Jan
CBC: “We’re great and we’re going to prove it”
Josh Cobden
Was I the only that found the CBC’s January 22nd news release a little weird? According to the release, the CBC has undertaken its own study to “examine the depth and breadth of its coverage . . . [and] gauge Canadians’ expectations of the public broadcaster’s news services.”
And this is news?
Let’s be clear: I’m all for accountability, especially by organizations that get government money. And I’m not a CBC hater-either. In fact I’m a fan. On the small screen, I think Strombo is cool, Mansbridge is smart, and no one touches Hockey Night in Canada, even without the song. As for radio, the guys doing the traffic on the 1s might help me get downtown on time, but The Current is just as likely to keep me in the parking lot ’til I’m late. So don’t take this as one of those tired old rants about how we should abolish the CBC.
And I’m sure as heck not biting the hand that feeds me.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found the CBC the hardest media organization to pitch. The folks in the newsroom are typically a highly discerning bunch, and any story idea with even the slightest tint of self-promotion makes it a pretty short call.
Which makes the third paragraph in the release all the more ironic: “CBC/Radio-Canada will use the information gained from this study to continue its efforts to remain the most credible news source in the country and a standard for broadcast journalism everywhere.”
Aren’t we Canadians supposed to be humble?
I agree that this new study is quite odd. For a media outlet that avoids covering stories with “the slightest tint of self-promotion,” it’s put out a news release all about how credible and great it is. I don’t know about you but that sounds like a lot of self-promotion.
This raises the point that news releases are not exclusively for the media any more. Releases are commonly picked up in their entirety online, and are distributed direct to audiences via services like CNW’s portfolio email. So an organization like the CBC might put out an announcement without any hope or expectation of editorial coverage. One wonders what the audience for this particular announcement was, but surely it could not have been the news media.