CBC News coverage 'too timid' in reporting differing views: Outgoing ombud

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Even the CBC’s own ombudsman is warning against relying entirely on the public broadcaster “if you want to be fully informed.”

Jack Nagler, who’s been on the job for 34 years, said in his final report as ombud that CBC’s news coverage is “too timid” in including different points of view, reports Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Even if CBC were perfect it is unwise to rely on any single news source if you want to be fully informed,” wrote Nagler.

“This is part of the problem that has been created in recent years as many of us have slipped into ‘news silos’ or ‘information bubbles’ or whatever other jargon you want to use. We aren’t hearing enough information that conflicts with our pre-existing views, and when we do, too often we reject it out of hand.

“Read widely. Watch widely. Listen widely. And don’t assume any source, even CBC News, is going to tell you everything you need to know.”

Nagler’s job as ombudsman ended Dec. 31 and his comments were in response to viewers complaining of one-sided CBC News coverage of the pandemic including uncritical treatment of vaccine mandates.

He said the CBC had a duty to “make sure the public got consistent information” in dealing with the pandemic.

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“As time went on it’s perfectly fair to argue the CBC and other media should also have been more willing to report on perspectives that fell outside the consensus view of public health officials, not because those officials were wrong, but because there was an erosion of consensus among the public,” he wrote.

“Whether that was because of misinformation or because people were reasonably considering the effect of public health measures is almost beside the point. Those developments were interesting stories and could have received more attention than they did.”

“If I were writing as a media critic rather than ombudsman I might say that CBC was too timid about giving exposure to some of the sentiments in Canadian society during the height of the pandemic,” added Nagler. “That does not mean it was wrong to give credence to experts.”