The Department of Canadian Heritage spent $68,640 on a University of British Columbia study that asked Canadian journalists — many of them from CBC — about facing hurtful accusations from conservative politicians and partisan media, Access To Information records reveal.Blacklock's Reporter says the study surveyed 95 unnamed journalists across the country, with 41% reportedly working for public outlets like the CBC. While the research did not name any politicians or journalists directly, it found that most respondents felt targeted by claims of political bias, with 56% saying they faced such accusations at least once a month. .Others reported being called incompetent (54%), unethical (46%), or even criminal (19%).According to the report Not Just Words: How Reputational Attacks Harm Journalists And Undermine Press Freedom, Canadian journalists were more likely than their international counterparts to cite hyper-partisan media — rather than government officials — as the main source of reputational attacks.While only half of those surveyed blamed opposition parties for such attacks, just 33% pointed to governing parties at any level.One Alberta-based columnist, reflecting on three decades in the industry, said he had never seen political polarization this intense.He and others interviewed said most of the hostility came from right wing politicians and media figures..The report noted that accusations from high-profile right wing commentators often triggered waves of online abuse.A TV journalist said far right outlets produced videos and memes targeting them personally.An Alberta newspaper reporter described being falsely accused of pedophilia during a livestream by an extreme political figure, with the defamatory content widely shared online.The report concluded that these reputational attacks were making journalism harder..Reporters said it now took more effort to gain trust from sources and attend events safely.While the report acknowledged that journalists in other countries face far graver threats — including assassinations and state crackdowns — it noted the Canadian complaints were happening amid declining public trust in the media.
