Catherine Tait, president and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, defended the public broadcaster’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict in a sometimes testy meeting with MPs Thursday.
Tait, who was called to appear before the House of Commons heritage committee after her term at the CBC was extended this summer, said CBC’s journalists are independent from government, the company’s executives and the board of directors and are free to report on the conflict as they see fit.
She defended the newsroom’s longstanding practice of not referring to attacks or their perpetrators as “terrorism” or “terrorists,” saying CBC journalists do not want to be seen taking sides in the conflict.
“The word is extremely politically charged and if journalists use the word, they enter into a debate that is not our business. Our business is to remain independent and fact-based,” Tait said.
She said reporters are allowed to use those terms if they’re properly attributed to someone else.
Tait said other major news organizations, including the Globe and Mail, the BBC, Reuters and Agence France-Presse, follow a similar practice.
Tait also said a Conservative claim that the CBC is siding with Hamas puts its reporters on the ground in the region at risk.
She said heated political rhetoric about the broadcaster also threatens the safety of its journalists working in Canada.
“I’m disturbed by the political interference. I worry about our journalists,” she said, adding that independent journalism is a “pillar of our democracy” and should be respected.
Denigrating the press threatens “a fundamental building block of the country’s democracy. That’s why I speak with the level of passion I do today on this subject,” Tait said.
CBC president tells House committee hearing she ‘will not apologize’ for headline on Gaza hospital blast
Featured VideoCBC president Catherine Tait appeared before the House committee on heritage to answer questions on recent coverage of the Israel-Hamas war. Tait says she stands by the CBC’s journalism and that it’s the ‘finest in the world.’
Bloc Québécois MP Martin Champoux asked Tait if she feared CBC journalists could face violence at home in this charged environment.
“Yes, absolutely,” she replied.
At the last heritage committee meeting, Conservative MP Rachael Thomas said the CBC’s recent decision to publish an Associated Press article that cited the Palestinian Health Authority blaming Israel for an attack on a Gaza hospital shows the public broadcaster is “on the side of Hamas, which is to be on the side of terrorists, which is to be against the Jewish population.”
Conservative MP for Lethbridge Rachael Thomas rises during Question Period, Friday, September 29, 2023 in Ottawa. Thomas said the CBC is siding with Hamas. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
Tait said the story was updated 90 minutes after it was published with new information from Israel.
Thomas claimed Tait conceded that the CBC has spread “dangerous disinformation” about the conflict.
“I have not admitted that,” Tait shot back, adding she was “correcting the record” by spelling out the publishing timeline for that particular story.
Thomas at one point accused Tait of raising her voice. That prompted laughter from Liberal MPs at the committee.
Champoux, who was chairing the committee, said, “I don’t have the impression that she raised her voice.”
Later, in a discussion about trust in news, Thomas accused Tait of not telling the truth. “Telling the truth doesn’t fit into her definition of gaining Canadians’ trust,” Thomas said.
“Jesus,” Tait muttered under breath in apparent frustration.
Other MPs jumped in, asking Thomas to retract her comment.
Conservative MP, CBC president spar over disinformation allegation
Featured VideoConservative MP Rachael Thomas questions CBC president Catherine Tait about the corporation’s coverage of the Israel-Hamas war.
NDP MP Peter Julian accused Thomas of turning the committee into a “street brawl” and said her demeanour was “incredibly unparliamentary and inappropriate in every way.”
Thomas pressed on, saying the “coverup coalition” — the Conservatives’ collective term for Liberal and NDP MPs — “is trying to censor my voice and interrupt as much as possible.”
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman asked Tait to apologize to the Jewish community for initially attributing the hospital blast to Israel by publishing that AP story.
Lantsman said Hamas “admits it uses terrorism to further its goals” and CBC’s decision not to use that term is “obstruction, it is biased and it does help Hamas.”
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman said the CBC’s decision to avoid the word ‘terrorism’ is ‘biased.’ (Greg Bruce/CBC)
She said MPs have a right to question an institution that gets more than $1 billion in parliamentary appropriations every year.
“We stand behind our journalism. I will not apologize because the journalism is among the finest in the world. If you have a concern, I invite you to address it to the independent ombudsman,” Tait said.
Julian said Thomas’s claims about CBC being “on the side of Hamas” are “irresponsible” and “incendiary.”
“She has not apologized in any way for her appalling comments,” Julian said of Thomas, while noting 33 journalists have been killed in the Israel-Gaza conflict so far.
Speaking before question period, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the Conservatives are trying to dictate how the CBC covers a conflict.
“Sometimes the Conservatives say they want to defund the CBC, but it also looks like they want a state broadcaster so they should decide,” she said.
“The independence of the CBC is an essential part of our democracy. The Conservatives don’t understand that.”
Beyond the Israel-Hamas conflict, Tait also spoke briefly about her priorities.
She said she wants to boost Indigenous representation and bolster local news coverage.
Tait said CBC’s funding, when inflation is taken into account, has been flat for 20 years.
She said a sizeable funding cut — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said he will “defund the CBC” if elected — would be damaging.
She said the corporation wouldn’t be able to fund its operations serving Canadians in dozens of communities in English, French and eight Indigenous languages.
She defended the CBC’s cost to taxpayers, saying the corporation receives government funding amount to about $33 per person per year.
“That’s less than a dime a day,” she said.
And with that money, she said, the public broadcaster serves as “a powerful connecting force that stitches together this enormous country over six time zones, coast to coast to coast.”
Tait said France’s public broadcasting corporations receive $4 billion per year to serve a population of approximately 67 million people in one time zone and one language.
While it relies on government funding for part of its budget — the CBC also collects about $400 million in advertising and other revenue every year — Tait said the company is not beholden to the government of the day.
When asked if she knew the Conservative Party received COVID-19 subsidies during the pandemic, Tait said she did.
“Does that make them beholden to the government?” Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed asked. No, Tait replied.
Montreal Alouettes wide receiver Tyson Philpot has announced he will be out for the rest of the CFL season.
The Delta, B.C., native posted the news on his Instagram page Thursday.
“To Be Continued. Shoutout my team, the fans of the CFL and the whole city of Montreal! I can’t wait to be back healthy and write this next chapter in 2025,” the statement read.
Philpot, 24, injured his foot in a 33-23 win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Aug. 10 and was placed on the six-game injured list the next week.
The six-foot-one, 195-pound receiver had 58 receptions, 779 yards and five touchdowns in nine games for the league-leading Alouettes in his third season.
Philpot scored the game-winning touchdown in Montreal’s Grey Cup win last season to punctuate a six-reception, 63-yard performance.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
NEW YORK (AP) — When her husband turns on the television to hear news about the upcoming presidential election, that’s often a signal for Lori Johnson Malveaux to leave the room.
It can get to be too much. Often, she’ll go to a TV in another room to watch a movie on the Hallmark Channel or BET. She craves something comforting and entertaining. And in that, she has company.
While about half of Americans say they are following political news “extremely” or “very” closely, about 6 in 10 say they need to limit how much information they consume about the government and politics to avoid feeling overloaded or fatigued, according to a new survey from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research and USAFacts.
Make no mistake: Malveaux plans to vote. She always does. “I just get to the point where I don’t want to hear the rhetoric,” she said.
The 54-year-old Democrat said she’s most bothered when she hears people on the news telling her that something she saw with her own eyes — like the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol — didn’t really happen.
“I feel like I’m being gaslit. That’s the way to put it,” she said.
Sometimes it feels like ‘a bombardment’
Caleb Pack, 23, a Republican from Ardmore, Oklahoma, who works in IT, tries to keep informed through the news feeds on his phone, which is stocked with a variety of sources, including CNN, Fox News, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press.
Yet sometimes, Pack says, it seems like a bombardment.
“It’s good to know what’s going on, but both sides are pulling a little bit extreme,” he said. “It just feels like it’s a conversation piece everywhere, and it’s hard to escape it.”
Media fatigue isn’t a new phenomenon. A Pew Research Center survey conducted in late 2019 found roughly two in three Americans felt worn out by the amount of news there is, about the same as in a poll taken in early 2018. During the 2016 presidential campaign, about 6 in 10 people felt overloaded by campaign news.
But it can be particularly acute with news related to politics. The AP-NORC/USAFacts poll found that half of Americans feel a need to limit their consumption of information related to crime or overseas conflicts, while only about 4 in 10 are limiting news about the economy and jobs.
It’s easy to understand, with television outlets like CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC full of political talk and a wide array of political news online, sometimes complicated by disinformation.
“There’s a glut of information,” said Richard Coffin, director of research and advocacy for USAFacts, “and people are having a hard time figuring out what is true or not.”
Women are more likely to feel they need to limit media
In the AP-NORC poll, about 6 in 10 men said they follow news about elections and politics at least “very” closely, compared to about half of women. For all types of news, not just politics, women are more likely than men to report the need to limit their media consumption, the survey found.
White adults are also more likely than Black or Hispanic adults to say they need to limit media consumption on politics, the poll found.
Kaleb Aravzo, 19, a Democrat, gets a baseline of news by listening to National Public Radio in the morning at home in Logan, Utah. Too much politics, particularly when he’s on social media sites like TikTok and Instagram, can trigger anxiety and depression.
“If it pops up on my page when I’m on social media,” he said, “I’ll just scroll past it.”
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Sanders reported from Washington. David Bauder writes about media for the AP. Follow him at http://x.com/dbauder.
The AP poll of 1,019 adults was conducted July 29-August 8, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
