Posted by Daniel Henry, CBC Senior legal counsel
Last week, the Ontario Court of Appeal granted the media a new defamation defence, in addition to truth, fair comment, privilege and consent. It's called "public interest responsible journalism." This new defence promises to remove the “chill” from Canadian defamation law and significantly affect what we publish and when.
Posted by Judy Maddren, Media Language Adviser
The CBC has had a broadcast language adviser for almost as long as CBC Radio has been on air. Someone recently asked if I was the current incarnation of the "tweedy pipe-puffing" pedant of the past. But there is really no room at all for pedantry.
The two key components for this job are a sense of humour and a fascination with finding the best language to communicate clearly.
When it comes to language use, the ground is always shifting. It can also be extremely muddy. Plus, our mistakes are public.
Posted by Tim Richards, Senior Producer Online and Interactivity BC Region
Recently, my colleague Jon Dube discussed how our network news site has begun to tap into our audience to enrich our coverage and tell new stories.
Here in British Columbia we have tried to do the same by engaging our audience on issues from hard news, like our recent civic strike, to softer topics like movie reviews from the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Whatever the topic our goal has always been the same, to make a stronger connection with British Columbians and to draw on their knowledge and experience to improve the quality of our coverage.
This past August a prominent Somali-Canadian journalist was killed in Mogadishu. Ali Iman Sharmarke ran the Horn Afrik Media Company, an independent news station that openly criticized the government, as well as Islamic militants in Somalia. For his boldness and temerity as a journalist, Ali Iman paid with his life. On November 1, the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression gave Sharmarke a post-humous award for his work. His nephew, Liban Hassan, accepted the award on his behalf and below is the moving speech he made about the importance of journalism.
Posted by Jonathan Dube, Director of Digital Programming, CBC News
A year ago we launched our Your View section, which has been a big success and now gets hundreds of comments a day. This summer we launched regional versions of Your View across Canada.
This week, CBCNews.ca readers helped contribute to two major stories.
Posted by Susan Marjetti, Regional Director of CBC Radio, Toronto 99.1
CBC is just one of many organizations changing the way we do business in order to ensure that new voices and stories are heard on our airwaves. We're also working to ensure that our workforce reflects the country.
Do you feel your voice is heard on our airwaves, in your community?
Posted by George Hoff, Managing Editor of the Ottawa Bureau for CBC News
Canada's role in Afghanistan has been one of the top issues over the past year. CBC News has been in Kandahar and other parts of Afghanistan reporting on the tensions in the country. Now CBC News is partnering with Environics and has teamed up with the Munk Centre, the Globe and Mail and La Presse to conduct a public opinion survey in Afghanistan to find out the attitudes of Afghans about political and safety conditions in that country and the role of international forces.
Posted by Mark Bulgutch, Senior Executive Producer, News Programming and Newsworld Production Unit
As an election approaches we pick from the wealth of politcal expertise we have in our reporters and producers in Ottawa and across the country for all the roles that have to be filled, both on-air and behind the scenes. We choose the places we want to set up remote facilities to bring us the live action and colour of an election night in dozens of places from coast to coast.
Posted by Esther Enkin, Acting Editor in Chief
This is a place for us to have a conversation with you about what we do, how we do it and why we do it. This space will be a place where our producers, editors and managers will address editorial decision making, share the news making process and debate issues facing media today.
CBC News Editors Blog is an online feature from the CBC’s senior editors and producers that goes behind the scenes at the CBC. Our producers, editors and correspondents will discuss how and why the news is made and give you a chance to join the conversation.
