CBC Ombudsman agrees with PeaceQuest reader’s concern over bias

PeaceQuest readers were surprised by our post in last week’s newsletter, “Experts used by CBC and others funded by weapons companies.” One reader, Judi Wyatt of PeaceQuest Kingston, sent a copy of the article directly to the CBC asking them for an explanation.

In the article last week, we highlighted research by well-known author Yves Engler showing that the undisclosed influence of military funding on seemingly neutral experts quoted by the CBC and others is a rampant problem, which may be skewing the public debate in favour of greater military spending and aggression.

It documents financial ties between the military establishment and experts such as David Perry who are part of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute (CGAI, formerly the Canadian Defence & Foreign Affairs Institute), and are quoted regularly by the CBC.

CBC Ombudsman Jack Nagler agreed with Judi’s concerns, “CBC journalists have an obligation to provide sufficient information about a speaker so that the audience can judge the credibility of what they say.” He included a link to a recent article he had written on a similar incident, titled “Who Are Those Commentators, Anyway?”

Mr. Nagler passed Judi’s email and the PeaceQuest post to Brodie Fenlon, Editor in Chief of CBC News. “In the future, if you should observe a particular article or broadcast report that you believe fails to live up to the appropriate standard, you are welcome to write back to my office for consideration,” Nagler urged Wyatt.

That’s great advice!

If you see, hear, or read representatives of Canadian Global Affairs Institute being quoted on defence issues where their financial ties to the defence industry is not disclosed, send a request for an investigation to:

Jack Nagler, CBC Ombudsman | ombud@cbc.ca