On The CBC’s Policy Shift

By Jeff Jacobson

A few weeks ago, CBC announced a new set of policies regarding paid speaking engagements by its news anchors, reporters and on-air editorialists. The blog post, which unveiled the policies can be viewed here: review-of-speaking-engagements. In short, they have pledged to review these engagements with more scrutiny, ruling out their on-air talents accepting keynote speeches from any group that lobbies the federal government and has pledged to post a list of events online (paid and unpaid) by all talent.

Here are my thoughts on this policy shift:

Transparency is good. A few speakers have expressed discontent to me, but overall I think it’s a good step to post the list of speaking engagements online. The speakers should have nothing to hide by accepting a paid speaking engagement, whether it’s a fundraiser, association or corporate audience. I agree with this decision by CBC.
Guilt by association is not fair. While many professional associations advocate their industries’ views to governments both federal and provincial, that’s not to say that their bringing in a reporter shares the same purpose. In every case where I have booked a CBC personality (or other networks for that matter) they have never espoused any views that differ from views they would articulate on the air. And for hard-news reporters, they typically opine on the current events of the day and tell amusing stories rather than advocate any position at all. Just because a group lobbies does not mean that the group’s keynote speaker at their conference lobbies for them or even shares their views.
You don’t get into journalism to be rich. Media is one of the most sacrosanct public services. Unimpeded, fair-minded and thorough journalism is one of the cornerstones of any viable democracy. That said, most reporters aren’t paid very well, particularly in this era of new media where traditional news shops are continually feeling crunched by economic realities. Speaking engagements can sometimes augment a reporter’s income to ensure that they can enjoy a better standard of living and not be tempted to switch industries into something more lucrative. We want good journalists staying journalists.
Meet the folks. Just in the last year, I have sent speakers to St. Paul Alberta, Moncton, New Brunswick, Nanaimo, BC, places that many national reporters don’t often get a chance to visit. I think these engagements can help them do their jobs better, getting out of the Toronto or Vancouver bubble and meeting the people who help make this country work. If a paid speaking engagement is what it takes for a person of national significance to visit an underappreciated community, I would argue the end justifies the means.