Oxygentax.com

http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_paper/story.html?id=253890

Slightly more than a month after "Pablogate" started, it finally has ended with the CBC outing the offending reporter and detailing her "punishment".

Now I'm not really a good judge. I don't know the woman at all, nor are there many details about her on the internet. What I DO know is to be moved from the Ottawa political bureau where you were caught going being overzealous to CBC Sports in Toronto where the best you can hope for is to report on injuries and interview athletes, this would seem to be a demotion.

Notwithstanding that she should have been fired for calling into question the integrity of CBC's news coverage, this was the next best outcome for her and for the CBC.

This incident still calls into question one thing, however. Why does the CBC still exist as a government funded entity? Why does the government, in this 500 channel universe, still own a broadcasting network? Not only that, why does the government still own a news outlet with its own POLITICAL BUREAU. It would seem to me that there is an INHERENT conflict of interest and ethical concern when the government is disseminating information to the population. That the CBC was caught choosing sides this time just strengthens this ethical concern.

While it costs less than a penny per tax dollar brought in to maintain the CBC in its current form, this is still an investment which should be reevaluated. Though there may have been a need at one time, with satellite systems competing with basic cable on price and content and 2 national television networks, there is no need for a subsidized broadcasting network to compete.

Hopefully the government is allowed to make that determination without a outcry from the public.