Ottawa, February 18, 1993 – The Western Regional Council of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has decided that a series of news reports aired on CFRN-TV on November 11, 12 and 13, 1992 did not breach an industry Code of Ethics. The news reports concerned employees of the City of Edmonton.
The regional council found that the news reports were not editorial and were presented “with accuracy and without bias.” It further indicated that the news reports were not “designed by the beliefs or opinions or desires of the station management, the editor or others” engaged in the preparation or delivery of the news.
The CBSC was established by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) as a self-regulatory mechanism for private sector broadcasters. In August, 1991, the Council received the formal endorsement of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The Council administers the CAB’s Code of Ethics, the Voluntary Code Regarding Violence on Television, and the Sex-Role Portrayal Code.
Public members and broadcasters are equally represented on the Western Regional Council. The Chair of the regional council is Dwaine Dietrich, a broadcaster, and the Vice-Chair, a public member, is Sally Hall. The other public members of the regional council are Carol Armit and David Ward. The other broadcaster members are Jim Rusnak and Rick Friesen.
The decision is attached.
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For more information, please contact Mimi Fullerton, CBSC National Chair, at (###) ###-####.