Canada’s public broadcaster said Friday it is making an exception to its policy of not labeling specific attacks as terrorism for the 9/11 attacks after coming under fire over a memo restating it.
We have reported fully and accurately on the reasons and motivations for those attacks as determined by police, governments and an independent commission. But the director of the FBI, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, Republican members of Congress and Canada’s Conservative party all criticized the CBC following media reports about a memo reminding journalists of the policy sent to staff ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. We’ve just made sure to do it with attribution.”
11 attacks. Basem Boshra, senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, said in a blog post late Friday afternoon that CBC would make an exception to the rule for the 9/11 attacks. Boshra’s post was published less than an hour after Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree issued a press release saying the Canadian government “has always recognized 9/11 as the deadliest terrorist attack in history, and we unequivocally condemn terrorism in all its forms. In the post, Boshra said CBC News “has never said what happened on September 11, 2001, was not terrorism, as some commentators have stated in recent days.
He said a “leaked excerpt” of its language policy had raised questions that the public broadcaster must now answer. “We are doing so to remove what has unfortunately (and unintentionally) become an impediment to clarity and public understanding,” he said.
Canada’s Culture Minister Marc Miller praised the move on social media, calling it a “welcome change to what was a piece of pedantic and foolish guidance that caused legitimate anger.”
