As is now common practice at Harper news conferences, the number of questions is decided by the prime minister’s staff and announced to members of the media, who determine by consensus which issues need to be addressed and which reporters are best to pose them.It's bad enough that the media doesn't push back against Harper's restrictive policies designed to limit the media's ability to do their jobs, BTW in case they've forgotten that is to keep us informed, it is infinitely worse to have them not only play along, but to aid and abet Harper in his scheme to marginalize them and thus strip Canadians of the information they need to make educated decisions,
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Our servile media
Reading the CBC piece on the dust up between a Chinese reporter and PMO staffers this paragraph leaped out at me
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Who Killed Canada
ReplyDeleteMedia Ownership and the Radical Right in Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8D67YiLcOM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiurWhmOIgk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRnZ43wxGvY&NR=1
Part 1, 2 & 3. Note: each video about 10 minutes long
No time for video? Read review instead:
Mr. Hurtig begins by discussing the Canadian media and how we now have the greatest concentration of media in the western world. In fact, he states this would simply not be allowed in any other western democracy.
And since these same media outlets control newspaper, television and radio news; we are essentially only being given one voice. There are few or no alternative views. As stated in the video, a healthy democracy should foster a healthy and independent news media.
http://pushedleft.blogspot.com/2009/11/under-stephen-harper-we-are-no-longer.html
Kevin, here is the comment I put on Owen's blog this morning, as he was writing about Harper's contemptible practices:
ReplyDeleteWhen I read the story this morning, I once more asked myself why journalism continues to debase itself by allowing itself to be mere tools for Harper. When he first instituted restrictions on reporters' questions, there was a moment or two when it looked like they were going to boycott his heavy-handed tactics. That quickly went by the wayside. Now, as you indicated, they collectively are allowed only a handful of questions, with no opportunity for followup. If they simply ignored him and refused to be the medium of his propaganda until those restrictions were lifted, where would he be?
The media clearly need to start showing some self-respect!
Is it any wonder that we find most Canadians uninterested and uninformed about the state of their country?
ReplyDelete