Ottawa, March 25, 1999 – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released its decision concerning a “promo” for a news report on the use of the Internet to track down delinquent child support payers which aired on CFTO-TV (Toronto). A viewer complained of the use of the expression “deadbeat dads” in the promo for a forthcoming news report when the actual report dealt with deadbeat parents, i.e. both men and women.
The Ontario Regional Council considered the complaint under provisions of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics and Sex-Role Portrayal Code. The Council found no breach. While the Council agreed that the phrase made a distinction on the basis of sex, it did not consider the term to be unacceptable for use in broadcasting, as contended the complainant.
[T]he Council believes that this phrase is self-circumscribing and does not cast aspersions on fathers in general or child-support paying fathers in particular. The term clearly emphasizes the deadbeat characteristic of those who flout judicial orders. It applies, it is true, only to dads of that bent, but its emphasis is undeniably on those dads who disrespect their responsibilities. ... [W]hile the Council recognizes that the term is clearly discriminating, ..., it does not consider that the term is necessarily discriminatory.
The Council stated, however, that “the term should be used with discernment and only when the term appropriately describes the group in question”. In this case, the Council easily concluded that the term was not appropriately used, noting the broadcaster’s own recognition in responding to the complainant that “the use of the term deadbeat dads in the context of both men and women represents an error of omission with respect to women.” But, while the Council agreed with the broadcaster that an “error of omission” had occurred, it did not consider that a conclusion that there had been a breach of the Codes was warranted in the circumstances. In its view, “the broadcaster could [not] have moved more rapidly than it did to put the matter right in this case.” Indeed, CFTO-TV corrected its mistake by using the phrase “deadbeat parents” in the actual news report. The Council stated that “Where an honest error occurs which is not of major proportion and is corrected quickly, the CBSC will not, in the absence of other material considerations, find a Code breach.”
Canada’s private broadcasters have created industry standards in the form of Codes on ethics, gender portrayal and television violence by which they expect their members will abide. They also created the CBSC, which is the self-regulatory body with the responsibility of administering those Codes, as well as the Code dealing with journalistic practices created by the Radio Television News Directors Association Canada (RTNDA). More than 430 radio and television stations and specialty services from across Canada are members of the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members' and other web sites, and related information are available on the World Wide Web at www.cbsc.ca. For more information, please contact the National Chair of the CBSC, Ron Cohen, at (###) ###-####.