The broadcaster’s repeated caving to a highly biased pro-Israel advocacy group undermines its claims to journalistic integrity
Just over a month ago, the Jewish Faculty Network (JFN) and the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute (CFPI) raised concerns regarding the censorship of Jarrett Martineau’s CBC Indigenous music program Reclaimed. Martineau played a song called “River 2 the Sea,” and expressed “sonic solidarity” with the people of Palestine. Under pressure, the episode disappeared from the show’s website.
We know that CBC was under pressure because of campaigning from HonestReporting Canada (HRC), a pro-Israel media watchdog, that issued an “action alert” to their 60,000 newsletter subscribers when the show aired, and claimed victory when the intro was removed.
The show has quietly returned to the website but Martineau’s expression of “sonic solidarity” has been edited out along with the song title. Despite the fact that nearly 20,000 letters were sent by concerned Canadians about the censorship—a response triggered by the JFN and the CFPI’s pushback efforts—CBC has issued no explanation or apology for removing the show, and included no statement of clarification regarding the alterations to the reinstated version. Nor have they acknowledged the outrage that flowed from their censorship.
Why did HRC’s pressure campaign work, while JFN and CFPI’s did not?
There are two important takeaways from this situation, which has repeated itself against different targets of HRC since October 7, 2023. The first is that HRC’s complaints and pressure campaigns aimed at CBC do not concern journalistic integrity, but rather make accusations of antisemitism if media strays from Israeli state talking points.
Second, these attacks by HRC are collateral attacks that are based in a broader, conservative push to privatize social infrastructure like the CBC. Therefore, we must defend the need for public media institutions while also demanding radical reform, or else fall into the regressive populism of the right. (more...)
On CBC media capitulation and HonestReporting Canada
This is a revelatory essay by a CBC producer giving an insider account of how the broadcaster whitewashed Israel’s horrors in Gaza.
— Martin Lukacs (@Martin_Lukacs) May 16, 2024
Unheard of scrutiny of Palestinians, a push not to say “genocide,” secret blacklists, and discipline for speaking out. https://t.co/madfe3tA81
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