby can-con programming. All subsidies going to media companies should end, if they can't swim, they can sink.

I can't thank your post for some reason. <THANK>

[killer_carlson]

The 5th Estate is still an excellant program, and I quite enjoy CBC radio programming from time to time, but their news content of late has left me shaking my head with their choices, headlines, and focus of stories.

Case in point: UBC decides to become more transparent in respect of testing on animals. The article focuses on commentary from an animal rights group rather than on:
transparency (the first university to take this step)
research merits of the testing
educational merits of the testing

The headline is something like:

UBC Used Nearly 212,000 research animals in 2010

wow....

[Yasa]

It seems as if there isn't much of an effort put forth in running the CBC. HNiC is the only thing I watch and it sucks. I honestly can't stand it. The chimes and glitter all the time? It's like they're pandering to middle aged women and old people.

[Azure]

And they want over a billion dollars from the government to cover costs.

I say shut them down. We don't need a government run TV channel anymore.

Besides, TSN could do a much better job with HNIC.

[killer_carlson]

I'd be more inclined to support a government channel if it were objective and transparent

[Stranger]

Just think how many other ways 1.16 billion could be spent.

It's time to cut them off if the CBC refuses to open its books. Most every other channel gets by on their own dime, so why can't the CBC.

I like Stroumboulopoulos's quote on his taxpayer funded party from the Herald link:

"I like partying with people. You know, so, tonight I come and I get to see my friends, you know. And that's fun."

[CaptainCrunch]

I'm enjoying this war. CBC is getting it fed to them, and their 30 years of do as we say not as we do arrogance is catching up to them.

I rarely watch that channel because I can get more balanced news reporting out there, and their programming is boring and terrible. I think I really only turn to CBC 30 times a year.

They put out demands under the access of information act, and then scream when they don't get the information back. Yet nearly every request to CBC gets ignored or heavily edited until its useless.

They spend tacpayers money with a complete arrogance (Unfilmed parties for the stars because some egotistical flake wants to know what its like to be an A list celebrity.

They lie and make up facts when it serves them, and then cry when they're called on it.

They're essentially being exposed by Quebecor and being beaten like a spoiled 5 year old brat in a public forum.

I don't think what they do and offer is worth the money we're paying them. There's plenty of Can-con being produced outside of CBC's flaccid attempts at it.

Its time to reduce CBC's funding to bare levels, and force them to actually make up the rest like all of the other producers in Canada.

But its come to the point where the so called essentialness of CBC has to be balanced against what it actually does.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by killer_carlson

I'd be more inclined to support a government channel if it were objective and transparent

Not at that cost. The government is trying to cut spending and I the billion dollars we would save by not bailing out the cbc would be a good start.

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[bomba]

Cut the funding and put them at the mercy of the free market. If their programming really is as good as they think then people will watch and advertisers will pay for commercial spots. If not, fail, fail, fail!

[Clarkey]

Keep CBC radio!

[Devils'Advocate]

Given the right wing slant out of Calgary, I'm not surprised by the opinions here. However, I think that if the CBC is going to be subsidized by tax dollars, it should complete its mandate to provide Canadian culture, art and perspective. However, tax dollars have dried up and a need for more revenue has made the CBC rely more and more on American or American-esque shows, they are not providing anything entertainment-wise than is provided by any other channel.

I think the station has a role to play and are not playing it. I think we either need to scrap it or pay more so that they can get back to promoting Canadian musicians, artists, actors, writers, etc..

As for the news slant, I certainly don't find the CBC to be anywhere near to the left as Sun News TV is to the right. Maybe it's because of where I am on the spectrum. But I don't think that a station that was as far to the left as Sun News is to the right would get as much advertising support from big business to make a go of things. Which is why leftish news stations usually are partially government funded (i.e. BBC).

[CaptainCrunch]

Are you saying that the CBC can't fill its mandate while getting over a billion dollars from the Government?

And how is it any kind of slant when they return any access of information request that deals with their budget with no information? That's taxpayer dollars and absolutely we should know about it.

The Sun T.V. might be right wing, fine, I don't really watch it anyways, but they're not sucking on my left breast and screaming more more more.

Maybe there's a need for the CBC, but I see a lot of other Canadian content on other networks because the law requires it, so what the heck is the use of the CBC, considering that they pretty much scrape the bottom of the barrel of Canadian content and put unwatchable crap.

Maybe its time for the normal CBC channel to go away, and we move newsworld to regular cable, and if need be we let them run hnic on there, or sell the rights to another Canadian network.

But CBC is certainly not the victim here, they've acted like arrogant twits with taxpayer dollars and good for someone for putting their feet on the fire over that.

National broadcasters have honestly run their time, its time for them to get off of government welfare and actually go out and support themselves.

[Azure]

I find it mind boggling that people actually think there is a need for the cbc anymore.

It's right up there with the people who think the long gun registry actually helped prevent gun crime.

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[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Devils'Advocate

I think the station has a role to play and are not playing it. I think we either need to scrap it or pay more so that they can get back to promoting Canadian musicians, artists, actors, writers, etc..

A proposal to prop up the CBC and CanCon, two of the biggest jokes in Canadian media, all in one sentence. I'm impressed.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

National broadcasters have honestly run their time, its time for them to get off of government welfare and actually go out and support themselves.

Signed, Air Canada, Petro Canada and Canadian National Railway

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by Azure

And they want over a billion dollars from the government to cover costs.

I say shut them down. We don't need a government run TV channel anymore.

Besides, TSN could do a much better job with HNIC.

There was a thread about a year ago complaining about the state of news channels in the States. Obviously Fox is a joke, but even CNN has pandered to a lower denominator with entertainment masquerading as news and MSNBC is just lost.

The posters in the thread were asked to think of a good reputable news organization. BBC was first, CBC was second. Both are publicly funded.

It may be bloated, it may have terrible programs, but Canada and the world need the CBC. It makes us a better and more informed place to live.

The news, or fifth estate is a weird animal. Completely publicly funded it's usually just a propaganda machine for the dictatorship. Completely privately funded it becomes an MTV station with no value and actually ends up perpetuating the lies of the ruling class it was made to investigate.

Our model isn't perfect, but I like it. I like the CBC.

[Azure]

Originally Posted by Daradon

There was a thread about a year ago complaining about the state of news channels in the States. Obviously Fox is a joke, but even CNN has pandered to a lower denominator with entertainment masquerading as news and MSNBC is just lost.

The posters in the thread were asked to think of a good reputable news organization. BBC was first, CBC was second. Both are publicly funded.

It may be bloated, it may have terrible programs, but Canada and the world need the CBC. It makes us a better and more informed place to live.

The news, or fifth estate is a weird animal. Completely publicly funded it's usually just a propaganda machine for the dictatorship. Completely privately funded it becomes an MTV station with no value and actually ends up perpetuating the lies of the ruling class it was made to investigate.

Our model isn't perfect, but I like it. I like the CBC.

Nobody cares if you like the CBC. What we care about is the $1.6 billion it costs to prop them up.

If their news is so good(which I also think it is)....they should easily be able to compete in the free market.

Personally I think they easily could. Where they are losing money is with everything else. Minus HNIC. Cut out all the other programming and just make yourself a news channel, with hockey every Saturday, and you probably turn a tidy profit every year.