Volume 10, Number 2

CBC's CENTRAL CANADA BIAS
EVIDENT THROUGHOUT 1996

Throughout 1996, the National Media Archive tracked all CBC national television news reports according to each report's subject and geographical focus. Thirty-nine percent of CBC's "The National" and "Sunday Report" stories focused on international news, 27 percent focused on national news, and 32 percent focused on provincial issues.

In examining the subject matter of all provincial news, there is evidence that CBC's news about central Canada is more likely to concern serious matters, while the news from western Canada tends to be more sensational. In general, politics dominated the news agenda in Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime provinces, while the news from B.C. and the Prairies emphasized crime and catastrophes.

Reports on government and political issues accounted for an average of 35 percent of provincial news in 1996. The provinces which exceeded this 35 percent average were from central or eastern Canada: Quebec (51 percent), Nova Scotia (47 percent), Newfoundland (46 percent) and Ontario (41 percent). The provinces which trailed the average were from western Canada: Saskatchewan (15 percent), Manitoba (26 percent), and Alberta (30 percent). British Columbia and New Brunswick were both within one percent of the average, while 27 percent of news from P.E.I. concerned government (see table 2).

Click here to view Table 2: CBC's Provincial Coverage, by Subject, 1996 (Percentage of Reports)

"Wild West" image perpetuated on CBC

An examination of attention paid to tragedies reveals the opposite trend. The provincial average for the proportion of reports about crime and catastrophes is 27 percent. Three of the four western provinces exceeded the average: Saskatchewan (42 percent), Alberta (30 percent), and B.C. (28 percent). In contrast, reports from Ontario and Quebec contained proportionately far less news on tragedies at 21 percent and 20 percent respectively.

The most striking contrast is between Quebec and Saskatchewan. While 51 percent of news about Quebec focused on politics, only 20 percent focused on crime and catastrophes (primarily the Saguenay floods). In direct contrast, political matters accounted for just 15 percent of news from Saskatchewan, while crime and catastrophes were the subject of over 42 percent of all that province's stories.

Quebec, Ontario Ranked "Most Important" on CBC

CBC's central Canada bias is also evident in that network's placement of reports in their newscasts. Traditionally, reports at the beginning of a newscast are considered "more important" by both producers and audiences, while reports closer to the end of the newscasts are relatively less important. Quebec and Ontario were the provinces most likely to have their reports placed at the beginning of the news; 30 percent of reports on Quebec and 27 percent of reports on Ontario aired within the top three reports of CBC's nightly news.

Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Alberta were the provinces least likely to be at the top of the news, with just 8 percent, 15 percent, and 17 percent, respectively, of reports about these provinces airing within the top three stories of each night's newscast.

CBC's regional coverage focuses on Ontario, Quebec and B.C., and undermines importance of Alberta

Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia dominated CBC's regional reports, totalling 65.7 percent of all stories about provincial issues. Ontario received the greatest number of stories, 287, accounting for 24.4 percent of reports about provincial matters. Quebec was a close second at 263 reports, with 22.4 percent of all provincial reports. B.C. was third with 222 reports, 18.9 percent of total attention to the provinces (see table 1, page 1).

Click here to view Table 1: CBC's Regional Coverage, by Report and Time, 1996

Alberta, Canada's fourth largest province by population, received just 76 reports and ranked sixth behind Ontario, Quebec, B.C., Manitoba and Nova Scotia according to the total airtime devoted to provincial issues. Alberta received just one-third the reports of its closest rival, British Columbia, and only 6 percent of CBC's coverage of provincial issues.

Alberta's coverage was closest to Manitoba's, at 76 reports each, even though Alberta's population is 2.5 times larger than Manitoba's. Total airtime dedicated to Alberta was 17 percent less than the airtime allotted to Manitoba.

The Westray Mine Inquiry accounted for 24 reports emanating from Nova Scotia, such that in the absence of the inquiry, Nova Scotia would have placed eighth, between Newfoundland and Saskatchewan.

Click here to view Table 1: CBC's Regional Coverage, by Report and Time, 1996

Click here to view Table 2: CBC's Provincial Coverage, by Subject, 1996 (Percentage of Reports)

Click here to view Table 3: Coverage of Death and Destruction, by Report, 1996

Click here to view Table 4: International News on CBC: The Top 25 Countries, by Report, 1996

Click here to view Table 5: Top 35 CBC Reporters by Story, 1996


CBC Series on Unemployment Ignores Impact of High Taxes, Regulations, and Labour Unions

On the January 1, 1997, "National," CBC's Peter Mansbridge introduced a five-part series on jobs that examined "why so many Canadians can't find work and where they might find it in the future."

The series examined 1) lack of consumer confidence as the primary cause of unemployment, 2) the trend towards self-employment, 3) "Boomtown" Calgary, 4) pros and cons of the 4-day work week, and 5) B.C.'s forest industry and Premier Clark's plan to penalize companies that do not create jobs.

Throughout the five-part series, the impact of high taxes, burdensome regulations, and strong labour unions on Canada's unemployment rate was all but ignored. The only story in the series that discussed the relationship between taxes, regulations, and unemployment was Terry Milewski's January 13, 1997 report on the B.C. forest industry.

The only other story that mentioned taxes was Kelly Crowe's January 7 report on Alberta in which she stated: "So many companies have relocated to Calgary, that this city is now second only to Toronto in the number of head offices it has. And with a low tax rate, a low unemployment rate, and a debt that will be paid off in ten years-the outlook seems rosy."

Businesses create jobs, and businesses thrive in environments with low tax regimes. Alberta has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country-7.2 percent-and some of the lowest individual and corporate tax rates. In a series promising to explain "why . . . Canadians can't find work" the link between high taxes, regulations and the level of unemployment deserved to be explored.

Click here to view Quote of the Month


Update On Globalization

A year ago, the National Media Archive examined how the terms "globalization" and "global economy" were being used on the CBC and CTV national television news reports. We discovered that the primary message being presented on the news was that globalization has been the cause of severe job loss, economic and social instability, and the deterioration of Canadian sovereignty.

As Figure A shows, over the past year CBC has continued to lament the impact of globalization while ignoring the many and obvious advantages of Canada's participation in the global marketplace. In 1996, CBC's "The National" discussed "globalization" and the "global economy" 33 times. Twenty-six of these references criticized the globalization phenomenon and suggested that expanded trade results in heightened human suffering. The other 7 references to globalization were neutral. Throughout 1996, no CBC reporters nor commentators used the terms "globalization" or "global economy" in a positive manner. The "CTV News" did not use the term "globalization" or "global economy" in 1996

Click here to view Figure 1: The Impact of Globalization, According to the CBC, January 1, 1988 to December 31, 1996

One notable change in 1996's media attention to globalization is that the reports focused less on Canada and more on globalization's impact in the developing world. For instance, on June 25, 1996, CBC's Brian Stewart argued: "Let me address the question that's increasingly worrying some people about the globalization of the world economy. It seems every week now we're hearing new stories: one week it's cheap clothes coming in made in sweat shops by children working in near slave conditions; the next week a new unsafe product. Are we seeing the kind of dark face of a kind of globalization of the world economy that's presenting new dangers all the time?"

Similarly, the CBC's Ron Charles reported on July 15, 1996 that, "The gap between rich and poor continues to grow. The head of the North-South Institute, an organization that studies the relationship between developed and developing countries, blames globalization." Roy Culpepper of the North-South Institute was then quoted: "Globalization has been very good for a small number of countries and people, but it's been a disaster for a large number of people in countries at the bottom of the index of human development, much of Sub-Saharan Africa, for example."Ron Charles did not identify the North-South Institute as a "left-wing" organization. This corresponds with the National Media Archive study (Volume 7, Number 8) which found that "conservative" or "right-wing" organizations were more often labelled than organizations with "leftist" ideologies

Neither Charles nor Culpepper explained that the very countries that embrace trade have experienced high levels of economic growth; nor did they explain its corollary-that increased trade leads to a higher standard of living and an expanding middle class. The countries largely excluded from world trade, such as the Sub-Saharan African countries, have remained mired in poverty.

Ron Charles concluded his report with the statement: "As an example of the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots, the report says that the assets of the world's 358 billionaires are equal to the annual income of nearly half of the world's population." This is an absurd comparison given that 60 percent of the people in the developing world subsist by growing their own food and do not even participate in a monetized economy.The World Bank, World Development Report, 1995

Reports that focused on Canada usually discussed the role of the worker in the information economy. For example, on the December 1, 1996 "The National" Richard Gwyn argued: "Economic apartheid . . . is a very real risk . . . for our society. That we've become two societies, two nations, two economic nations-one poorly educated, poorly skilled that will never have jobs, never have real jobs-the other that will do very well because it's technologically oriented. [The latter will] do well in the global economy. That is a real, fundamental, political challenge which is not even being addressed or thought about by this government."

The Heckscher-Ohlin trade theorem, more commonly known as the Stolper-Samuelson theorem, predicts that trade liberalization will increase the gap between the wages of skilled and unskilled labour in developed countries as business specializes in activities requiring skilled workers. At the same time, the wage differential in the developing countries will diminish as businesses utilize the abundance of unskilled labour, thereby increasing the demand and the wages of unskilled workers.According to The Economist, the first part of this theorem has held true in recent times and there is a "growing wage disparity between high and low skilled workers in America, Britain, and other advanced countries." However, in some developing countries the difference between the wages of the skilled and unskilled worker has also increased. No explanation is offered for this apparent anomaly. See "Trade and Wages," The Economist, December 7, 1996, p. 74

In response to the higher salaries accorded to those who have attained higher education, the majority of Canadians now have some form of post-secondary eduction. Statistics Canada reports that 53 percent of Canadians have college or university educations, while just 13 percent of the previous generation had achieved the same level of academic credentials.Statistics Canada, cat. 75-201E, 1994, p. 25

According to the OECD, Canadian wages have increased 3.3 percent over the past 5 years-at a lower rate than Greece, Spain, or Italy, but at a higher rate than the U.S., Japan, or Australia. Further, Canadians have the fifth highest level of disposable income of all countries in the world.OECD Economic Surveys, Canada-1996, pp. 186-188

However, news reports invariably focus on deficiencies. In the case of globalization, the media overlooked the prosperity and rising incomes associated with high-technology sectors and exporters and instead focused on Canadian industries in which wages have fallen due to competition.

On January 22, 1996, Hana Gartner introduced "The National Magazine" with the statement: "What `Made in Canada' can really mean. Hello. For years, we have been told to buy Canadian. Ads imply that when something is made right here, it's usually by workers who are well-paid and well-treated; but with freer trade and the new global economy, `Made in Canada' doesn't always mean what it used to, especially in the competitive, cutthroat garment industry."

The workers interviewed in the report were all immigrant women, working out of their homes and paid per piece of cloth-ing sewn rather than an hourly wage. The report did not consider that people worldwide want to immigrate to Canada because of the freedom and opportunity that exists here. In fact, the report argued the complete opposite with one homeworker, Shanti, who stated: "When I compare the cost of living in Sri Lanka to Canada, I earn much more in Sri Lanka for doing the same job [as] in Canada. In my country we were living comfortably because we had our own house and the expenses were much lesser than Canada, free education we had for the children, and even all the things were cheaper and we were happier there compared to Canada."

Former Prime-Minister Pierre Trudeau also contributed to CBC's one-dimensional, highly critical commentary on the impact of globalization with the comment: "I wasn't the last of the big spenders, I was perhaps the second of the last. But in those days, you know, we hadn't realized the impact of globalization. I'm not saying-I'm not even prepared to admit-that we were wrong in spending it. We were creating jobs, and we were lowering the poverty line. And that is where the spending went. Because we were always gambling that the economy would keep going. And we didn't know that globalization would be a fact and that these free trade pacts would be encouraging capital to move out to cheaper countries or to countries which are not concerned about the environment, as Canada is. And nobody knew the future. We were continuing to spend as though a debt is a debt and there's good years and there's bad years."  Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, "The National Magazine," October 23, 1996


Year in Review-the Top Ten Stories of 1996

Number One: Strikes
Reports in 1996: 136
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CBC's Number One news story of 1996 was public and private sector strikes. Over the year, 136 reports focused on the demonstrations, demands, and negotiations of organized labour. The primary stories were Ontario public servants' strike early in the year, the summer strike at Boeing in Manitoba, the Canadian Autoworkers' targeting General Motors in the fall, and the threat of airline and postal strikes across Canada.

Number Two: National Unity
Reports in 1996: 126
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Although Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard tried to divert attention from national unity issues this past year, it was CBC's Number Two news story in 1996. CBC devoted 126 news stories to Quebec's controversial sovereignty aspirations, relations between Quebec and the federal government, and other national unity issues over the course of the year. Seventeen of these reports focused specifically on issues surrounding the culture and "distinctiveness" of Quebec.

Number Three: Somalia Inquiry
Reports in 1996: 100
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Allegations of cover-ups, altered documents, and the testimonies of General Jean Boyle, retired Major General Lewis MacKenzie and other high profile Canadians kept the Somalia inquiry consistently in the news. One hundred CBC reports throughout 1996 provided coverage of the inquiry's proceedings, making the Somalia inquiry CBC's Number Three story of the year.

Number Four: GST
Report in 1996: 67
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The Liberal government's campaign promise to abolish the GST continued to receive widespread media attention, accounting for 67 CBC news reports in 1996. Stories included the resignation and re-election of Sheila Copps, John Nunziata's refusal to vote for his government's budget and his subsequent removal from the Liberal caucus, the infamous CBC Town Hall meeting, and of course, Prime Minister Jean Chretien's public apology

Number Five: Bank Rate
Reports in 1996: 61
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The decline of Canadian bank rates was CBC's Number Five news story of the year, with 61 reports (including graphical reports) over the course of 1996. The bank rate fell from its high for the year on January 9, 1996 of 5.78 percent, to its lowest rate since 1956 on November 8, 1996-3.25 percent.

Number Six: Olympics
Reports in 1996: 60
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The Centennial Olympic Games, held in Atlanta from July 19 to August 5, 1996, received 60 reports on CBC's "The National." Canadian athletes received 22 medals, Canada's best performance other than the boycotted 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Neither the July 27th bombing nor the subsequent investigation of security officer Richard Jewel was included in this category.

Number Seven: Airbus Scandal
Reports in 1996: 43
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On January 16, 1996, Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's $50 million libel suit against the federal government had its first day in court. One year and 43 CBC news reports later, the federal government apologized for the allegations made about Mr. Mulroney in its letter to the Swiss authorities and agreed to pay all legal fees. Brian Mulroney dropped the case.

Number Eight: Saguenay Floods
Reports in 1996: 36
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The torrential rainfall and subsequent flooding in Quebec's Lac St. Jean-Saguenay region was CBC's Number Eight story of 1996. The midsummer catastrophe, the clean-up, and aid from individuals and governments as well as the inquiry into the management of the Saguenay dams was the focus of 36 news reports.

Number Nine: Westray Mines Inquiry
Reports in 1996: 24
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The inquiry into the causes of the Westray Mines disaster which killed 26 miners in 1992 was CBC's Number Nine story of 1996. Testimony from mine inspectors, management, former politicians, and miners, as well as comments from the victims' families, were the subject of 24 news stories throughout the year.

Number Ten: Human Rights Bill
Reports in 1996: 20
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Bill C-33, an amendment to the Human Rights Act to prohibit discrimination against homosexuals, was CBC's Number Ten news story and accounted for 20 reports over the year. Reports centred on moral issues and the controversy within both the Reform and Liberal parties. It is noteworthy that the political turmoil within Reform was given far greater play than discord within the Liberal party, even though 29 Liberals voted against the amendment. There was minimal discussion of the possible impact of Bill C-33 in future legislation.

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Last Modified: Wednesday, October 20, 1999.