Twitter and the CBC were in the spotlight yesterday with Twitter’s decision to add a “government funded media” label to the CBC Twitter account. The government funding for CBC is undeniable, but the inclusion of “government involvement over editorial content” is apt to mislead. That debate distracts from serious underlying problems with government media policy and the public broadcaster. The government portrays itself as a defender of the independent press, typically pointing to media funding, both in the form of increases to the CBC allocation and tax policy that supports other media outlets. While government policies may be hurting the independent press, the CBC has done little to bolster the case for the public broadcaster.
