Quote of the day

For instance, there is no factual basis for a broad scale conclusion about the sexual adequacy of Republican men.

From this pdf of a report by the ombudsman for CBC in Canada into complaints about an opinion piece published on Sept 5th. The ombudsman found that the author of this piece, Heather Mallick, did not have sufficient factual grounds for assertions such as "It’s possible that Republican men, sexual inadequates that they are, really believe that women will vote for a woman just because she’s a woman."

Hilary Clinton might take a different view.

CBC's reaction is not one we can expect to see from the BBC in the near future:

As a public broadcaster we have an added responsibility to provide an array of opinions and voices to complement our journalism. But we must do so carefully. And you should be able to trust us to provide you with work that's based on solid reporting and free from the passionate excesses of partisanship.

We failed you in this case. And as a result we have put new editing procedures in place to insure that in the future, work that is not appropriate for our platforms, will not appear. We are open to contentious reasoned argument but not to partisan attack. It's a fine line.

Ombudsman Carlin makes another significant observation in his response to complainants: when it does choose to print opinion, CBCNews.ca displays a very narrow range on its pages.

In this, Carlin is also correct.

This, too, is being immediately addressed. CBCNews.ca will soon expand the diversity of voices and opinions and be home to a diverse group of writers with many perspectives. In this, we will better reflect the depth and texture of this country.