The Republican National Committee revoked previously approved press credentials for CBC/Radio-Canada to cover the party’s midterm convention in Dallas, Texas, on September 9 and 10. The revocation comes on the heels of a recent controversy in which the outlet, which serves as Canada’s public broadcaster, instructed employees not to refer to the September 11 attacks as a “terrorist” incident in a recent internal memo.
Chuck Thompson, CBC head of public affairs, confirmed the decision and said the broadcaster was reviewing options. “It is a disappointing development; we hope it will be reconsidered,” Thompson stated.
In a letter addressed to the CBC, the RNC referenced the internal memo that instructed staff not to “refer to the Sept. 11 attacks as terrorist attacks” without attribution, and stated that CBC had not apologized for the policy. It said allowing CBC journalists to attend the convention would be an “insult” to victims of the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history.
Radio-Canada did not have an equivalent written policy, but credentials for both English- and French-language services were withdrawn.
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RNC bans CBC from midterm convention over memo saying 9/11 wasn’t “terror attack”https://t.co/N8aTW8E2yE
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The revocation followed criticism of a leaked CBC internal memo from Basem Boshra, the senior director of journalistic standards and public trust. Circulated ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, the memo restated a longstanding CBC practice of generally avoiding the terms “terrorist” and “terrorism” for specific events unless they were attributed to a source.
It described the events as hijackings that led to passenger-jet crashes in Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and Manhattan. The excerpt was first reported by the Toronto Sun and generated outrage from several U.S. officials and Republican lawmakers.
On August 28, CBC announced an adjustment. In an editor’s blog post, Boshra wrote that the leaked excerpt “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.”
He stated that CBC had never said the events of September 11, 2001, were not terrorism and that its reporting over 25 years had provided an unflinching account of the attacks by al-Qaeda.
“After reviewing our current language guidance, we have decided to adjust it to clarify that direct attribution is not required for describing the historic events of 9/11 as terrorism,” Boshra wrote. “We are doing so to remove what has unfortunately (and unintentionally) become an impediment to clarity and public understanding.”
