I feel for the CBC - We all know they are underfunded, but a comparison with the BBC is a little unfair. That is funded mostly by the license fee. No one in Canada will pay that on top of cable fees, but I guess that’s part of the corporate freebie to Bell/Rogers/et al.

The only beef I have with the article is that the CBC really isn’t any of these things the article cites. It’s news coverage is poor at best and it’s original programming is lacklustre. We do not need any more adaptations of Anne of Green Gables and nor do we need any more hokey Sitcoms (though I did like North of North)

As a taxpayer, I really do want CBC to succeed. I just don’t how it can in todays media landscape.

With more funding they might attract writers and producers of quality content

There needs to be an internal will and ability to create shows that viewers/listeners enjoy. I’m not sure that exists. If we saw enjoyable shows getting by on a shoestring budget, then your statement would clearly be correct. But I don’t see that.

We should be investing in journalism that serves the public interest, not slashing its funding. We should be expanding access to local news, not pulling the plug. And we should expect our elected leaders to keep their promises, especially when it comes to protecting the foundations of our democracy.

Didn’t the Liberals direct CBC to open more local offices and improve regional reporting?

The crux of this issue is there’s more money available to push agendas and misinformation than there is market cap for authentic journalism. We need to free information and journalism from the clutches of capitalism -at least partially.

IMO a publicly funded entity like the CBC should provide infrastructure for independent journalism. They should be tasked with fostering a national association of qualified journalists, a logistical system to facilitate on-the-scene documentation, and platforming individually produced journalism. It would synergize with independent media that’s largely relegated to youtube and social media.

And Carney’s government deceives yet again. Keeping up with the conservatives’ plans.

I don’t remember reading anything about them being “directed” to do so by the government, and even if that’s the case, that was last year, well before the election.

Obviously a concern, but this substack leaves out details:

Bouchard’s memo said the savings will be separate from the federal government’s commitment during the spring election campaign to invest an additional $150 million in CBC/Radio-Canada.

and

“However, it is important to remember that at this point we have been asked to develop proposals only. All of the proposals will be assessed by the government and final decisions reflected in the Main Estimates for 2026-2027

This proposal isn’t to cut CBC’s overall budget yet. On it’s face, they are looking for individual initiatives to save money, while promising to increase overall spending. That would be a perfectly fine objective to improve effectiveness and efficiency. Just watch for those annual budgets.

Except all the savings go to bringing in elderly people for family reunification.

Depends what you enjoy I guess. I liked Schitts Creek, 22/minutes, there have been other older classics.