Ever read one of those news stories that starts off as if it's good news, and then ends up in the out-house?
Today's news regarding a Senate committee report that recommends Canada's Government funded broadcaster stop competing with commercial broadcasters is one of those. For decades now, commercial television stations have lamented the unfair advantage CBC Television has in being able to compete for the private sector's advertising dollars, while glutting itself leech-like, on an annual billion dollar subsidy from the Federal budget.
I've long lamented the way the taxpayer has to pay for the CBC's biased left wing worldview, and this news story at first seemed like it was heaven sent. Perhaps it might be the harbinger of more and better things to come like the privatization of the whole damn thing?
But no. The senate committee recommended increasing the CBC's budget by another 400 million dollars, to replace the money it currently gets from selling advertisements. The Senate also wants the CBC to get back to it's core purpose, ( of reaching Canadians in remote areas and providing uniquely Canadian programming?) instead of trying to be all things to all people.
There was a time when that made sense, but there isn't a community in the far north now that does not have access to digital satellite TV or the internet. English language viewership of the CBC had dropped to an embarrassing 5.8% by 2002. Between 2003 and 2005 the privately owned CTV network had double the number of Canadian-produced dramatic TV hours that the CBC had. If ever there was an example of government waste through duplication of services it's the CBC.
A quick check of google in the 24 hours after this story broke, the only news item defending the CBC was from the CBC themselves. lol.
