Principles

The CBC is fully committed to maintaining accuracy, integrity and fairness in its journalism. As a Canadian institution and a press undertaking, the CBC is committed to compliance with a number of principles. Foremost among those is our commit-ment to scrupulously abide by the journalistic code of ethics formulated in our own handbook of journalistic standards and practices which stresses lack of bias in reporting. We are committed to providing information that is factual, accurate and comprehensive. Balanced viewpoints must be presented through on-the-air discussions. As it is for other public and private journalistic undertakings, credibility in the eyes of the general population is our most valuable asset and must be protected. The Ombudsman is completely independent of CBC program staff and management, reporting directly to the President of CBC and, through the President, to the Corporation’s Board of Directors.

Mandate

Compliance with journalistic policy

Jurisdiction

Appointment

 


Mandate BACK TO TOP

1. Audience complaints and comments

a.The Ombudsman acts as an appeal authority for complainants who are dissatisfied with responses from CBC program staff or management.

b.The Ombudsman generally intervenes only when a correspondent deems a response from a representative
of the Corporation unsatisfactory and so informs the Office of the Ombudsman. However, the Ombudsman may also intervene when the Corporation fails to respond to a complaint within a reasonable time.

c.The Ombudsman determines whether the journalistic process or the broadcast involved in the complaint did,
in fact, violate the Corporation’s journalistic policies and standards. The gathering of facts is a non judicial process and the Ombudsman does not examine the civil liability of
the Corporation or its journalists. The Ombudsman informs the complainant, and the staff and management concerned, of his/her finding.

d.As necessary, the Ombudsman identifies major public concerns as gleaned from complaints received by his/her Office and advises CBC management and journalists accordingly. The
Ombudsman may undertake periodic studies on overall coverage of specific issues when he/she feels that the number of public complaints indicates that there may be a problem.

e.On occasion, the Ombudsman may convey to a wider audience, either within the CBC or among the general public, particular cases of concern or consequence to others than the complainant alone.

f.The Ombudsman establishes a central registry of complaints and comments regarding information programs, and alerts journalists and managers, on a regular basis, to issues that are causing public concern.

g.The Ombudsman prepares and presents an annual report
to the President and the Board of Directors of the Corporation summarising how unsatisfied complaints were dealt with and reviewing the main issues handled by the Office of the Ombudsman in the previous year. The report includes mention of the actions, if any, taken by management as a result of the Ombudsman's findings, provided such disclosure does not contravene applicable laws, regulations or collective agreements. The annual report, or a summary thereof, is made public.

h.The Office of the Ombudsman reports annually on how each media component has met the CBC standard of service for the expeditious handling of complaints.



Compliance with journalistic policy BACK TO TOP


a.The Office of the Ombudsman is responsible for evaluating compliance with journalistic policies in all programs under its jurisdiction. It is assisted in this role by independent advice panels. Panel members are chosen by the Ombudsman; their mandate is to assess individual or groups of programs over a period of time, or the overall coverage of a particular issue by many programs, and report their findings to the Ombudsman.

b.The evaluation measures the programs performance in respecting the three fundamental principles of CBC journalism, Accuracy, Integrity and Fairness.

c.The Ombudsman aims to have all information programming reviewed over a five-year period. The Office reports annually.

 


Jurisdiction BACK TO TOP

The jurisdiction of the Office of the Ombudsman covers all information programs on Radio, Television and the Internet. These programs include News and all aspects of Public Affairs (political, economic and social) as well as journalistic activities in agriculture, arts, music, religion, science, sports and variety. Complaints involving entertainment programming are generally beyond the Ombudsman’s mandate and should be addressed directly to the programs concerned.



Appointment BACK TO TOP

a.When filling the Ombudsman's position, the CBC openly
seeks candidates from outside as well as inside the Corporation.

b.After appropriate consultation, the President and CEO establishes a selection committee of four. Two members, including the committee chair, must be from the public.
The other committee members are chosen, one among CBC management, the other among its working journalists.
Members representing the Corporation and journalists jointly select the committee chair among the two representatives
of the public.

c.The selection committee examines applications and selects
a candidate to be recommended for appointment by the President and CEO.

d.The Ombudsman’s appointment is for a term of five years.
This term may be extended for no more than five additional years. The Ombudsman’s contract cannot be terminated
except for dereliction of duty or gross misconduct.

e.The outgoing Ombudsman may not occupy any other
position at the CBC for a period of two years following the
end of his/her term but can, at the discretion of the incoming Ombudsman, be contracted to work for the Office of the Ombudsman.