The bloated, woke, sinking ship called the CBC couldn’t afford to lose someone like Tara Henley..She resigned last month. Good for her..Henley fled the toxic darkness of the CBC and ran to the light of Substack, a sterling American online platform that champions journalistic freedom and integrity..Like a fearless, dedicated journalist — a dwindling breed in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bought-off Canadian media that disingenuously bleats about being independent — Henley didn’t go quietly into the night..In a Substack article Monday, entitled Speaking Freely, Why I resigned from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Henley exposed the decay behind the scenes at the public broadcaster that sucks about $1.5 billion annually from taxpayers..“Everyone asks the same thing: What is going on at the CBC?” she wrote..According to Henley, what’s going on is sinister — no journalistic integrity, a radical political agenda, no critical debate, hostility to ordinary people, keep your mouth shut, and racial profiling..“This, while the world burns,” she wrote..Henley came out swinging to explain why CBC content is becoming increasingly offensive, ridiculous, and less palatable, causing its viewership to plummet to 1% or 3.9% (depends on which report ones reads) of the Canadian media market..“For months now, I’ve been getting complaints about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where I’ve worked as a TV and radio producer, andoccasionalon-air columnist, for much of the past decade,” wrote Henley..“People want to know why, for example, non-binary Filipinos concerned about a lack of LGBT terms in Tagalog is an editorial priority for the CBC, when local issues of broad concern go unreported. Or why our pop culture radio show’s coverage of the Dave Chappelle Netflix special failed to include any of the legions of fans, or comics, that did not find it offensive. Or why, exactly, taxpayers should be funding articles that scold Canadians for using words such as ‘brainstorm’ and ‘lame.’”.Henley claimed when she joined CBC in 2013 the network produced “some of the best” journalism in Canada..“By the time I resigned last month, it embodied some of the worst trends in mainstream media. In a short period of time, the CBC went from being a trusted source of news to churning out clickbait that reads like a parody of the student press..“Those of us on the inside know just how swiftly — and how dramatically — the politics of the public broadcaster have shifted.”.In the good old days, just 18 months ago, she was “the one furthest to the left…occasionally causing strain in story meetings” for expressing views on issues like the housing crisis..She became the “most conservative,” guilty of “frequently sparking tension” by having the audacity to question things like identity politics..“To work at the CBC in the current climate is to embrace cognitive dissonance and to abandon journalistic integrity. It is to sign on, enthusiastically, to a radical political agenda that originated on Ivy League campuses in the United States and spread through American social media platforms that monetize outrage and stoke societal divisions.”.CBC operates on the premise that the “woke worldview is near universal” contrary to majority public opinion..“To work at the CBC now is to accept the idea that race is the most significant thing about a person, and that some races are more relevant to the public conversation than others. It is, in my newsroom, to fill out racial profile forms for every guest you book; to actively book more people of some races and less of others..“It is to become less adversarial to government and corporations and more hostile to ordinary people with ideas that Twitter doesn’t like.”.Henley criticized the CBC’s policy of supporting sweeping changes that heavily impact lives; things like lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and school closures sans debate..“It is to consent to the idea that a growing list of subjects are off the table, that dialogue itself can be harmful… It is to capitulate to certainty, to shut down critical thinking, to stamp out curiosity. To keep one’s mouth shut, to not ask questions, to not rock the boat.”.Henley’s critique of the CBC was handled in a professional fashion. No petty personnel attacks, just concern about the Mother Corp. in crisis..The character assassination of Henley — woke folk thrive on destroying people — that’s certain to be unleashed will be hard to believe..Sometimes good journalism, by journalists in CBC newsroom, slips past the woke predators..So, it’s hard not to sympathize with the decent journalists working in that toxic environment..On the other hand, if they don’t speak up, if they timidly let woke fools with an agenda guide news content — they are part of the problem..Canadian taxpayers in these difficult, uncertain times deserve better..Isn’t it comforting to know last August Facebook’s Canadian arm appointed CBC’s French language service Radio Canada as election fact-checkers tasked with monitoring and censoring other Canadian media’s news stories?.Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.,.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
The bloated, woke, sinking ship called the CBC couldn’t afford to lose someone like Tara Henley..She resigned last month. Good for her..Henley fled the toxic darkness of the CBC and ran to the light of Substack, a sterling American online platform that champions journalistic freedom and integrity..Like a fearless, dedicated journalist — a dwindling breed in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s bought-off Canadian media that disingenuously bleats about being independent — Henley didn’t go quietly into the night..In a Substack article Monday, entitled Speaking Freely, Why I resigned from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Henley exposed the decay behind the scenes at the public broadcaster that sucks about $1.5 billion annually from taxpayers..“Everyone asks the same thing: What is going on at the CBC?” she wrote..According to Henley, what’s going on is sinister — no journalistic integrity, a radical political agenda, no critical debate, hostility to ordinary people, keep your mouth shut, and racial profiling..“This, while the world burns,” she wrote..Henley came out swinging to explain why CBC content is becoming increasingly offensive, ridiculous, and less palatable, causing its viewership to plummet to 1% or 3.9% (depends on which report ones reads) of the Canadian media market..“For months now, I’ve been getting complaints about the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, where I’ve worked as a TV and radio producer, andoccasionalon-air columnist, for much of the past decade,” wrote Henley..“People want to know why, for example, non-binary Filipinos concerned about a lack of LGBT terms in Tagalog is an editorial priority for the CBC, when local issues of broad concern go unreported. Or why our pop culture radio show’s coverage of the Dave Chappelle Netflix special failed to include any of the legions of fans, or comics, that did not find it offensive. Or why, exactly, taxpayers should be funding articles that scold Canadians for using words such as ‘brainstorm’ and ‘lame.’”.Henley claimed when she joined CBC in 2013 the network produced “some of the best” journalism in Canada..“By the time I resigned last month, it embodied some of the worst trends in mainstream media. In a short period of time, the CBC went from being a trusted source of news to churning out clickbait that reads like a parody of the student press..“Those of us on the inside know just how swiftly — and how dramatically — the politics of the public broadcaster have shifted.”.In the good old days, just 18 months ago, she was “the one furthest to the left…occasionally causing strain in story meetings” for expressing views on issues like the housing crisis..She became the “most conservative,” guilty of “frequently sparking tension” by having the audacity to question things like identity politics..“To work at the CBC in the current climate is to embrace cognitive dissonance and to abandon journalistic integrity. It is to sign on, enthusiastically, to a radical political agenda that originated on Ivy League campuses in the United States and spread through American social media platforms that monetize outrage and stoke societal divisions.”.CBC operates on the premise that the “woke worldview is near universal” contrary to majority public opinion..“To work at the CBC now is to accept the idea that race is the most significant thing about a person, and that some races are more relevant to the public conversation than others. It is, in my newsroom, to fill out racial profile forms for every guest you book; to actively book more people of some races and less of others..“It is to become less adversarial to government and corporations and more hostile to ordinary people with ideas that Twitter doesn’t like.”.Henley criticized the CBC’s policy of supporting sweeping changes that heavily impact lives; things like lockdowns, vaccine mandates, and school closures sans debate..“It is to consent to the idea that a growing list of subjects are off the table, that dialogue itself can be harmful… It is to capitulate to certainty, to shut down critical thinking, to stamp out curiosity. To keep one’s mouth shut, to not ask questions, to not rock the boat.”.Henley’s critique of the CBC was handled in a professional fashion. No petty personnel attacks, just concern about the Mother Corp. in crisis..The character assassination of Henley — woke folk thrive on destroying people — that’s certain to be unleashed will be hard to believe..Sometimes good journalism, by journalists in CBC newsroom, slips past the woke predators..So, it’s hard not to sympathize with the decent journalists working in that toxic environment..On the other hand, if they don’t speak up, if they timidly let woke fools with an agenda guide news content — they are part of the problem..Canadian taxpayers in these difficult, uncertain times deserve better..Isn’t it comforting to know last August Facebook’s Canadian arm appointed CBC’s French language service Radio Canada as election fact-checkers tasked with monitoring and censoring other Canadian media’s news stories?.Slobodian is the Senior Manitoba Columnist for the Western Standard.,.lslobodian@westernstandardonline.com
