Does the CBC need more balanced opinions?

When a recent Heather Mallick column published by cbc.ca was pulled and
CBC publisher John Cruickshank apologized for the piece, media observers
began weighing in on the content of the column itself, the move to pull
it and the role of the CBC in general.

A Globe and
Mail article asked media experts about the level of balance achieved in
CBC’s opinion pages. Donna Logan, founding director of the University
of British Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, said she agreed
with Cruickshank’s notion that the CBC does not present a “sufficient
variety of opinions.” She is quoted in the
article:

“I think they [CBC] need to be careful to present a
balanced view. People

expect that of a public broadcaster. I feel they could achieve a better

balance than they do. I’m certainly not as critical as a lot of people

about calling them left-wing. I think it’s mushy liberalism sometimes

that causes this, not any arch left-wing
view.”

Ryerson journalism professor
Suanne Kelman said Cruickshank’s statement was “unusual” but not
“necessarily a bad thing.” She said:

“It makes me happy to see a media outlet
saying, ‘We haven’t been balanced enough, we’re going to try
harder.”

Check out our recent
poll on this issue to see how the journalism community here
at J-Source feels about the CBC’s decision to retract Mallick’s column.
What do you think? Cast your vote!