CBC Ombudsman replies to my criticism made in February regarding a Q. It's as bad as you'd expect. [x-post reddit] Thank you for your email of February 25 addressed to Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman, drawing our attention to an interview with Brianna Wu on that morning’s edition of CBC Radio’s Q. and what you see as “misrepresentation” of GamerGate. The program framed a “consumer movement” as “nothing but a cabal of misogynistic harassers”, you wrote, adding that this is “outright lying”. Since Q is part of my responsibility, I would like to reply. Please accept my sincere apologies for the delay in doing so.  I fully appreciate that GamerGate is a controversial issue. Some of those using the hashtag argue – as you do -- that their goal is to improve the ethics of online video game journalism. And I agree with you to the extent that the program should have acknowledged that point of view. But if the hashtag started with that intent, as with most online headings, it was soon broadened to include other issues.  For the six months or so prior to this story, GamerGate had attracted public attention largely because of those who used the hashtag to make bullying and misogynistic attacks on female gamers – developers Brianna Wu  and Zoe Quinn and feminist social critic Anita Sarkeesian perhaps chief among them.  Two weeks prior to the Q interview, U.S. television program Law & Order: Special Victims Unit broadcast an episode called “Intimidation Game”. The story followed a female video games developer who was the target of a group of violent misogynistic online terrorists. Broadcaster NBC described the program as being “ripped from the headlines”, although viewers said they found the plot unbelievable and the writing poor. Ms. Wu wrote in a piece posted on Bustle.com that same day (“I’m Brianna Wu, And I’m Risking My Life Standing Up to GamerGate – Feb. 11) saying that while the Law & Order producers hadn’t consulted her, the main character appeared to be an amalgamation of herself and two other relatively prominent women in the gaming world. In the piece, she detailed the death threats and harassment she had experienced over the past months often from people using the GamerGate hashtag and how it had affected her and her work as a game developer.  In the Q interview, the program host began by asking what she thought about the Law & Order episode and the parallels she saw in it to her own experience. They explored some of those parallels and the points were they diverge. The host asked about the value of exposing these issues – although admittedly in an exaggerated and perhaps flawed fashion – to a wider television audience. And finally, how she interpreted, and ultimately disagreed with, the implied message in the program’s conclusion. The focus of the Q story was on the misogyny and threats experienced by one prominent female game developer and how her experience had been interpreted in a fictional portrayal in a popular television series. It is a powerful story that speaks to significant themes including gamer culture, misogyny and social media criticism. And while it is disturbing in many ways, I think the program explored it in a respectful and thoughtful fashion in keeping with its mandate to feature conversations with the compelling people who influence our culture today. But let me emphasize that the focus was on Ms. Wu and her experience with those who she said often used the GamerGate hashtag. The program was not an examination of GamerGate. As interesting as it might be, that is a far broader subject and well beyond the scope of this story. Had we done that story listeners might reasonably have expected to hear a range of views on the topic. As it was, although the focus was narrow, it would have benefited from the inclusion of an acknowledgement that GamerGate is associated with other points of view as well.  While CBC’s journalistic policy expects our coverage to balance differing points of view, it also acknowledges that balance does not necessarily mean some sort of mathematical equivalency. Balance does not, for instance, mean that every voice critical of GamerGate must be immediately juxtaposed with an equally strong voice supporting GamerGate. It is not always possible or even desirable to include all relevant points of view in the short time available for one story. Indeed, balance is a more sophisticated concept that can be achieved over a series of programs or a period of time. The important thing is to ensure that differing points of view are treated in an equitable manner.  Thank you again for your email and again my apologies for the delay. Nevertheless, I hope my reply has reassured you of the continuing integrity of our programs.  Finally, it is my responsibility to tell you that if you are not satisfied with this response, you may wish to submit the matter for review by the CBC Ombudsman. The Office of the Ombudsman, an independent and impartial body reporting directly to the President, is responsible for evaluating program compliance with the CBC’s journalistic policies. The Ombudsman may be reached by mail at Box 500, Terminal A, Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6, or by fax at 416-205-2825, or by email at ombudsman@cbc.ca Sincerely, Lynda Shorten Director, Network Talk CBC Radio 416 205 6026 Lynda.Shorten@cbc.ca cc. Esther Enkin, CBC Ombudsman This post was mirrored from http://www.reddit.com/r/KotakuInAction/comments/3cti15/cbc_ombudsman_replies_to_my_criticism_made_in/ and may have been edited at the original location.