7 Sept 2016

As Mansbridge Exits: Does the CBC have the courage to build a TRULY GREAT news program?

The latest water cooler chat among many Canadians this week is speculation about who will replace Peter Mansbridge as host of The National, CBC-TV’s flagship news program. He announced earlier this week that, after 30 years as host of  the program.

The long-time anchor seemed to be trying to give his departure considerable significance by announcing 10 months ahead of time that he is leaving. Also boosting his own importance, his departure also coincides with the occasion of Canada’s 150th birthday.

One wonders if Mansbridge expects an honorary star-studded tour hosting The National from CBC stations across the country, much like the retiring New York Yankees’ star shortstop Derek Jeter was honoured in every ball park during his last year.

Now CBC executives say they are going to usher in “the next phase” of The National. 

Jennifer McGuire, the General Manager and editor-in-chief of CBC News, told The Globe and Mail she sees Mansbridge’s departure as “an opportunity to reimage the program.” She said the CBC will look at increasing the digital delivery of The National.

Finding a new host for The National should not be the CBC’s main goal.

CBC should address the fact that neither The National nor any other CBC news program is trusted very much by the public. The content of CBC News programs is just like programming at mainstream media, and the public doesn’t like either.

A Statistics Canada General Social Survey of national opinions for 2013 and 2014 revealed that only 40 per cent of Canadians had confidence in media.

Canadians don’t like mainstream news because they believe it lacks balance and that it reports lies.

The public is much smarter and more skeptical when digesting the news today than it was back in the 1960s when CBS News Anchor Walter Cronkite was believed to be only second to God when it came to telling the truth.

One of the reasons people mistrust programs such as The National is because we have access to excellent upstart news sources on the Internet. Many sites are run by talented journalists who have fled the mainstream.


Mainstream editors cut stories


People know mainstream media filter out stories that don’t suit the owners idea of what should be news. For instance, corporate-owned media – and even CBC News – tend to paint a negative picture of organized labour, protest groups, and some environmental organizations.

On the other hand, by the nature of its reporting, CBC News tends to endorse our current form of aggressive capitalism as being good for everyone. It seldom covers the negative aspects of giant international free trade deals for the public.

Worst of all, CBC News coverage of many international political stories is disgraceful. In May I did an analysis of the Canadian coverage of a trip by U.S. President Barrick Obama to Vietnam. Many stories were so pro-U.S. they could have been written by the White House.

The reason for Obama’s trip reported by the CBC was that it was a goodwill visit. However, from what I could determine, no CBC News program reported he was there to discuss selling weapons  to the Vietnamese that would be pointed at China.

The National needs a revolution


If the CBC wants to rebuild public support, it has to revolutionize how it approaches the news. The main goal should be to help people understand the news by reporting, as we say, “both sides of the story.”

Content, not style and not personalities, should be the focus of a re-built National. For a start, many of those 1:10 minute long stories could be left to CTV, while the National should focus more on the big, important events.

The current, one person studio set up should be thrown out the window. A new, more flexible set could be changed from night to night to facilitate the coverage of stories of different importance.

For major stories, the evening news would be co-ordinated by the person who has the most expertise concerning the topic; perhaps the person who has researched the story all day. Other people who know about the story, perhaps including someone from one of the current affairs programs, would also be on the set.

Editors would need to have the insight and skills to write complete, balanced stories. For instance, if Obama makes claims about what is happening in Syria, the story requires a response from either the Syrian government or the Russians. Both the Russian and Chinese media should be monitored for possible stories.

Very important: The National should break away from the myth that journalism can be presented objectively. The lie of objectivity was created by newspapers many years ago when rich owners needed to find a way to stop journalists from writing scurrilous articles that got their papers into trouble.

Producing such a program would require a highly skilled staff and occasional access to experienced journalists/producers from other programs and even bringing in non-staff guests.

Perhaps half of The National’s journalists have the skills required to contribute to a high calibre program. Others would have to be trained. To understand the kind of in depth journalism required, compare the reporting on The National with the journalism on BBC News.

It would take courage for CBC executives to create such a program. Any changes along these lines would bring howls from right-wing Members of Parliament. But that’s okay. They’re always howling at something.

CTV has led The National in audience ratings for years, and they still might lead after these changes. What’s important is that a new, more in depth National would better serve the public.

-30-
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6 comments:

  1. I regret to say I no longer believe that the will of the executives with a top-heavy board of ex-conservatives and the rest as conservative Liberals, are even able or want to change into a real journalistic news network....We need something like Al Jazeera, who do a number of the things such as have opposition views and fact checks....but without the over influence of Qatar...
    My concern isn't so much international news reporting as the bias of ignoring key Canadian reports on bank bailouts, anti-Canadian in policies and Parliamentary process.
    Negotiations on these crap phony trade deals have been going on for years....Ms Barton laughed at her ignorance of not even knowing what ISDS clauses were----Even though she ignorantly reported the results of these constant 'guaranteed win when suing Canadian taxpayers--As we now are the most sued country in the world. Just NAFTA has 2 billion in o/s lawsuits.....Even the CBC News blog will censor any reference to the best link on trade deal analysis ---see bilaterals.org (I was censored 22 times in 3 minutes). So, I do not believe there is a journalistic priority and the treatment of more integrity-driven investigative reporter is first harassing and second is close to bordering on slander....Cheap shots rain supreme....leading me not to trust anything said or done...and the scandals of late, bear out this conclusion.

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  2. It would be great if the CBC became a real news operation but, I think, unlikely. I agree with you regarding what is not reported and what is reported with a bias but my other beef is that everyone at CBC is more enthusiastic and alive when they talk about sports. And, I don't think I have seen a broadcast that does not have a sports item in it even though 99% of the time the sports items are not news. Too bad, such promise, such waste.

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  3. I think that there is something worthy about striving for objectivity even though it is impossible for anyone to be completely objective about anything in life-which includes journalism. It is possible to be strive for accuracy and fairness in journalism. It is also possible to present more opinions and stories that are denied. Amy Goodman is a good example of a journalist because she strives for the ideals I have described. We need more like her in the CBC and elsewhere.

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  4. I recommend seeing All Governments Lie , the new doc that is a tribute to IF Stone and takes up a lot of what you address in this piece; I heard the director and Amy Goodman discussing the doc on CBC's The Current yesterday. Let's be thankful that Market Place , the 4th Estate and the Current are still available .

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  5. شركة الكمال أفضل شركة تنظيف بحائل للتنظيف أهمية كبرى فى حياة الفرد وبالأخص المواطن

    السعودى مما
    يؤدى ذالك إلى تعرض المنزل بشكل كبير إلى الأتربة والأوساخ والبقع والدهون وأن نظافة

    المنزل تشعر الفرد بالراحة
    النفسية الكبيرة وتتكفل شركة الكمال بهذا العمل لأنها أفضل


    شركة تنظيف بحائل

    ولانها الشركة الرائدة
    والمشهود لها بالفضلى فى هذا المجال من النظافة لوجود المقومات التى تساعد على ذالك منها

    العمالة المدربة وذوى الخبرة
    والكفاءة مع وجود أحدث معدات التنظيف للفلل التى تساعد على إنهاء العمل بكفاءة ونهتم كثيرا

    بأراء عملائنا فى


    شركة تنظيف فلل بحائل

    ويقوم طاقم العمل بتنظيف الشقه بدون التسبب بأى إزعاج للعميل فلا تتباطؤ فى إختيار شركة

    الكمال لتنظيف منزلكم لأنها أفضل


    شركة تنظيف شقق بحائل

    ولأن تنظيف المجالس يحتاج إلى وقت وجهد كبير فشركة الكمال أفضل شركة تنظيف
    مجالس بحائل كفيلة بتنظيف مجلسك فى أسرع وقت وبدون جهد وبالتالى شركة الكمال هى الحل

    الأمثل فى فى مجال تنظيف المجالس
    بحائل ونحن بانتظاركم لتتصلوا على


    شركة تنظيف مجالس بحائل

    وأفضل مايميز شركة العربى أفضل شركة تنظيف منازل بحائل وضعها للخطط قبل البدء فى
    شركة تنظيف مجالس وكنب بحائل
    شركة تنظيف سجاد

    وموكيت بحائل

    العمل وتقسيم طاقمها إلى
    مجموعات كل منها مختص بتنظيف جزء معين وتمر عملية التنظيف على عدة مراحل :-
    1- البدء بتنظيف الموكيت والكنب والمفروشات والسجاد بالأعتماد على أحدث المعدات

    الألكترونية التى تعمل بالبخار لكى
    تقضى على المشاكل التقليدية للتنظيف وهى بهتان اللون وبذالك قمنا بالأعتماد على البخار فى

    إزالة الأوساخ والبقع
    2- ثم بعد ذالك يأتى دور البلاط والأرضيات فيقوم العمال بجلى البلاط والأرضيات بأحدث

    ألالآت جلى البلاط والأرضيات


    شركة تنظيف واجهات بحائل

    شركة الكمال أفضل شركة تنظيف خزانات بحائل نظرا لارتفاع درجات الحرارة فى حائل وفى
    غيرها من باقى مدن
    المملكة ووجود مياه البحر المحلاة التى تحمل الكثير من الرمال والأتربة مما يؤدى
    ذالك إلى تكون الفطريات والجراثيم على
    جدران الخزان ويؤدى ذالك إلى تلوث المياه والتى بدورها تؤدى إلى تسمم الفرد إذا فما الحل ؟
    الحل تقدمه لكم شركة العربى وهى أفضل
    شركة الكمال أفضل (( شركة كشف تسربات المياه بحائل )) نسعى فى شركة الكمال بتقديم كافة

    خدمات كشف تسربات المياه ويتم كشف تسربات المياه بأحدث
    الأجهزة الألكترونية و طاقم عمل يتكون من فنيين وخبراء منهم فنيين أجانب ونسعى جاهدين

    لتقديم أفضل خدمة بأقل سعر وإرضاء العميل واسعارنا حصرية لا تقبل المنافسة لدينا فى


    شركة كشف تسربات المياه بحائل

    شركة الكمال أفضل (( شركة نقل عفش بحائل )) نقل العفش من الأمور الهامة جدا (( شركة نقل

    عفش بحائل )) التى يلزم فبها الدقة والخبرة للحد ولذالك خصصنا قسما فى شركتنا لمجال
    نقل العفش مع تجهيزه :-
    1- أسطول كبير من السياراة المجهزة والتى (( شركة نقل عفش بحائل )) أعدن خصيصا

    لنقل العفش
    2- طافم العمل المدرب على حمل وتنزيل العفش والأثاث
    3- فنيين متخصصين فى الفك والتركيب (( شركة نقل عفش بحائل ))
    ومايجعل نقل الاثاث من أشهر الخدمات التى يكثر عليها الطلب هوا أن معظم العملاء يقومون

    بتغيير عفشهم القديم أكثر من مرة فى العام ويرجع ذالك أيضا إلى أنا
    العملاء يقومون بتأجير الفلل والقصور والشقق وذالك لأنهم يحبون تغير الجو ولذالك يكون اعتما

    نا فى شركة العربى على أحسن تقنيات نقل الاثاث بداخل وخارج
    حائل ونقل الاثاث من الأعمال شديدة الكثافة لذا تحتاج إلى


    شركة نقل اثاث بحائل

    دقة عالية ومهارة فى فك العفش وحمله وإنزاله إلى السياراة وتغليفه لتقليل من شدة الصدمات

    وعدم
    تعرضه للكسر وللخدش أيضا ونستخدم فى شركة العربى أفضل وأحدث السيارات المجهزة

    خصيصا لنقل العفش

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