Ads on CBC Radio - Who do you believe?

Mar 18, 2009

CBC's management and the Conservative government have demonstrated a pattern of contradicting themselves on the fundamental issue of placing ads on CBC Radio.

On February 9, at the Commons Heritage Committee, Charlie Angus posed the following question to Canadian Heritage Minister James Moore : "Would you consider opening CBC Radio One and Two up to commercial advertising?" James Moore replied: "Yeah.... I would frankly consider anything so long as the end result is to have a strong national public broadcaster...".
Two days later, following press reports on Moore's response to Angus, CBC published the following notice on its Corporate Web site: "Airing ads on radio is not currently being considered by CBC/Radio Canada".
In a speech to the Empire Club in Toronto on February 26, CBC President Lacroix said that CBC was looking "at every option to increase our revenues" including "increasing the advertising that we accept on the air".
Later that day on "As It Happens" Lacroix said that ads on CBC Radio "are on the table".
And on March 17, following a CBC Board of Directors meeting, a CBC spokesman said that "Ads on radio are not currently among the things that are being looked at".
The fact is that Prime Minister Harper called for putting CBC on a "commercial basis" when he was Leader of the Official Opposition back in 2004.
And Minister Moore has contradicted his February 9 comment. On March 16, CTV's Jane Taber asked Moore about advertising on CBC radio. Moore replied: "I am against that."

Who do you believe?

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Ads on CBC Radio - Who do you believe?