Here in Canada, on the other hand, we’ve just seen the worst in journalism, with the CBC’s broadcast of an interview in which CSIS Director Richard Fadden states that a number of Canadian politicians are influenced by foreign states. Now, politicians and pundits are criticizing Mr. Fadden for making this statement. And calls for his resignation are being heard across the land.Even though CBC had sat on that interview, Fadden shouldn't have made a statement like that in public that he later backtracks on.
How does the broadcast of this interview reflect the worst in journalism, you ask?
Buried within Colin Freeze and Ian Bailey’s fine report of the interview fallout in Thursday’s Globe and Mail, we read: “The timing of the CBC interview was not Mr. Fadden’s choice. This spring, CBC approached him to repeat remarks he had made at a private, but videotaped, speech at the Royal Canadian Military Institute. The public broadcaster kept the interview in its back pocket until it broadcast the exclusive this week.”
In other words, CBC sat on the explosive interview for weeks, if not months. And it chose to make the interview public on the eve of a state visit to Canada by China’s President Hu, and on the eve of a summit to be attended both by him and by the Prime Minister of India.
Shame on the people who made that judgment. Heads should roll all right – heads at the CBC.
Makes you wonder why CBC waited to to air that interview on the eve of the G8 and G20 summits. Worst in journalism? Norman Spector is right on.
Heads roll? You bet! Again, Norman Spector's got it right, heads at CBC should roll. CSIS director Fadden? I think so. He's got some splainin' to do so does CBC for that matter as far as I'm concerned. Kudo's to Globe and Mail and Norman Spector for calling CBC out!
Update: Dave Rutherford talks about this on his show. It is a must listen. Starts about 9:00am goes to on after the bottom of the hour news.
