Ottawa, October 12, 2017 -- The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning the title of a segment on The Weather Network and MétéoMédia. The CBSC found no problem with calling a segment the “30 Day” forecast even though there were only 27 or 28 days shown.
The Weather Network is the English Canadian specialty service devoted to weather information. MétéoMédia is its French-language counterpart. There is a standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) channel for both services, which air slightly different content. The CBSC received complaints from a viewer who pointed out that a graph labeled “30 Day” forecast actually displayed only 27 days on the SD channel and 28 days on the HD channel. The broadcaster explained that technical limitations made it difficult to display a full 30 days on screen without making the font too small.
The CBSC examined the complaints and concluded that the slightly misleading title was not a significant inaccuracy. The Panel stated, “The purpose of the segments was to provide a long-term look at the weather. This was equally accomplished by providing 27, 28 or 30 days. Despite the errors raised by the complainant, the dates covered were clearly shown across the bottom of the screen. It is highly unlikely that a viewer would somehow be misled.” The Panel also noted that following receipt of the complaints, the stations modified the title to read “Next 4 Weeks”.
The CBSC was created in 1990 by Canada’s private broadcasters to administer the codes of standards that they established for their industry. The CBSC currently administers 5 codes which deal with ethics, equitable portrayal, violence, news and journalistic independence. Around 800 radio stations, satellite radio services, television stations and specialty and pay television services across Canada participate in the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members’ and other web sites, and related information are available on the CBSC’s website at . For more information, please contact the CBSC National Chair, Andrée Noël, at anoel@cbsc.ca or CBSC Executive Director, John MacNab, at jmacnab@cbsc.ca or by telephone at (613) 233-4607.