Twitter Tags CBC

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Twitter has labelled the CBC a 'government funded entity' and PM Justin Trudeau is not happy about it. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) was founded on the same premise as the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Which is? The government as the sole source of information, which was radio. There was no television in 1936 and 1922 respectively.

Fast forward to 2023. The government no longer controls news gathering and dissemination. We do. We are the CBC and the BBC because we have phones. If government no longer controls information, why are taxpayers still funding the CBC and BBC?

Everybody with a phone is a news reporter because of Twitter. Friends cannot call each other sometimes, because they have run out of units, call time or whatever it is called in various countries. ‘No, you can’t use my phone. U want to drain my phone card.’ In some countries, you still see vendors sitting under an umbrella selling ‘air time.’ 

Technology benefits always make headlines, but the cost is underplayed. Once upon a time, television made headlines. The CBC and BBC got on board, running both radio and television.

The advent of television gave birth to private stations, that raised their own money to bring news, sports and entertainment to the people. The CBC and BBC wanted a piece of the pie. In fact, they have the best of both worlds, taxpayers’ money and advertising.

Israel ‘Izzy’ Asper, the Winnipeg-based CanWest founder died in 2003. He owned television stations in Canada and abroad. He was a great critic of the CBC getting government funding and also competing with private TV stations for advertising dollars.

CBC and BBC used to collect news for us. Now it’s the other way round. They get story ideas from what we send to the internet through our phones. Their reporters seldom leave their desks to hunt for news.

Therefore, how does Canada and Britain justify giving these corporations housekeeping money?

By: Nonqaba waka Msimang. 

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