Murphy's Logic: CBC controls too much of Canadian news content

The CBC has its faults. But it’s not state-controlled media.

Government-funded is not the same as state-controlled. State-controlled media is under the editorial control of a government. CBC’s editorial independence from government is enshrined in law.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who has been knowingly conflating the two, knows the difference. But his bellicose cries of state control resonate with those Canadians who already believe CBC News can’t be trusted. Many of them likely don’t trust any “mainstream media,” but have no trouble putting their faith in dubious, even anonymous sources that are accountable to no one.

The fair-minded can debate the role and structure of a public broadcaster, how it’s funded and even whether we need one. Even more important to discuss, is the expanding role of a publicly funded news organization. It’s $1.2 billion subsidy allows CBC to create more and more news content across all of its platforms — while private news organizations, which rely on diminishing advertising revenue and subscription fees, do less, in the struggle to remain profitable.

A large amount of Canada’s news now comes from the CBC and is therefore subject to a single set of editorial values, standards and practices.

If concentration of media ownership is an issue, concentration of editorial perspective should be of concern as well. Not because it’s propaganda or unreliable … but because so much content is now being managed by so few.