Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada and Thomas Bellut, Director General of ZDF, ratified a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in the presence of Stéphane Dion, Canada’s Ambassador to Germany.

“It’s never been more important for public media to work together to amplify the critical role we play in strong democracies and open societies. This agreement will bring audiences in Canada and Germany the best of us both and together we will showcase our authentic stories, showcase our talent, and enrich our knowledge of each other,” said Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada.

“We live in an increasingly global and digitized world. As public service media, more than ever, we have the responsibility to stand up for the values of a democratic society and to serve our audiences with trusted information and the best possible creative content. As the national public service media of our countries, CBC/Radio-Canada and ZDF share the same values and the same mission. This agreement will further strengthen our ties to the benefit of our audiences in Canada and Germany,” said ZDF Director General Thomas Bellut.

Highlights of the agreement include:

● Co-developing content for linear, on-demand and digital platforms in the areas of

scripted, factual entertainment, live events and documentary; and

● Collaborating to improve tracking and verification of the accuracy of the news.

Currently, CBC/Radio-Canada and ZDF/ARTE are co-producing Writing the Land, a four-part documentary in which Canadian writers, poets and storytellers reveal a country in the throes of intense soul-searching, bring to light injustices, and challenge the narrative of an inclusive Canada. Many of these authors will participate in this year’s Frankfurter Buchmesse (FBM), where Canada will be featured as the country of honour, in October 2020.

In addition to the partnership announcement, Mr. Bellut confirmed that he has accepted to become a member of the Global Task Force for Public Media chaired by Ms. Tait. “Public service media such as CBC/Radio-Canada and ZDF face challenges today from financial pressures and unprecedented competition in each of our domestic markets to the proliferation of disinformation across the Internet and social networks,” said Ms. Tait. “The purpose of this Global Task Force is to respond quickly as a group to threats to the very underpinning of public service media—trusted sources of news—across the planet. With Thomas Bellut joining us, we are that much stronger as we tackle these issues head-on.” (...)

To learn more on the CBC/ZDF partnership:

https://cbc.radio-canada.ca/en/media-centre/CBC-RC-ZDF-partnership-2020