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CBC Denies Bias & Poaching Journalists In Already Underserved Markets
They call them "news deserts" - small towns where there are already few sources for local headlines, either because newspapers have closed up or the markets are too small for more than one radio or TV station - if that.
CBC has lately been hiring what few reporters there are left in those places as it expands its local news presence, which it maintains is part of its mandate. But critics have accused The Corp. of hiring away personnel in an already thin pool of journalists, leaving those already small markets even more news impoverished.
The CBC denies they're doing any such thing. And in testimony before a government Heritage Committee, she adamantly denied ongoing accusations of bias or that its news leans to the left.
"I don't believe that our reporters are pursuing a particular agenda," (president Marie-Philippe) Bouchard said. "They are seeking the truth. They are double-sourcing their information."
She said reporters are "held to a standard" and do not push their opinion but base their stories and broadcasts "on facts that they check."
CBC president denies broadcaster is biased or poaches journalists from smaller markets
- Chrisphen
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Re: CBC Denies Bias & Poaching Journalists In Already Underserved Markets
And who are making these allegations?
The usual tools.
- BowmanvilleBob
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Re: CBC Denies Bias & Poaching Journalists In Already Underserved Markets
This is one of the most absurd arguments I’ve heard in a long time.
Are these small-market journalists that the CBC has hired doing remotes from local car lots, covering local little league hockey games or interviewing the ladies at the CWL about their upcoming bake sale? Are they doing hourly newscasts or soliciting ad dollars from local businesses? The answer to all of these questions is “no”. So in a very real sense, the impact on the bottom line in terms of sales and revenues is minimal at best.
The only “impact” that’s really being felt is that many talented local reporters who’ve been trapped in smaller communities as the pipeline to better jobs in the big city has dried up (thanks Postmedia/Metroland/Bell/Rogers)now have an opportunity to earn decent money and a modest amount of job security with CBC as opposed to toiling for peanuts.
Poaching? Gosh, it happens in private media all the time with nary a peep from the Tories or the media outlets who’ve employed wage slaves for years. If I’m a young (or even middle aged) journalist who has been stuck in Fort St. John or Grande Prairie for several years and needs to have at least one side hustle to keep my head above water, you can damn well bet I’m going to be listening if Mother Corp comes calling.
- paterson1
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Re: CBC Denies Bias & Poaching Journalists In Already Underserved Markets
News deserts aren't just in small towns or remote areas. I have friends that live in Markham and they sometimes comment about the lack or no coverage of their city which has a population of over 330,000. No radio station, only an on line newspaper and cable channel which is for York Region. Markham seems to be lumped into York Region for everything, so they really have no media of their own. York is a much larger area and includes Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Georgina, Sutton and various smaller communities right up to Lake Simcoe.
Last edited by paterson1 (April 24, 2026 10:49 am)
- maybo
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Re: CBC Denies Bias & Poaching Journalists In Already Underserved Markets
paterson1 wrote:
News deserts aren't just in small towns or remote areas. I have friends that live in Markham and they sometimes comment about the lack or no coverage of their city which has a population of over 330,000. No radio station, only an on line newspaper and cable channel which is for York Region. Markham seems to be lumped into York Region for everything, so they really have no media of their own. York is a much larger area and includes Newmarket, Richmond Hill, Aurora, Georgina, Sutton and various smaller communities right up to Lake Simcoe.
Here in Stouffville, we have a volunteer radio station (102.9 Whistle-FM). Town coverage OTA but we’re on the internet. Local news, hockey broadcasts, etc. Challenging, but we think (hope) we’re providing a vital service to the town.
-- Chris Mayberry