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EDITOR'S BLOG

What's real? How CBC News verifies video and images

The CBC News promise of accuracy means we must work hard to verify the “who, what, where and when” of any content we didn’t capture ourselves.
EDITOR'S BLOG

Climate journalism remains a top priority for CBC News

Today, there is no less urgency for the need to cover the story of climate and our changing planet. We seem to reel from one climate-related crisis to another, writes Brodie Fenlon.
EDITOR'S BLOG

Why CBC News follows the U.S. presidential election

CBC News has a unique ability to watch the upcoming U.S. election from a distance and provide you with an outsider’s perspective and the Canadian context you won’t find in U.S. media coverage. 
Editor's Blog

On the Middle East, public trust and the meaning of impartiality

Impartiality is attached to the journalism we produce and how we produce it. When a CBC journalist is assigned to report on something, their story has not been pre-written or preordained but is approached with fairness and an open mind. 

On covering one of the most divisive stories in years

CBC is a microcosm of the world we're covering and the public we serve, and the Israel-Hamas war is one of the most divisive stories we've covered in years. A recent article called that coverage into question. CBC's general manager and editor in chief, Brodie Fenlon, responds.
EDITOR'S BLOG

CBC News launches local news streaming channels, radio streams

For CBC News, local service means being in the community. But it also means being present on the platforms and devices that an increasing number of people use to access news and information. That’s why today we announced the official launch of two new local news streaming channels, along with plans to launch another 12 free local streams within a year.
Standards Notebook

How CBC News safeguards its independence

Every news organization has its own definition of journalism, and they’re not necessarily better or worse than each other — just different. As a public news outlet, CBC can only define its journalism through a set of rigorous principles that ensures the audience (i.e., all of Canada) knows what to expect: reporting based on accuracy, fairness, balance, impartiality and integrity.
Editor's Note

How, when and why CBC News investigates claims of Indigenous identity

Reporting on stories of false Indigeneity is in the public interest because, experts say, failing to challenge false narratives is contrary to the principles of truth and reconciliation. But the bar for reporting on these stories is high. CBC's editor in chief Brodie Fenlon explains the careful considerations that CBC weighs before stories ever get to air or online.
Editor's Note

How CBC News uses the words 'terrorist,' 'terrorism'

Editor in chief Brodie Fenlon responds to complaints to CBC News regarding the use of the words "terrorist" and "terrorism" in coverage following the attacks by Hamas in southern Israel.
Editor's Note

Even in a democracy like Canada, journalists often face efforts to keep information from the public

News organizations in this country devote time and money in court challenging publication bans, secret trials and lack of access to information while under financial duress and cutting back wherever they can.
EDITOR'S NOTE

Canadian news is starting to vanish from Instagram. Google is next. Here's how to find CBC as that happens

Some readers are getting a preview of what social media and search engines will look like without Canadian news as tech companies make good on threats to eliminate it from platforms following federal legislation. We’re providing a list of other sources of CBC News to help you find our journalism and make it as easily accessible as possible
Editor's Note

How CBC News will manage the challenge of AI

Our guidelines on the use of AI are preliminary and subject to change as the technology and industry best practices evolve. What won’t change is our commitment to fact-based, accurate, original journalism — done by humans for humans.
Editor's Note

The threats to press freedom in Canada and the world

Last week marked the 30th anniversary of World Press Freedom Day, proclaimed in 1993 to reinforce the intrinsic relationship of a free press to all other human rights. What better time to reflect on the state of journalism in Canada and abroad?
Editor's Note

Why we have paused our CBC News Twitter accounts

Editorial independence is a bedrock principle for any credible news organization. It’s the beating heart of what we do each day in the news division of Canada’s national public broadcaster.
Standards Notebook

The words we choose

Today we introduce a new feature of the editor’s blog as part of our ongoing efforts to increase transparency and understanding of our journalism. The “Standards Notebook” will take over this space on occasion to explain in greater detail some of the decisions we make around language, the application of our journalistic standards and practices and to answer common questions.
Editor's Note

CBC News stands by Coutts story despite statement from Danielle Smith's office

On Wednesday, the office of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith issued a statement demanding an apology and retraction of a story CBC News broke several days earlier.
Editor's Note

Introducing CBC News Explore, our free channel for streaming audiences

CBC News has launched a free streaming channel called CBC News Explore — a place where Canadians can step back from the fast pace of breaking news for a deeper dive into the stories and conversations that shape our lives.
Editor's Note

Why CBC News will close its China bureau

The best journalism results from being present and on the ground. It's why CBC News sends people into the field to cover news whenever and wherever possible.
Editor's Note

为什么CBC新闻将关闭中国分社

The best journalism results from being present and on the ground. It's why CBC News sends people into the field to cover news whenever and wherever possible.
Editor's Note

爲什麽CBC新聞將關閉中國分社

The best journalism results from being present and on the ground. It's why CBC News sends people into the field to cover news whenever and wherever possible.
Editor's Note

No, CBC News did not retract its stories on convoy protest donations

A persistent bit of misinformation about CBC News reporting continues to bubble up in certain Canadian publications and political venues, claiming that CBC retracted its stories about foreign donations to the convoy protest movement made via GoFundMe and GiveSendGo. This is false.
Editor's Note

Journalism used to mean keeping mental stress, trauma to yourself. Thankfully, that's changing

We are more aware today of mental stress and the risks faced by journalists. Like other professionals for whom traumatic events are an inevitable part of their work, we are learning that we must be as thoughtful and deliberate about our mental well-being as we are about our physical safety.
EDITOR'S NOTE

Even as war in Ukraine rages, we must continue to cover climate and our changing planet

The world's focus is on the war in Ukraine, but the story of climate and our changing planet is also urgent. Canada has witnessed severe and historic weather events attributed to a changing climate.
EDITOR'S NOTE

As Russia's war with Ukraine continues, here are some of the decisions we've made at CBC News

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine well into its third week, here are some of the journalistic decisions we’ve made at CBC News — and the unusual circumstances we faced while trying to tell this important story.
Editor's Note

Our journalists are facing more harassment, threats for doing their jobs

We tend not to share these experiences with audiences because we never want to make ourselves the focus of the story. But it’s important for Canadians to understand there is a growing intolerance of journalism in this country.
Editor's Note

How CBC News will cover the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing

We know from experience that the best journalism is told when our teams can see the reality for themselves. Many of those facts are already clear to our journalists upon arrival: these are perhaps the most restrictive and controlled Games in the history of the Olympic movement.
Editor's Note

The planet is changing. So will our journalism

The impact of climate on our changing planet may be the most pressing story of our time. Canadians have a hunger for information and constructive solutions as the United Nations climate conference, COP26, is set to begin in Glasgow on Oct. 31.
Editor's Note

In this remarkable year of news, a note of thanks

2021 brought remarkable stories and an extraordinary news cycle that will shape our future for years to come.