CBC releases policy change after controversy about refusing to refer to 9/11 as terrorist attacks
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced an internal policy change Friday, explaining why it had previously told reporters and editors to refrain from describing the Sept.11, 2001, attacks as “terrorist attacks.”The memo was authored by Basem Boshra, CBC News’ senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, and surfaced ahead of the attacks’ 25th anniversary.The directive was first reported by Toronto Sun columnist Warren Kinsella, who said it was addressed to CBC News staff.“Do not refer to the Sept.
11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” the memo said.The memo instead described the events as hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes in Washington, DC, Pennsylvania and Manhattan.It also said the World Trade Center was destroyed.CBC released a memo Friday addressing the controversy that erupted as the 25th anniversary of the terror attack, headlined, “How and why CBC News will adjust its 9/11 language guidance.”“CBC News finds itself once again in a swirl of confusion about how our journalists use the words ‘terrorist’ and ‘terrorism,’ this time about the al-Qaeda attacks on New York, Washington, DC, and Pennsylvania on Sept.11, 2001,” it said.“The confusion stems from the leak of an excerpt from our internal language guide that was published and amplified by a number of outlets without full context or explanation.
It has caused significant concern, anger and hurt for many people who believe CBC News seeks to minimize or obscure the horror of that day and who was behind it,” Boshra continued.“That is the last thing we want to do.And our reporting on 9/11, through thousands of stories over the past 25 years, is an unflinching account of the devastating attacks by al-Qaeda, the hunt and prosecution of those responsible, the thousands of lives that were lost on that day and the incalculable loss and grief experienced by so many others as a result.“And we intend to mark the forthcoming 25th anniversary of 9...