ACCORDING TO A POLL commissioned by broadcast industry watchdog Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, most Canadians believe that the CBC is “being starved of funds by a government with a vendetta against it”.
The group hired public opinion research firm Pollara to survey Canadians’ attitudes about and expectations for the CBC, and apparently found that most Canadians believe “that Prime Minister Harper is intent on hobbling the CBC”.
The press release also stated that:
– 63% of respondents agreed that "Prime Minister Harper and the Conservative government are hostile to the CBC and would like to diminish public broadcasting in Canada";
– 51% agreed that when it comes to the CBC, "the Harper government has a hidden agenda that favours private corporate broadcasters" (25% disagreed and 25% said that they didn’t know);
– and, 70% agreed that "Canada’s level of public broadcaster funding is indicative of the federal government’s treatment of the cultural sector overall".
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting issued five different versions of this release last week, four in English and one in French, with each version containing a different, regional-focused hook. For example, one version trumpeted that levels of support and satisfaction with the CBC are supposedly “higher and more intense” among Atlantic Canadians than voters in other parts of the country; while another led with “the majority of Albertans think that the CBC is under-funded”; and in Quebec, apparently only Green Party leader Elizabeth May scored lower than Stephen Harper the as federal political party leader “most trusted to handle culture and Canadian identity in broadcasting”.
All five versions of the press release also contained the following quote: "The good news is that Harper’s disdainful treatment of the CBC flies in the face of public opinion," said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting.
So, is this news or politics?
According to its website, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent, non-partisan organization that “is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party”. While Friends does not attempt to hide its affinity for Canada’s public broadcaster, this is the second such release in as many months that seems to pit the Conservatives against the CBC.
In addition, each one of the five press releases contains the claim that “Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is regarded as ‘most trusted’ to handle matters of culture and Canadian identity in broadcasting by Canadians, a view that is amplified among Quebecers and Atlantic Canadians”.
The unusual part about that statement is that we can’t recall Michael Ignatieff publicly airing his feelings on Cancon or the CBC. But perhaps the general Canadian population, or at least the random sample of 3,361 Canadians 18 year of age or older surveyed between April 20 – April 24, have heard things we haven’t.
In fact, Pollara’s summary of findings actually reads: “The degree of trust between the two leaders, with regard to promoting and supporting Canadian culture, is quite polarized between Eastern and Western Canada, with the East (including Ontario and Quebec), more strongly favouring Ignatieff (34%), and the West favouring Stephen Harper (40%). This split in support is likely a latent effect of the broader regional differences in their political orientations and mindsets.”
While one could say that all news releases are biased towards a particular cause, we are still wrestling with the concept of objectivity and surveys. We’ll let our readers decide.
