Amanda Lang, CBC News’ senior business correspondent, had two paid speaking engagements with Manulife Financial earlier this year and then reporting on them in a positive manner on CBC, reports Sean Craig of Canadaland.
Craig reports, “Chuck Thompson, CBC’s Head of Public Affairs tells CANADALAND that Lang’s work for Manulife was ‘grandfathered’ in because it was booked before the new policy was set.
“So CBC News let Lang have one last kick at the conflict of interest can.
“This itself is an extraordinary admission, as it means CBC News let its Senior Business Correspondent interview Manulife’s CEO knowing she had worked for his company shortly beforehand. They didn’t ask her to recuse herself from the interview. They didn’t ask her to disclose her conflict on the air. Viewers of the segment’s original broadcast would only know of Lang’s relationship with Manulife if, three weeks after it aired, they happened to check CBC’s online disclosure page.
“CANADALAND asked Lang for comment. She did not respond, instead forwarding our questions to Chuck Thompson.”
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