Ottawa, March 7, 2024 – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning a segment broadcast on NL Newsday with Brett Mineer on CHNL (Kamloops, BC) on October 27, 2023. The segment was a conversation between the host and a representative from a local mosque that covered several aspects of the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Middle East. Listeners complained that the segment had been discriminatory, unfair and inaccurate. The CBSC found no breach of any broadcast codes.
The initial focus of the CHNL host’s interview with the mosque representative was to cover how the Kamloops Muslim community was helping each other following the events of October 7 between Israel and Hamas. The conversation then shifted, with the host and guest raising political and historical elements of the conflict and disagreeing over the use of terminology such as “war”, “genocide” and “terrorist group”. The host suggested that both sides were barriers to peace and mentioned a video of an alleged beheading by Hamas fighters. He eventually terminated the conversation abruptly.
The CBSC received over 100 complaints about the broadcast. Complainants alleged that the segment had been discriminatory towards the guest as an individual and towards Palestinians in general by implying that they supported terrorism. They also felt the segment had been unfair because the guest had been told the conversation would not get political and because the host had cut her off before she could fully clarify her points. Some complainants felt that the host had made inaccurate statements about seeing the beheading video. CHNL argued that the guest had also made questionable statements about the number of Palestinians killed each year in Gaza.
The CBSC’s English-Language Panel examined the complaints under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics. The Panel concluded that both the host and guest were entitled to express their viewpoints about the Middle East conflict. No negative comments were made about the guest or Palestinians in general. There was no breach for the fact that the conversation went in an unanticipated direction. Both sides had an opportunity to state their views. Both parties made statements that could be considered hyperbole, but there was nothing materially inaccurate in the broadcast.
The CBSC was created in 1990 by Canada’s private broadcasters to administer the codes of standards that they established for their industry. The CBSC currently administers 5 codes which deal with ethics, equitable portrayal, violence, news and journalistic independence. Around 800 radio stations, satellite radio services, conventional and discretionary television services across Canada participate in the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, codes, and related information are available on the CBSC’s website. For more information, please visit www.cbsc.ca.