Statement from CBC regarding Journalistic Review

TORONTO, March 5, 2015 /CNW/ - In recent weeks, there have been questions raised about whether or not CBC's Senior Business Correspondent, Amanda Lang, had been in a journalistic conflict of interest.  

Jennifer McGuire (General Manager, Editor in Chief, CBC News) directed Jack Nagler (Director of Journalistic Public Accountability and Engagement) to lead a review and the scope of the review included: journalistic content, journalistic conduct, and employee obligations to disclose any potential conflict of interest.  All allegations of impact on our content fell into the scope of the review.

This review concluded that the content of Amanda Lang's journalism adhered to CBC's journalistic standards.  The review also included an external analysis by a third party, Cormex Research.  Cormex examined media coverage of the major Canadian banks including specifically Ms. Lang's coverage of RBC. Their analysis found that CBC's coverage of RBC "…was in keeping with observed norms among other comparable broadcast outlets covering the banks."

As CBC operates under a Collective Bargaining Agreement which safeguards the privacy rights of our employees, those portions of the review that examined the conduct or performance of any individuals will remain confidential.  Any discipline carried out in accordance with that collective agreement is also confidential. We do however want to make public the results of the journalism review and you can read those conclusions and recommendations here.

The review did surface that there is a range of interpretations around CBC's policy regarding disclosure of real or perceived conflict of interest.  The policy states that "the duty to disclose and remove conflicts of interest rests with the employee." Going forward, CBC News will ensure that all of our staff adhere to the most rigorous interpretation of this standard.

SOURCE CBC Communications

Chuck Thompson, Head of Public Affairs, CBC English Services, 416-205-3747, 416-509-3315 (moblie), [email protected]