CBC.ca
Encyclopedia
CBC.ca is the English-language
online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993.
The Web-based service of the CBC is one of Canada
's largest and most visited web sites. It currently contains over one million pages of information.
CBC also runs the French-language
website Radio-Canada.ca.
and a site supporting the CBC Halifax TV
program Street Cents
. By 1995, the CBC had consolidated its English radio and TV sites into a single website.
Around 1996, CBC began offering 24-hour live streaming of its radio services using RealAudio
. The next year, CBC launched CBC Kids and covered its first federal election
online. CBC launched its news site the following year.
In 2000, the CBC launched a wireless service and CBC Radio 3
, an Internet-exclusive broadband magazine. Radio 3 provides streaming audio devoted to youth culture and independent music and is operated by CBC Radio.
In 2001, cbc.ca finished a major redesign that modernized the news portal and earned an English Television Award.
In 2005, production of the Radio 3 magazine was suspended, although the site continues in podcast
format. Some of its programming still aired as a Saturday-evening show on CBC Radio Two until March 2007. Bande à part
is the French
equivalent and also airs content as a weekend program on Espace Musique. Both services launched as full channels on Sirius Canada
in December 2005 and are also available to U.S. Sirius
subscribers.
In 2004, CBC began offering RSS
feeds, and in 2005, it launched a new online arts and entertainment magazine.
In 2006, CBC.ca underwent another redesign after extensive study, with improvements to standards compliance
.
In March 2008
, the website added a comments section to most news items, allowing feedback
on stories.
ing some of its programs as a pilot project, including CBC Radio One
’s national science and technology program, Quirks and Quarks
, CBC Radio 3’s Canadian Music Podcast, and limited podcasting of CBLA
’s popular Metro Morning
show.
In May 2006, CBC added several more podcasts, including Dispatches
, best-of editions of Outfront
, As It Happens
, Ideas
, The Current
and Definitely Not the Opera
, weekly podcasts from regional radio stations and Editor’s Choice, a daily showcase of notable network programming.
award in the "service journalism" category for its coverage of the SARS epidemic. In 2004, CBC.ca was the only organization to win two awards from the Online News Association
– one in the "specialty journalism" category for Canada Votes, its coverage of the 2004 Canadian federal election, and one in the "service journalism" category for ADR Database, a project from the CBC News
investigative unit. CBC.ca was also a finalist in the "online commentary" category for "Words: Woes and Wonder", a series of columns about the English language.
In 2007, CBCNews.ca won the 2006 RTNDA award for best overall use of new media
in Canada.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
online service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. It was introduced in 1996. Under its previous names, the CBC's online service first went live in 1993.
The Web-based service of the CBC is one of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
's largest and most visited web sites. It currently contains over one million pages of information.
CBC also runs the French-language
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
website Radio-Canada.ca.
History
In 1993, CBC launched an experimental web service, followed by a small site supporting CBC RadioCBC Radio
CBC Radio generally refers to the English-language radio operations of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC operates a number of radio networks serving different audiences and programming niches, all of which are outlined below.-English:CBC Radio operates three English language...
and a site supporting the CBC Halifax TV
CBHT
CBHT is the flagship station of CBC Television in the Atlantic Time Zone of Canada. CBHT broadcasts on terrestrial channel 39 at 157.54 kW and cable channel 11 in the Halifax metro area...
program Street Cents
Street Cents
Street Cents is a teen-themed newsmagazine TV series that originally aired on CBC Television between 1989 and 2006. It was one of a few shows focused on consumer and media awareness for young people. The series was created by producer John Nowlan. He cites Britain's Pocket Money as one of the...
. By 1995, the CBC had consolidated its English radio and TV sites into a single website.
Around 1996, CBC began offering 24-hour live streaming of its radio services using RealAudio
RealAudio
RealAudio is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that can be used over dialup modems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can also be used as a streaming audio format, that is...
. The next year, CBC launched CBC Kids and covered its first federal election
Elections in Canada
Canada holds elections for several levels of government: nationally , provincially and territorially, and municipally. Elections are also held for self governing First Nations and for many other public and private organizations including corporations and trade unions...
online. CBC launched its news site the following year.
In 2000, the CBC launched a wireless service and CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3
CBC Radio 3 is a radio station that consists of two parts devoted to Canadian arts and music: a radio service which is available on Sirius Satellite Radio and streaming audio, and several daily and weekly podcasts from the CBC Radio 3 website...
, an Internet-exclusive broadband magazine. Radio 3 provides streaming audio devoted to youth culture and independent music and is operated by CBC Radio.
In 2001, cbc.ca finished a major redesign that modernized the news portal and earned an English Television Award.
In 2005, production of the Radio 3 magazine was suspended, although the site continues in podcast
Podcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
format. Some of its programming still aired as a Saturday-evening show on CBC Radio Two until March 2007. Bande à part
Bande à part (radio)
Bande à part is the name of a website and a Sirius Satellite Radio station in Canada that are devoted primarily to French Canadian arts and music....
is the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
equivalent and also airs content as a weekend program on Espace Musique. Both services launched as full channels on Sirius Canada
Sirius Canada
Sirius Canada is a Canadian company, a partnership between Slaight Communications, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Sirius Satellite Radio, which was one of three services licensed by the CRTC on June 16, 2005 to introduce satellite radio service to Canada.On November 24, 2010, following...
in December 2005 and are also available to U.S. Sirius
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
subscribers.
Content
The websites include news from the CBC News website, an extensive sports section, music, science, technology and entertainment pages. CBC/Radio-Canada also offers an extensive, free archives service showcasing pivotal moments in Canadian history from the 1930s on. Over 8,000 online clips and interviews from news and information programs provide an in-depth look at Canada’s past.In 2004, CBC began offering RSS
RSS
-Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
feeds, and in 2005, it launched a new online arts and entertainment magazine.
In 2006, CBC.ca underwent another redesign after extensive study, with improvements to standards compliance
Web standards
Web standards is a general term for the formal standards and other technical specifications that define and describe aspects of the World Wide Web. In recent years, the term has been more frequently associated with the trend of endorsing a set of standardized best practices for building web sites,...
.
In March 2008
March 2008
March 2008 was the third month of the leap year. It had begun on a Saturday and ended after 31 days on a Monday.-International holidays:* March 2 – Mothering Sunday * March 7 – Nyepi...
, the website added a comments section to most news items, allowing feedback
Comment
A comment is generally a verbal or written remark often related to an added piece of information, or an observation or statement. These are usually marked with an abbreviation, such as "obs." or "N.B."...
on stories.
Podcasting
In 2005, CBC began podcastPodcast
A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...
ing some of its programs as a pilot project, including CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One
CBC Radio One is the English language news and information radio network of the publicly-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial free and offers both local and national programming...
’s national science and technology program, Quirks and Quarks
Quirks and Quarks
Quirks & Quarks is a Canadian weekly science news program heard over CBC Radio One of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ....
, CBC Radio 3’s Canadian Music Podcast, and limited podcasting of CBLA
CBLA-FM
CBLA-FM is a Canadian radio station. It is the flagship station of the CBC Radio One network, broadcasting at 99.1 FM in Toronto, Ontario.- History :...
’s popular Metro Morning
Metro Morning
Metro Morning is CBC Radio One's local morning program in Toronto, airing on CBLA-FM and is hosted by Matt Galloway. The program airs from 5:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m...
show.
In May 2006, CBC added several more podcasts, including Dispatches
Dispatches (radio program)
Dispatches is a Canadian radio program, which airs Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on CBC Radio One. The program, hosted by Rick MacInnes-Rae, airs documentary reports on international news and feature topics...
, best-of editions of Outfront
Outfront
Outfront was a Canadian radio program, which aired on CBC Radio One from 8:43 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday to Friday evenings, following the now defunct Nighttime Review....
, As It Happens
As It Happens
As It Happens is a long-running interview show on CBC Radio One in Canada. Its 40th anniversary was celebrated on-air on 18 November 2008. It has been one of the most popular and acclaimed shows on CBC Radio; it is also distributed in the United States by Public Radio International.The bulk of the...
, Ideas
Ideas (radio show)
Ideas is a long running scholarly radio documentary show on CBC Radio One. Co-created by Phyllis Webb and William A. Young, the show premiered in 1965 under the title The Best Ideas You'll Hear Tonight...
, The Current
The Current (radio program)
The Current is a Canadian current affairs radio program, hosted by investigative reporter Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC Radio One. It airs weekdays starting at 8:37 a.m. local time and runs until 10 a.m. for most of the year, although during the summer the program airs until 9:30 a.m...
and Definitely Not the Opera
Definitely Not the Opera
Definitely Not the Opera is a magazine-style radio program focusing on aspects of pop culture. The program is broadcast on CBC Radio One on Saturday afternoons, 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. . An abridged version of each weekly program is available for download as a weekly podcast...
, weekly podcasts from regional radio stations and Editor’s Choice, a daily showcase of notable network programming.
Awards
In 2003, CBC won an Online News AssociationOnline News Association
The Online News Association , founded in 1999, is a 501 non-profit organization made up of more than 1,800 members. Its mission: Inspiring innovation and excellence among digital journalists to better serve the public....
award in the "service journalism" category for its coverage of the SARS epidemic. In 2004, CBC.ca was the only organization to win two awards from the Online News Association
Online News Association
The Online News Association , founded in 1999, is a 501 non-profit organization made up of more than 1,800 members. Its mission: Inspiring innovation and excellence among digital journalists to better serve the public....
– one in the "specialty journalism" category for Canada Votes, its coverage of the 2004 Canadian federal election, and one in the "service journalism" category for ADR Database, a project from the CBC News
CBC News
CBC News is the department within the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the news gathering and production of news programs on CBC television, radio and online services...
investigative unit. CBC.ca was also a finalist in the "online commentary" category for "Words: Woes and Wonder", a series of columns about the English language.
In 2007, CBCNews.ca won the 2006 RTNDA award for best overall use of new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
in Canada.