Ottawa, February 9, 1999 – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning a “light news” item on the resurgence of fur in fashion which was aired by CIII-TV (Global TV) during its First National newscast. A viewer, who appeared to have in-depth knowledge about the anti-fur movement, complained that the report was biased and misleading.
The Ontario Regional Council considered the complaint under provisions of the Codes of Ethics of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) and the Radio Television News Directors Association (RTNDA). It found no Code violation. In the Council’s view,
the news item in question was about the resurgence of fur in fashion, not about the ethical considerations involved in obtaining animal pelts. While the complainant states that “the only interviews conducted were with a trapper, a fur retailer, a member of the Furriers Guild and a fashion magazine representative” and that this did not provide “opponents [of the fur industry] an opportunity to express their concerns”, the Council does not consider that either the broadcaster’s choice of topic or its handling of the topic required that members of the anti-fur movement be included as interviewees.
The Council noted that “what the complainant contends should have been included in the report does not match up with the story which Global chose to tell.” It affirmed the broadcaster’s right in determining what is newsworthy.
The Council considers that no news segment, nor any program for that matter, is required to be “all things to all people”. The determination of what is news and the focus of the story are matters which fall squarely within the purview of broadcaster independence.
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 (###) ###-####.