SEE Magazine
Copyright © 1998. All Rights Reserved.
NEWS FRONT
BY BRYCE McLAUGHLINThe Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has started an investigation into a recent CFRN-TV news report on bullying. City resident Guy L'Heureux filed a complaint with the commission last week after the city's No. 1 rated news show broadcast a feature on schoolyard bullies.
The report drew upon myth rather than scientific data, L'Heureux said. "Relying on stereotypes is not serving society well," said L'Heureux, who wrote the station prior to the feature's Oct. 29 broadcast after seeing a trailer promoting the piece on the previous day.
"We need to deal with these types of serious issues in a balanced way."
The CRTC's investigation will focus on:
· whether the report exhibited gender bias because only boys were portrayed as bullies despite two recent studies which show girls also display aggressive and violent behavior on the playground
· whether a fight scene shown in the feature was real or a dramatization and whether CFRN obtained consent from parents to interview children for the report
· whether the reporter - noon anchor Joel Gotlieb - and his crew acted in the best interest of the children by filming the event rather than breaking it up
The commission will ask the station to send a copy of the story for review before deciding how to proceed with the complaint.
"We will definitely be taking a look at it, but I'm not sure how much I can say because it is at the early stages," said Michelle Edge, a senior officer in the commission's Vancouver office which investigates complaints in B.C. and Alberta.
Complaints to the CRTC about shoddy journalism are rare; Edge said it will be the first investigation into a news item for the commission this year. The Vancouver office fields about 50 complaints a month, most dealing with television shows or commercials.
The complaint doesn't worry Reg Thomas, CFRN's news director, who said the station handled and treated the story properly.
"We received the proper clearances from the school and parents," said Thomas who received the complaint Friday and responded to it the same day.
However, the CRTC complaint is seen as a symbol of unhealthy changes in CFRN's newsroom, says a source close to the station's news department who adds management is easing out experienced journalists in favor of younger, perkier reporters who aren't able to handle stories as well.
The most notable example pointed to is award-winning reporter Janice Johnston who was put in an off-camera position during the station's coverage of the Oct. 19 civic election.
Thomas declined to comment on any specific assignment decisions but said he doesn't look at birth certificates when filling newsroom openings.
Moreover, CFRN - which draws more than 200,000 viewers to its weeknight 6 p.m. newscast - doesn't feel threatened by other stations with low ratings and younger reporters, Thomas said.
"I think the number two, three and four stations react to us," he said.
The station has conducted focus groups as a way to improve rather than as an excuse to dump older on-air faces, he said.
"Being in the No. 1 position isn't a God-given right, it is something you work at," he said. "This is something that goes on or should go on in any organization."
Those assurances don't ease the fears of one insider who says traditional "hard news" on politics and crime have been underplayed in favor of softer segments, such as regular consumer feature called the People Helper, where former model Valerie Oczkowski tackles everything from toy recalls from Health Canada to helping disgruntled renters obtain their damage deposits.
Another feature that caused irritation is a series on reporter Rob Hislop who is buffing up for a bodybuilding competition in the spring.
"How long will it before ITV is No. 1?" asked the insider.
These criticisms rankle Thomas who said they don't fairly represent the station's news agenda.
"If anything, the People Helper has been toughened up since I came here," said Thomas who arrived at CFRN in 1996 from Toronto's Global Television.
"We have done 40 features in the past two months and (Hislop's bodybuilding series) isn't indicative of what we are doing."
In addition to a perceived youth movement spooking more mature reporters, another move is seen as an omen for future cuts by the station's owner Baton Broadcasting, the insider said.
CFRN's high-tech segment Webmania is produced by Baton's Toronto flagship CFTO-TV, an arrangement that could be easily expanded to include entertainment and lifestyle packages, the insider said.
It would be cheaper to produce and provide a more uniform look that Baton is seeking for its CTV affiliates, the insider said.
Thomas dismisses that talk as paranoia.
"News is our core business and we are committed to it."
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