Public vs. private broadcasting

Re: Senators Urge New CBC Funding Model, July 21; CBC under Siege, July 22. Ian Morrison of the Friends of CBC complains proposed Senate changes would render the public broadcaster nothing more that “a transmitter of programs that are conceived and thought up by private interests.” Imagine that, Canadians might hear the news and current events from the view of people who don’t work for the government.

Lee Eustace, Toronto.

I watch the CBC enough to know this: On CBC Newsworld, there are talking heads working two-hour shifts during the day, asking someone in London or Washington to explain something in Turkey or Kansas. Question: why the remote middleman?

The talking heads’ two-hour shifts often include a repeat of the news covered in the first hour. They don’t talk continuously. Film coverage takes up a significant amount of airtime.

Not only did the CBC not have the brains to broadcast the Pan Am gold medal baseball game live on the main network, the guy who did the play-by-play online was a volunteer. And you don’t think I want to close the CBC down.

Douglas L. Martin, Hamilton, Ont.