John G, in the comments;
How many of you know Stephen Harper had 2 members of his communications team recently resign. Probably most of you, since it was plastered as a leading headline in CP and most dailies.
Now how many of you know that Paul Martin just lost 2 members of his communications team? Hint: You’ll find it today in the Ottawa Citizen…if you look very closely at an almost unrelated story.
Why is it more newsworthy when Stephen Harper’s advisors resign than when Paul Martin’s do?
(Does anyone have a link, or a scan of the dead tree version?)
Got this one, thanks to a reader.
I’m only guessing here — but maybe losing a speechwriter and a spokeswoman carries a little less news value than losing a Director of Communications who has been the Party’s front and centre spinmeister since forever.
Apologies for being so vague, but I read it in passing at home and don’t have a copy of the Citizen at work…
Since forever? The CPC’s been around here for what? not even 2 years? That would make the Liberal reign seem like an eternity.
Since forever? Some newspaper articles had Norquay’s tenure with Harper at about 9 months.
I guess the Eastern media will jump on anything to make Stephen look bad…. oooh, yeah, Harper is so angry he’s scaring away his own people, BUT, Mr. Martin is pleased his people are moving onward and upward to new personal goals.
CRAP!
Given how ineffective his communications has been, I think that Harper is smart to remake his communications group. As for suggestions that Harper didn’t listen to them, if these former communicators couldn’t convince Harper to listen to them, how can they convince Canadians to listen to them?
OK, since not forever then. I still don’t see any reason to change the news judgement which gives substantially more weight to the loss of a Party’s national director of communications.
It usually indicates a fundamental disagreement of philosophy somewhere in the food chain. It’s significantly more important than the loss of speechwriter and a spokeswoman and no surprise to me that it’s reported as such.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
Harper lost not two, but four members of his communications team, including his communications director, director of parliamentary communications, and director of strategic communications.
No big deal, right?
Once again the MSM making sure to help the Liberanos along and try to make the good guys (ie the CONSERVATIVES) look like they are falling apart. It sickens me to no end.
ITS TIME FOR THE REVOLUTION!!!!!!!!!!
Time to bring in the broom before the broom is turned against us. I’m hoping Line Maheux will take over. She’s very effective, competent and can neuter Scott Reid in one sentence. I think the Toronto Sun carried it on the w/e, along with another good pro-Harper piece by Lorrie Goldstein. Time for new blood for a neophyte party. There should be some seriously edgy people out there who can give the Libs as good as they get. I think most of the folks they had weren’t ruthless enough, thus, they didn’t capitalize on some of the golden opprtunities that presented themselves. Geoff Norquay is a gentleman, probably too much so. Not used to playing the PR game the way the Libs do.
Not related directly….but oh my this made me laugh out loud
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2149&ncid=1856&e=1&u=/cpress/20050705/ca_pr_on_wo/g8_summit_cda
Martin to pressure George Bush…with what the much vaunted Canadian hectoring machine…
That’s the way it works, folks. The media is quite simply always trying to destroy any and all Conservative leaders. Doesn’t matter who is leader. Doesn’t matter if their performance is crappy or has been the best of any leader in the history of our nation. Doesn’t matter if, as Styptic put it, a cigar is only a cigar. The media’ll try damned hard to make the people think the cigar has been stuck someplace where the sun don’t shine.
I recall that back in the ’97 fed election, here in Saint John, Sheila Copps’ limo was parked in a handicapped spot in front of a local hospital. The local CTV people put the story on locally for one night. Caught Copps on camera exiting the building, smiling ear-to-ear despite questioning as to why she had the limo parked THERE. The story never went national, though I was glued to the telly with Crazy Glue. Nothing at all after that one report!
Now, do you think if Mr. Harper had done what Ms. Copps had, the media would cover it up so quickly? Hell, no.
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So one of PMPM’s people will be moving on to take a job with Belinda.
Tell me, anybody, is that “moving on” or,”moving down”?
Storylines shape the news. One storyline about Harper office is that he has not been getting along with communications staff for some time now. The fact that 4 staff left was offered as confirmation of this. There was no such storyline regarding Martin. The main storyline involving the Conservatives is this: Can Harper beat off the social cons and move the party to the middle. This shapped pretty much all coverage of the March convention and explained the headlines about “Pro family” candidates taking various Conservative nominations back in May. Like most storylines it is a double edged sword. On the one hand, every time a Conservative, such as Gallant, goes off it will be reported as news; someone has gone in direction Harper does not wish to go. On the other hand it obscures the fact that the Harper is a social conservative and so is his party. Those candiates fit right in. They are par for the course. It is James Moore, Gerald Keddy and Jim Prentice who are the outsiders. Harper has no intention whatsoever to move to the middle and pace the Globe’s Simpson Cindy Silver is not the type of candidate that keeps Harper up at night it is the type of candidate he wants.
Walking Eagle, well, ya never know… that could even be “going down”… a la Boolinda’s good pal Slick Willy…
* Bob Eaton acclaimed as Liberal candidate for next election By DEREK ABMA Staff Writer Union leader Bob Eaton was acclaimed as the federal Liberal candidate for Leeds-Grenville in the next election at a nomination meeting attended by about 75 party members Thursday night. The Recorder and Times was notified of Ea
Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Have chosen a “union leader”. Now, go figure:who is “the” union leader?… Buzz (not Lightyear)Hargrove is a union leader; CAW union leader, by golly, Polly.
The Liberal Party is now the Socialist Party of Zanada. Librano$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$: Money talks for/to socialists, also.
Dumb question of the nite. I realize that the MSM is largely owned by liberals so that may be the only rational answer, however, I’ve been trying to figure out what the benefit is to the MSM to support the left and denegrate the right?
In the long run, what exactly does this buy them? Because it sure as hell doesn’t buy me or anyone I know anything.
Brian – think Ad in Adscam. If you were relying on ad revenue to keep your paper afloat who would you prostrate yourself to? The other prime factor is journalists are like school teachers; born again socialists who are intoxicated with their own sense of self importance.
Koby, with all due respect, Harper is hardly a social conservative. Personally, he couldn’t care one way or the other about gay marriage, for example, but the cons have decided, rightly or wrongly (and I think wrongly) that it’s good strategy. It is my understanding that Harper personally leans towards Libertarianism, and a Libertarian is most decidedly not a social conservative.