Ottawa, June 3, 1999 – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released two decisions concerning broadcasts of Galganov in the Morning, a morning talk-show hosted by well-known political campaigner for the rights of English-language Quebeckers, Howard Galganov, then on CIQC-AM (Montreal). A listener had complained that the show is a “[translation] sounding-board for disseminating his hatred” and that the host’s foul language contributed to making this show “[translation] Montreal’s very own ‘trash talk show’.” Following receipt of this complaint, Mr. Galganov chose to discuss the complaint on-air, giving out the complainant’s full name, resulting in numerous insults being directed at the complainant by the host and by callers to the show. This led to a second complaint by the complainant which is the subject of the second decision in this matter.
The Quebec Regional Council considered the initial complaint under the Code of Ethics of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB). It found no breach. The Council noted that,
of all of the categories of speech, none can be worthier of protection than that speech which can be described as political. After all, the freedom to express political views is at the very root of the need for a guarantee of freedom of expression in the first place. It is that speech which has historically been the bridge to democracy. This is not to say that all speech which can be described as political will be free from any oversight but rather that such speech will be most carefully protected in the face of that oversight.
As to the second complaint, that involving invasion of the complainant’s privacy, the Council did find that the broadcaster had breached Clause 6 of the CAB Code of Ethics, as well as the spirit of Clause 4 of the Code of (Journalistic) Ethics of the Radio-Television News Directors’ Association (RTNDA).
The Council recognizes fully that critical comments can be made about individuals, particularly those in public life but also, in appropriate circumstances which it need not plumb here, with respect to private individuals. The question for the Council will always be the weighing of the statement and the circumstances. At its most basic level, the fairness requirement set out in the third paragraph of Clause 6 of the CAB Code of Ethics dictates that a balance must be struck between the type and extent of the criticism of an individual and the appropriateness or merit of any such criticism when measured against the individual’s criticized actions or behaviour. Propriety, a second requirement found in the same paragraph, dictates that the public airwaves will not be used for irrelevant or gratuitous personal attacks on individuals. The Council considers that Howard Galganov’s show broadcast on December 9, failed on both these counts.
The Council also found that, in not replying to the complainant at all, the broadcaster had also failed in its duty to respond fully and fairly to her concerns, thereby breaching the Council’s standard of responsiveness.
Canada’s private broadcasters have created industry standards in the form of Codes on ethics, gender portrayal and television violence by which they expect their members will abide. They also created the CBSC, which is the self-regulatory body with the responsibility of administering those Codes, as well as the Code dealing with journalistic practices created by the Radio Television News Directors Association Canada (RTNDA). More than 430 radio and television stations and specialty services from across Canada are members of the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members’ and other web sites, and related information are available on the World Wide Web at www.cbsc.ca. For more information, please contact the National Chair of the CBSC, Ron Cohen, at (###) ###-####.