A final word on the CBC watch folk.

There have been alot of us thinking and talking for over a year now about how to fix/improve the CBC. As part of this there was this idea that all points of view had to be taken into consideration, that even people like those who post regularly at CBCWatch could be brought on board if we took the time to understand their issues. This, it turns out, is not true.

First of all, there are very few of these people. They are a minority within a minority. They are obviously Conservative. But even Bev Oda, Harper's own Heritage Minister said (in a very nice form letter) "The CBC is and will remain Canada's national public broadcaster, operating radio and television services in both English and French." So, although there is some concern over what changes the Conservatives might like to make at the CBC, it appears a certainty that they're not out to kill it. Even within the minority Conservative party there are not enough of these people to hold sway and if their opinions are not terribly important within their own camp, why should they be important to me?

Secondly, they don't have any issues to address. They don't like the CBC, they believe it is biased and they want it to be shut down. On the last point, as I've said, it's not going to be shut down, so we'll skip that.

As to their belief that the CBC is biased: I know too many CBC people and too much about the organization and how it operates, especially within news, to give this a second thought. I do not know the political affiliations of people in the newsroom. But I do know that they all, first and foremost, believe in truth and common sense and I know that not one of them would pass on a good story because of their own personal politics, nor would any of them fabricate facts in order to push a political agenda (either could mean the end of their journalistic career.)

The accompanying complaint is that they don't want to pay for a government service that they don't like. I've thought about this and decided that that's just too bad. The Government does alot of things, some of which I like, some of which I don't but just because I can get a few friends together who also don't like a particular program doesn't mean the Govt. is going to shut it down.

The number of people who don't want their tax dollars going to fund the war in Afghanistan is considerably larger than the number who don't want to pay for the CBC, but I don't see any swift withdrawal. The number of people who don't want their tax dollars going to fund subsidies for auto manufacturers is considerably larger than the number who don't want to pay for the CBC but the subsidies seem to be there year after year.

I would never argue that because something is a minority position that it's wrong but I would also never argue that because something is a minority position that it's right. I, and many others, have done due diligence on this. We've read their arguments ad-nauseum and they do not have a point, they have nothing constructive to bring to the table and you cannot negotiate with someone who is willing to offer nothing, you don't have to negotiate with someone who has no power and you can't be inclusive with someone who wants nothing but for you to leave them alone.

Every day I talk with Canadians across the country and even Canadians abroad who love, value and treasure the CBC. These are people from across the political spectrum - Liberal, Conservative, NDP, Green and more. I even hear regularly from Americans and Brits who love the CBC and learn about Canada through it's web offerings and from broadcasts that spill over the border. These people, I am convinced, vastly outnumber the CBCWatch folk and have just as much, if not more, passion.

So, I won't bother with them anymore. Sure the CBC can stand criticism and I will continue to find and publish criticism from serious folk. But I am removing CBC watch from the digest at publicbroadcasting.ca and I won't waste another breath arguing with them. As I've demonstrated, I think quite clearly, there is no point and nothing to be gained - debating the Flat Earth society would be a better use of my time (and would have a better chance of success.)