CBC’s tandem shows the broadcaster has lost its way, says the former editor in chief

The Canadian public broadcaster has moved to address concerns about a controversial new advertising initiative that has outraged some past and present employees.

But a former top CBC editor says the passages aren’t enough, and he’s become the last to add his voice to the critical chorus.

According to Jeffrey Dvorkin, his former employer has lost his way and is now trying to slap a band-aid on a wound that goes much deeper.

“CBC is watering everything down and looking for ways to support a failed vision of what a public broadcaster should be,” said Dvorkin, former editor in chief and chief reporter for CBC Radio on Friday.

Now a senior fellow at Massey College in Toronto, Dvorkin is just one high-profile former employee who has spoken out against the new initiative.

Unveiled this fall, what’s known as Tandem would see CBC produce content for corporate clients in a plan that management has claimed is completely separate from the broadcaster’s journalistic work.

CBC claims to have been offering branded content “for many years, as have other media outlets around the world.”

But in an industry where a firewall that continues to report on one side and advertising and commercial interests on the other has long been seen as a key part of independent and ethical journalism, critics argue that blurs the line.

In response to criticism from current and former employees, senior executives have now launched new guidelines that, among other things, would prohibit CBC reporters from engaging in paid content or having it appear on local home pages, as well to require such content to be clearly labeled.

In response to questions, a CBC spokesperson pointed to the Star at a statement posted on its website this week acknowledging people who shared concerns and lists the nine new rules created in response.

“We recognize that as the nation’s public broadcaster we must adhere to a higher standard, with stricter guidelines than our peers to ensure a clear separation between our journalism and commercial content,” said Barb Williams, executive vice president of CBC quoted as stated in the statement.

“That said, as long as we operate a diversified business model and aim to maintain current levels of service for Canadians, we must be able to provide advertisers with the suite of options that all of our reputable colleagues provide.”

While Dvorkin said it is still unclear what exactly these ads would look like, the “general principle” of this type of advertising, which exists in other private news companies, is to create ads that adopt a news style.

CBC argues that the difference between the two will be clear to readers, but Dvorkin disagrees.

“I think this is offensive to the values ​​of CBC News, the integrity of CBC News and is an insult to the public.”

Dvorkin is far from being the first to speak. In late October, the Globe and Mail reported that former CBC stars such as Peter Mansbridge, Linden MacIntyre and Adrienne Clarkson had expressed “grave concerns”.

He said there is a lot of “moodiness” within the company right now, fueled by the prevailing feeling that staff have not been questioned about the new changes and have had little opportunity to give input or ask questions.

To former staff? The CBC has become “unrecognizable,” he adds.

The result was an unusual level of push back. Last month, more than 70 former CBC employees sent a letter to CRTC, the Canadian broadcasting regulator, asking it to investigate Tandem, saying the unit “blurs the lines between advertising and news.”

The group also asked the CBC board of directors to end the branded content program.

Watchdog Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, which is calling for the cancellation of Tandem, said it will continue to lobby the CBC board of directors.

“CBC is a public good, not a private enterprise. (CBC President and CEO) Catherine Tait clearly does not understand this distinction. He’s not going to save CBC by selling off its credibility, ”Daniel Bernhard, executive director of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said in a statement Friday.

But Dvorkin, who after leaving CBC spent nearly a decade as vice president of news and information at National Public Radio (NPR) in the United States, argues that the matter goes far deeper than the controversial foray into a new type of advertising.

It’s no secret that the media industry as a whole is struggling, as print advertising revenue plummets and digital giants like Facebook consume an ever-growing share of the digital pie.

In that context, Dvorkin argues that it is unfair for a public broadcaster to steal potential revenue from commercial entities.

Nor is the reduction in revenue an excuse, as he argues that the main problem with CBC is identity.

“We think the (solution to a) desperate shortage of funds is not to pursue money by other means, but to understand: ‘What is the purpose of CBC in these complicated and digitally challenging times? And this is the question that l ‘senior management will not be made, ”he said.

Instead, he argues that CBC has spent too much time trying to keep up with commercial broadcasters like CTV and Global, pulling out local news while trying to take a leap in entertainment and comedy, instead of finding a unique place in the ecosystem. The people who eventually lose are Canadians, he said.

Dvorkin said that, during his time at NPR, management decided they were doing too much and actually reduced their offers to really focus on the things they did well, and saw ratings rise accordingly.

“For CBC, trying to be something that is not, that is, a version of a commercial broadcaster, means that it weakens the connective tissue that binds our culture and our citizenship together.”

With files from The Canadian Press