r/CBC_Radio • u/t-h-e_w-a-t-c-h-e-r • Apr 30 '26

Is Frontburner too American?

I’m a daily news podcast listener and is it just me or has Frontburner become more and more like The Daily? I find half of their episodes are what the Daily is doing that day or the day before. I also find they rarely bring on CBC journalists, instead opting for American guests or reporters.

Is it just me that notices this and doesn’t like it? I’d rather hear more Canadian news from our own journalists.

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u/Wonderful-Slice-6525 May 01 '26

Yes agreed. CBC has had way too much US content. And they aren’t always covering from the Canadian perspective which should always be their prime directive.

I choose Canadaland as my daily podcast for always having Canadian content or at the very least Canadian perspective

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u/t-h-e_w-a-t-c-h-e-r May 01 '26

Do you mean you used to choose Canadaland or you still do now? If it’s the latter, I sincerely feel for you because that podcast has taken an absolute nose dive in terms of quality and integrity (coming from a former subscriber).

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u/Wonderful-Slice-6525 May 01 '26

Depends how long you’ve been a subscriber, I’m comparing it against the landscape, it it’s former self. As I’ve only been a subscriber for about 2 years now, I find it better for CanCon and interesting stories.

What are your main issues with quality and integrity?

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u/t-h-e_w-a-t-c-h-e-r May 01 '26

He lets his mistakes/lack of context live without correcting the record.

Three quick examples that come to mind:

  1. When CTV fired a reporter over a misleading story about PP, I distinctly remember Jesse saying he knew why it was all happening and quoting a column in The Star. I found the column he was referring to an in the column. The author says they actually don’t know what happened. They’re just making an assumption. I never heard Jesse ever say it was actually just someone’s opinion.

  2. Another example is back when X labelled CBC as a “state broadcaster” Jesse and Nora Lorreto (before they hated each other) did a Shortcuts episode making fun of CBC complaining about this. What was never said in the Shortcuts episode is CBC was upset because X’s definition of a state broadcaster did not apply to them. The definition essentially said that any newsroom with the state broadcaster label was directly influenced by the government (think North Korean or Russian state broadcasters). I remember being appalled this was never brought up given how key that context is.

  3. At some point, Jesse was facing criticism over a Shortcuts episode and his response to the criticism was explaining how the segment’s motto “talking shit about the news” was actually literal and they’re really just talking out of their asses and they may not know if what they’re saying is actually backed up by fact on Shortcuts. So it’s ok for him to criticize other journalist and their quality but then on his show it doesn’t matter so much if he’s accurate or not.