TORONTO – Facing a Fraser Institute report that accuses the CBC of anti-American bias this morning, the broadcaster responded this afternoon, dismissing the report as one that had its conclusion set in stone before it began.
"The Fraser Institute set out to prove a position they had already reached,” said the CBC statement. “Not surprisingly, they claim to have discovered the evidence they were looking for. We do not find their conclusions credible, and we reject them categorically.”
“CBC News takes fairness and balance very seriously. Our rigorous policies and practices ensure that we live up to the highest standards of journalism. Canadians know and trust CBC News. In independent surveys, they consistently rank us #1 for ‘most trusted news,’” continues the statement.
“The Fraser Institute’s own study finds that the majority of references to the United States on The National in 2002 were positive or neutral. The study does not indicate on what basis it characterized coverage as ‘positive’ or ‘negative.’
“It implies that broadcasting or publishing statements by newsmakers displays a bias on the part of the news outlet, which is patently false. Using those standards, our own sampling of articles in national newspapers covering the same stories from the same time period found a much stronger ‘anti-American’ bias,” adds the release.
“CBC News is constantly striving to improve the quality of its coverage. Whenever any solid evidence shows us how we could do better, we act upon it.
“In this regard, the Fraser Institute’s latest report is not helpful," it concludes.
