I have had similar experiences with the peoples network mainly radio. There is always a pre-interview interview and if you are not what they are looking for angle-wise you don't get interviewed.

The chorus radio shows are different, if you can articulate a postion, any position on an issue you're on.

The good news is this will all change when the Conservatives win that much needed majority and the mother corporation will be cleansed.

"We have to book panels that work together."

And that would mean what exactly, Ms Mallick?

Kate,

After I had the Saskatoon Star Phoenix change words in my letter to the editor in an attempt to discredit me, and then offer a weak apology over the phone, nothing that the MSM does surprises me any more. The evidence of a socialist bias is undeniable.
The good news is that now we have the internet. People can protest without being censored by the left-wing media. Although, I am sure they are working on shutting up the bloggers that don‘t follow their “agenda“.

Ralph Benmurgui.

Gian Ghomeshi.

George Strombolopolous.

I love how the CBC selects who's going to be their "star" and flogs flogs flogs them.

Strombo-bits might be able to get a job with the private media - those that are less moronic than MuchMusic - but Benmergui and Ghomeshi? They'd never get in the door for an interview.

Kill the CBC before it can do any more damage!
....Isn't it amazing how anywhere the taxpayers money accumulates you will find a nest of lefties gleefully spending it to the benefit of the Liberals themselves,NOT all Canadians. .We can all see this "culture of entitlement" expands well beyond the Liberal politicians themselves.

Kate,
I've sent of Coren's column to the ombudsman, asking him to verify if it's correct and asking for the names of those who made the decision. I also asked if it's regular procedure, and indicated that it contravenes some of the CBC's stated "journalistic policies"

You may be saying, what's the point of taking such action, I'll just get some form letter from the ombudsmen. But, I refuse to stop putting the pressure on them. I encourage others to follow suit. If they insist on wasting my money (and the exexutives he forwards my concerns to) as busy as possible.

Sorry for the major typos and ommissions above:

It should have read:
"If they insist on wasting my money on socialist drivel, I will keep the ombudsman (and the executives who receive a forward of my concerns) as busy as possible."

Write the ombudsman and quote the journalistic principles, when outlining examples of bias:
http://cbc.radio-canada.ca/accountability/journalistic/index.shtml

Angela,good on ya for taking action!

"Kill the CBC..."

Maybe we can at least get the process started. Start a petition to opt out of paying for it at petitions on-line.

On the other hand, I can clearly see the CBC headquarters from where I sit. Does somebody have a spare rocket launcher?

if the implication is that the CBC is censoring conservative viewpoints, it's absurd. Don Newman has conservatives on his program "Politics" daily. Coren has his following to be sure. They just won't see him on the CBC,thankfully.

Davidson,

Has your doctor checked you for mad cow disease? I understand that it destroys the brain.

I can only stomach small doses of CBC, however when George S-alphabet comes on, it gets turned off immediately. Too smug by half for my liking.

having a conservative on this or that show is not relevant. What is relevant is that the CBC appears to be run by liberal friendly hacks who can't keep their political views from influencing their job.

It's important to point out, as Coren does in the rest of the article, that while he is a social conservtive, his views on economics (the actual point of the alleged panel discussion) are actually to the Left of most non-troll readers of this blog. Who knows, maybe the producer thought they'd have too many economic liberals on the panel :-)

Coren is also very anti-Iraq War and so on. So he is not easy to pigeonhole (and God knows tv producers hate that -- it means they have to think).

I was on Newsworld on Easter Sunday and went through a pair of extremely long pre-interviews, certainly much longer than the real interview turned out to be. Since most media types assume I'm a liberal because I'm female, it often takes them a awfully long time to figure out that I am not. They had me on anyway; what harm could I do in 3 minutes first thing Sunday morning?

I've been on other CBC shows -- once. I am never on again. Funnily, the shows tend to get cancelled shortly after my appearance (no, I don't think that is anything more than a coincidence, but it does strike me funny). It is like being Typhoid Kathy.

Did anyone catch this:

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060510/budget_vote_060510/20060510?hub=Canada

CTV put a picture of the Alberta Budget in a story about the federal budget.

Hmmmm, are they trying to tell us something????

davidson - Don Newman has the Conservatives on his program as a target to be attacked by the Liberals and NDP who are on his program. Both Mike Duffy and Don Newman have hour long TV programs that are heavily focused on attacking Harper.

They focus on trivia - it's hard to fill up an hour long show. And above all, they do not provide the viewers with facts or valid analysis.

We hear that Harper is 'cold' and that Canada needs a more 'charismatic' and emotional leader (Jim Travers). Why? We hear about his weight, his clothes.

We get endless, endless images of Liberal and NDP commentators attacking a CPC MP for accepting a hockey ticket for $150, even though this is within the rules (limit $500), even though the individual checked with the Great Shapiro of Ethics. When it is pointed out that it fell within the ethics - we are informed 'so what' - the Conservatives are supposed to 'do things differently' (being ethical IS different)...
We get endless assertions that McGuinty is mad at Harper, that Harper is making a serious mistake in 'insulting Ontario'...that the only reason he is 'being nice to Quebec' is not for its own good, but 'just for votes'.

Remember, the operating infrastructure of the Liberals is simple. Power. Anything they ever did - was to get votes.
The MSM is locked into this mindset. Any political action has only one agenda - not the good of the people. But -power. Votes.
They can't understand Harper does things for the people...and it's not just about votes.

We hear about Vellacourt as 'rogue' but we don't get the facts from the MSM that McLachlin DOES advocate, in her published speeches, that the judiciary create, by themselves, new laws that trump legislated laws. No, no. We don't hear that Vellacourt is right and that we have rogue judges...

So, both Duffy and Newman may have Conservatives on their shows - but - they are set up to be attacked..by NDP and Liberals who sit beside them. That's what you see - the attack.

And - you are never, ever, provided with the facts.
We don't hear that the Liberals thought of a softwood agreement that would get them LESS than Harper's 4 billion.
The public is never, ever, informed about the nature of the dispute - about the reality of low stumpage fees that in essence acted as a subsidy. We never hear of that on the MSM.

All we hear on the MSM - is Evil Bush, Evil America. The fact that maybe they had a point, objecting to our low stumpage fees...hmmm.
And the fact that quite possibly, this fight was extremely useful to maintaining the Liberals in power, for just about the only policy in their platform - was - anti-Americanism. As long as they could fan those flames - they could stay in power.

I found the comments about "the union don't want you" intriguing. It would indicate that the CBC is basically the mouthpiece of CUPE. It would explain many things.

It's obvious that the CBC can't be changed. Their viewpoint is deeply entrenched; it's a GTA-Liberal and Lefty institution top-to-bottom. Conservative voters shouldn't have to pay billions a year for this crap anymore.

Taxpayers should get to individually decide at tax time whether they want to want to donate money to this multi-billion dollar propaganda network.

Sidenote: On CBC radio, Mackay's visit to Afghanistan was treated this way: A cursory acknowledgement of the trip, a brief quote, then "What he didn't say was..."

Funny - I was on CBC Radio One last night, talking about TV with G&M columnist John Doyle. He let loose the usual stuff - how much he hates shows like The Unit that he considers "jingoistic", and military and spy shows he considers guilty of this crime. I said I had no problem with jingoism, for a variety of reasons.

He ended the show with a tangential attack on the federal conservatives that he had to really stretch to make. The host seemed happy to let that be the last word. All very casual, clubby, convivial bias at work, as far as I could tell from up close.

Let's see if I get invited back...

sell CBCpravda to Fox.
simple .
no buyout of employees they will all quit.
lots of the best equipment taxpayer money can buy.
an upgrade on the location of the centre of the universe from Toronto to New York ? he11 -anywhere but Trona.

mississagau matt

the longer CBC remains on the air the harder it is to pronounce the names of the reporters.

I think Patrick Brown is always somewhere he can be killed to he can be replaced with someone with 20 or more letters in their names. expect with the Liberal reporters now being about 30 years old we should be almost getting to quadrupal hyphen names - St.John-Smyth-Batchachacree-TooToo reflecting a great diversity of parentage.

Now be fair, guys! If not for the CBC, where would we get our next female foreign born GG??

Nice point, Kathy.

Just out - note that yesterday's Toronto Star screamed a headline about Vellacourt's pointing out that McLachlin is an activist judge..and printed her letter denying this, even though her December 2005 speech is about and only about - judicial activism and how judge-made law overrides legislated law.

And the Globe and Mail today wrote an editorial asserting that we don't have 'activist judges'. My god - didn't they do any research - can't they even bother to read her December speech?

Now- the MSM have forced Vellacourt to resign his position as chair of the aboriginal committee.

Remember when Ralph Ben- was going to be the savior of late night cbc and go head to head with Carson etc. Lots of hype about the set, and content. First show killed him when he had a mountie riding a horse, sitting backward in the saddle. Then there is George S, who talks too fast for my ears to listen to. Last night he took on Billy Grahams daughter, and lost. He ridiculed everything religious and especially the religious right. Well, I think he is an example of the cbc religious wrong. If we are the rightwing, they are the wrong wing. Quit using left and start using wrong when describing these idiots.

Aussies are coming.

CBC has announced it will ignore this visit. Will run re-runs of Anne.... George Jonas' most famous work. ...

Prime Minister of Australia to visit Canada

May 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper today announced that Australian Prime Minister John Howard will visit Ottawa from May 18 to 20, 2006. ...
From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

Re-inventing the CBC:

May 10, 2006
CBC adding to reality TV onslaught
The new look of CBC Television includes lots of reality programming.
...In this newly created position, she will oversee the development, production, acquisitions and adaptation of talk shows, game shows, lifestyle and reality programs...
...Layfield points to the BBC and its success with shows such as Wife Swap as an example of what the CBC is looking for...
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20060510.CBC10/TPStory/TPEntertainment/Television/

March 16, 2004
CBC's crazy misadventures in reality TV
...Raging Hormones (CBC, 9 p.m.) provides wincing evidence of why Canada should stay out of the reality TV racket altogether....
http://www.cbcwatch.ca/?q=node/view/25/116

These stories remind me of when I was running in a federal election some years back (early 90's) for the Libertarian Party. I got an interview with CBC reporter John Webb at my home. Curiously, he insisted we do the interview in front of my computer and that I log onto what was then our Libertarian Party website. Then he started asking me about a link on our homepage to freemarket.net and how that website in turn had a link to then-Montana congresswoman Helen Chenoweth's website. I replied that I had never heard of Ms. Chenoweth. He then mentioned that she had made some favourable comments about the Montana militia movement. I replied that I would not sanction violence as a means to our ends, and thought that was the end of it.

That night, the 6:00 news ran the interview, and I was treated to the sight of me at my computer, followed by clips of an interview with Helen Chenoweth, followed by a clip of a bunch of bearded militia men at target practice. All because of an indirect link on our website. This was obviously John Webb's idea for "spicing up" what he thought was an otherwise dull story. I suspect he also thought it would be great fun to smear a party whose philosophy he didn't agree with. I can see that the CBC hasn't changed much since then.

We complained to the CBC and allegedy John Webb got a talking-to for this idiocy. But I learned never to trust these amoral guttersnipes again.

Years ago, when I was a stay-at-home mom, the CBC asked me if I would be interviewed about my reaction to an outrageous comment a radical feminist had made about government funds going to an organization that supported the choice of women to stay home to care for their children.

I spoke to one of the producers over the phone who, among other things, asked me how my children could be socialized--wasn't I depriving them?--if they weren't in daycare with children their own age. I informed him that I didn't nail their feet to the floor and that my children saw people from two to 92 every day, unlike children in daycare who, essentially, hang out with peers most of the day.

He said he was surprised because his image of a stay-at-home mom was someone who smoked, had her hair in curlers, drank coffee all day, and watched the soaps. I told him he was right on only one count: I drank coffee. He then said that the CBC wanted to interview me in my kitchen with my two children, then six and two. I told him, no way. They'd go across the street to a neighbour's house.

Lo and behold, next morning, the day of the scheduled interview, the CBC called to say that the interview was off. Why, I asked. "Because the feminist won't come on camera with you and so we don't have a story."

"Oh yes you do," I told them. "Her comments and my commentary on them are your story."

No go, said the CBC. And another potential interview with a "conservative" bit the dust, not to mention the fact that the Canadian public would be exposed, yet again, to only one side of a story: the radical, feminist liberal view.

I think a book of a few thousand pages could be written about snubs by the CBC of people and groups with opinions that don't square with theirs. This is "balanced" reporting?

I DON'T THINK SO. THE CBC HAS GOT TO GO!

Farmer Joe, you said:

"I have had similar experiences with the peoples network mainly radio. There is always a pre-interview interview and if you are not what they are looking for angle-wise you don't get interviewed.

"The chorus radio shows are different, if you can articulate a postion, any position on an issue you're on."

Hear, hear, brother. You put that as well as could be put.

Aside from political beliefs (everyone has political beliefs, even private sector radio show managers), there is one crucial difference: The CBC is taxpayer funded and private broadcasters aren't.

So the CBC can get away with slanting its coverage (when it's not encouraging teen sex or something) and survive... a private broadcaster actually has to compete in a real way and make money to survive. So they don't really care about your politics, they care about providing interesting points of view for their listeners.

Slash the CBC's funding — to 0.

The Communist Brainwashing Channel needs to be shutdown TODAY!!!!

And to top it all off ....

Michael Coren was not on Michael Coren Live tonight.

That Liberal apologist goof John Moore from CFRB (and self-proclaimed "agent of the people) hosted. It all seemed very hastily arranged.

Has the CBC offed Michael?

"I think a book of a few thousand pages could be written about snubs by the CBC of people and groups with opinions that don't square with theirs."

Hey New Kid you have a great idea there. We have many journalists who read this site. Perhaps someone (or you) could pick up on this idea. Sales would likely be very good because non Socialists/Liberals will buy it but also all those CBC employees would buy it. The MSM would slaver over it. This could be a blockbuster Canadian seller. Just set yourself up with a website to receive the stories.

There was a time, when I was less mature, that an article like Michael's would send me into a orgy of curses and thrown articles.

Fortunately, late in life, I decided to cancel all of my newspaper subsciptions and stopped watching CBC and CNN.

Instead, I started view weblogs such as SDA where I find better quality information and my blood pressure is lower.

ommmmmmmmmm ommmmmmmmmmm ommmmmmmmmmmm

Panels are very unfair on Duffy and Newman shows. There's usually one Conservative, one NDP, and two Liberals, and when the Liberal rep doesn't seem assertive enough, the host chimes in to present the Liberal argument--very unfair!!!

Ask Michael Harris (CFRA in Ottawa) about treatment of journalists and authors by the CBC.

I still say the CBC should continue providing exposure for Canadian artists, drama, public interest stories, etc. But politics? No way. They are in a conflict of interest, as their funding comes from politicians. There are plenty of independent and free-market broadcasters to cover politics in this country.

When the Charter was signed, I was working in a kiosk doing taxes in a mall. The cbc was doing a man in the street thing to get peoples ideas. The come into my desk, camera rolling and asked my opinion. I said it was the worst thing to ever happen to Canada and would lead to all kinds of problems. Immediately the reporter said, stop the camera, and talked to my partner. He thought it was great. I took a break and followed the crew around the mall for an hour. Majority said it was bad, 3 thought it great. That night on the late news only positive comments were aired, across Canada. Haven't trusted them since then. Great idea for a book, get on with it.

HEY HEY, HO HO, THE CBC HAS GOT TO GO!!!

...gee that has a nice ring to it...gosh, almost sounds like a union rally cry.

Perish the thought.

Just came back from a visit with Highschool friends..they were shocked to find out that I support Stephen Harper. So I did a little 'analysis' of what Liberal policies they supported...gun control? No...national daycare...No....The only thread I could find in their thinking: they trusted the CBC, and hated George Bush...and they trusted Michael Moore.
And they assumed because I was from Northern Ontario, I was out of touch...They didn't know you could get news off the internet. I do love them, and we did have a nice visit ...after the political discussion.

Sorry to sound like broken record (CD?), but I, too, was dumped from a CBC show at the last minute, e.g, 24 hours' notice, by an embarrassed CBC underling.

Was the topic of the program changed? No. Was my opponent still the same person? Yes. Was there another person to represent the opposing point of view? No.

The left-wing (wrong-wing, thanks, Mary) guest was given a free ride: The conservative host of the program was given the role of opponent (I sent him lots of info. but it wasn't his area of expertise) and the feminist, socialist host was given the role of "impartial" moderator. I kid you not.

After dozens of earlier, well documented complaints, always cavalierly swept aside by the CBC apparatchiks, I didn't even bother to register a complaint about this skulduggery: business as usual. (On two occasions when I happened to be on a CBC program, my audio feeds mysteriously went dead just as my opponents started to speak.)

The political side of the CBC is an utter scandal. This taxpayer funded travesty brazenly breaks its mandate, and even its own professional standards, multiple times every day.

As my uncle would say, "What a crew"!

Miss Vicki, I am amazed that you took time off from the trap line to socialize with the edumakated elite. Don't you gotta wrassle some bears or something?

Seriously though, having grown up in Northwestern Ontario I have always been amazed at the holier-than-thou attitude by people in Southern Ontario. It must be something in the water because I can recall my cousins who moved to toronto. They had lived all their lives in places so small the Welcome To ___ sign had the message on both sides to save on making two signs. Went to visit them a year later and I was treated like a hick country cousin who had never seen the lights of the big city.

I guess it must be a burden trying to enlighten the rest of Canada from the centre of the known universe.

If it is any consolation to Michael Coren, I do not know anyone, and I mean anyone, who watches the CBC and is under the age of 50. I find, particularly for people under 30, that the CBC could disappear tomorrow and who cares? By cancelling the CBC, I think the CPC just found the money to buy icebreakers. If one had to chose between defending Arctic sovereignty from those pesky Danes or some old CBC dinosaur, I chose Canada!

If it is any consolation to Michael Coren, I do not know anyone, and I mean anyone, who watches the CBC and is under the age of 50. I find, particularly for people under 30, that the CBC could disappear tomorrow and who cares? By cancelling the CBC, I think the CPC just found the money to buy icebreakers. If one had to chose between defending Arctic sovereignty from those pesky Danes or some old CBC dinosaur, I chose Canada!

I must say it is heartening to see so many others expressing their disgust with the MSM in our country,especially those gems at CBC.
I have been aware of this general trend for years,but honestly,it was only recently I really fathomed the depth of it.Subversion is the word that keeps coming back to me.
The Conservatives,led by Mr.Harper,were democratically elected by Canadian voters to lead this country,minority or not.The CBC in particular seems to be actively attempting nothing less than sabotaging our current government.I would call that the very definition of treason!
I understand the MSM is starting to struggle in some areas of it's support,subscriptions,etc..Are we finally seeing signs of defiance to these regular partisan mistruths?We'll sure as f**k never find out from current media sources if there are.
Finally,I sense some type of showdown on the horizon.I think we can thank Mr. Harper's toying with these jackals for helping expose their manipulative agenda and speeding up this inevitable confrontation.Interesting times indeed!

The "vast left-wing conspiracy" strikes again! Perhaps Harper could free up some helicopters...

Canadian Observer, I too have watched the antics of the incredably stupid juvinile reporters and commentators that the MSM hires. I have asked myself "what is in it for the MSM owners to hire and pay these goofs to spout 'wrong wing' vomit? It has to be 'kick backs' from taxpayers via gument. I do not belive that MSM owners would invest in such losers if they were personally losing money.
Then I read Solzinitzn's Archipelligo Gulags. The story is right there - as the noose tightens around the neck of the people the press gang demonizes anyone who does not agree with the "King Makers" Communist elitist's (billionares) agendas. Compare the life style of Stalin to the life style of George Bush. Stalin 'owned' Russia as no Tsar ever had - and he did it by hiring a snearing nasty press gang of souless monsters to twist the thoughts of the people. I think the press gang must be 'watched' and hauled on the carpet every time they open their collective yaps. Kate, you have given the nation of Canada a voice. We can never thank you often enough but I'd like to thank you again. Thank-you Kate.

Oh, boo hoo hoo! You poor poor conservatives and that terrible terrible "MSM". What a bunch of whining pussies you are!

It's not enough that you have the Globe, The NP, Global, FoxNews, The Alberta Report, McClean's, The Star-Phoenix, and CKOM to spread your horseshit far and wide. If any media outlet does not fall into lockstep and dutifully reproduce your talking points, no matter how fact-challenged, they're condemned as part of some mythical "liberal media" (LOL).

Face it folks, your time of exclusive hegemony over newspapers, talk radio, and other corporate owned media is coming to an end, and it's not the CBCs fault, it's yours. From Bush's lies about Iraq to Velacott's lies about the Chief Justice, your unchallenged media free ride is over. The weight of your lies is no longer sustainable. Colbert was right.

The Globe? A conservative newspaper? Sorry 'R', but even if that list was anything like an overwhelming monolith of media - The Alberta Report, barely two years old, is hardly a venerable establishment magazine, Fox News isn't even Canadian, and like most Canadians you don't even know how to spell Maclean's - including the Globe suggests that you're obviously living in some collegiate fantasy world where rich men where morning coats, striped pants and top hats, and the working man's newspapers are busted by goons in big black cars beating up newsboys. Whatever "exclusive hegemony" conservatives had over the media disappeared before Trudeau "retired" from politics. I actually work in the industry, peachfuzz, and I can tell you that you're more likely to meet a conservative in a Birkenstock store than in a newsroom.

What IS the plan for the cbc? It is just not going to happen that the cbc will be sold off. Not this term and not in a majority. The senate will block it.

The real target should be the CRTC. To get change happening immediately would be the CRTC opening up licensing to new broadcasters. They currently have a protected market, so get more fresh blood in there.

Next we have regulations considering fairness in views. Heavily weighted to consider left wing views as balanced why not drop any regulations considering this? Reagan dropped theses requirements for FCC licensing which is what caused the explosion of conservative talk radio and the emergence of Fox news.

Use the market against these socialists.
enough

One more thing - The Alberta Report? What were you, 'R', or I thinking? It doesn't exist anymore - and the Standard that replaced it is barely two years old. Pointing to a defunct magazine as proof of conservative hegemony of the media in Canada? It boggles the mind...

Enough has a good idea, and calls for the overhaul of the CRTC are becoming more common now, on both sides of the political spectrum, now that the changing face of media and technology have made the CRTC seem quaint, like a relic from the age of three channels and late editions.

I feel sorry for those who cannot think for themselves,always taking a blinded partisan view of the world(right or left).
The MSM in this country is shameless with it's attacks on the right while burying gaffs from the left.But at the same time,I also recognise that the Calgary press,for example,has a right-slant to it.Understandable,looking at the leanings of it's consumers.
But,to me the line is crossed when these conniving journalists actively try to subvert the sitting government,hoping to replace it with one the voters have just said THEY DO NOT WANT.
To my thinking anyways,this is nothing less than a media sponsored coup attempt!Anyone who has taken time to observe the MSM here and still does not see this is no more than a partisan sheep without the mental capacity to think for themselves.Baaaahhhhh!
My big question is how do we expand this knowledge to "non-blogging"Canadians,as it is the traditional conveyers of information that are the problem?

Rick, don't rag on me for misspelling "Maclean's" -- not until you learn to spell a simple word like "wear". (It was late and I didn't feel like checking). And as for the Alberta Report, I didn't say it is (or was) "a venerable establishment magazine". I said it was right-wing. Which it was (is). I haven't seen the Standard, but I'll wager it's as right-wing as its predecessor. As for FoxNews, it's on my Canadian TV, and can be seen by gullible and/or retarded Canadians. Besides, it's always you conservatives who can't distinguish between the U.S. and Canada, so I think your objection to adding Fox is specious.

Christ, if you can't acknowledge the party organ of Bay Street as right wing, you must consider Ernst Zundel a moderate centrist!

The Globe and Mail, which publishes, or has published, Heather Mallick, Rick Salutin, John Ibbitson, Linda McQuaig - right wing? "The party organ of Bay St."?

Just the fact that you think Bay St. even has a single, dedicated organ anymore, or that the majority of business executives can be categorized as political or cultural conservatives, shows how outdated your fantasies are, 'R', as does sweeping categorizations about conservatives and the U.S.

As for the Report, you made it sound like it was some leading indicator of political opinion, and not what it really was - no offense to Albertans on this forum: the voice of a politically marginalized part of the country. As long as you still look at the world like a Monopoly game, peachfuzz, your arguments will always reek of the soapbox and the mimeographed pamphlet, 'R'.

And while we're at it - why the anonymous posting, truth warrior?

Of course, using words like "gullible" and "retarded" is in the fine ad hominem tradition that gives away the depth of your argument in fractions of a millimetre.

Rick, it wouldn't matter if the Globe and Mail were publishing columns by the channeled spirit of Leon Trotsky, it's still a right wing newspaper. Just because it publishes a scattered few center-leftist columnists does not change that. In fact, that's one of the strategies by which corporatist media portrays itself as "fair" -- by allowing a few safe and reliable opinion-meisters some latitude in the oped section while using the news to advance a representation of the status quo. It's story gathering, framing, and selection that does the trick, as you undoubtedly already know. A current example would be crime. Harper wants to waste millions on beefing up the Canadian prison industrial complex, so his conservobots in cabinet pass "get tough on crime" legislation, the oldest trick in the conservative "do nothing and make it look like something" bag of governance tricks. The media in the last week has been on an orgy of true crime stories, which gives the appearance of a nationwide crime wave. Before you try to marginalize me by accusing me of "conspiracy theory", think about the news over the last week and ask yourself if it could be a coincidence that the passage of the crime bill and the recent orgy of sensationalist true crime news coverage could possibly be a coincidence. I don't want to sound callous, but why should I give a fuck about some murder in Toronto all of a sudden? Why should I have every lurid detail recounted by the national media? I know neither the victim's family nor the accused. Stories like that ought to be purely local, unless editors think that there's a hype factor to be exploited. All it takes is a few overtly right wing editors to push the story and everybody else in the business stampedes to follow suit.

The reason for this is that the news media, especially TV news, is addicted to emotional hype as a substitute for reasoned discourse, just like you conservatives are. You can't frame an issue without the requisite outrage, macho bluster or, in your case, portraying yourselves as an oppressed minority. these emotions sell, and so in the profit-driven sectors of the media industry the conservative virus finds a fertile host. Try to report the left wing view and you've got to do icky hard things like look at the facts and engage people's intellects. Lazy journalists find it easier to regurgitate the hysteria and xenophobia upon which conservative politics thrives. That's also why you conservatives hate the CBC so much -- it IN THEORY has a marginally less chance of infection by the virus.

In case you hven't noticed, the current Prime Minister is a conservobot from Alberta. Therefore, I think it disingenuous to claim that the views expressed in the Alberta Report lack influence nationally.

As for ad hominems, just read some of the posts by the conservobots on this blog and pay me a nickel for every comparison to Hitler or Stalin. Over the dinner I'll be able to afford to buy us both I'll explain to you why your complaint against my colorful and vivid language is hypocritical.

As for my anonymity, what's that got to do with the substance of my arguments? If you don't want to (or can't) refute my arguments then don't. Otherwise, my real name is my business, and I have good reason to keep it to myself which I don't care to share with you.

Just ask Canadian Observer.

The only way to effectively refute R's arguments are for R to renew his drug prescription.

Blinded by her ideology, R has no clue. Yes, the MSM in Canada as a whole does little investigative journalism. It regurgitated what the Liberal party told it. R does not take into account that the Liberal party of Canada is a party on the left. Just because it is not left enough for R and her ilk does not mean it is still not left. The difference between a Trotsyite and a Marxist-Leninist is no difference for all but the ideologically blinded.
enough

'R'. - another personal-feelings-in-place-of-facts, retard. Welcome to the roach hotel. You're the roach.

"The oldest trick in the Conservative do nothing and make it look like something bag of governance tricks."

How does one even start with a comment like that? Are you not confusing the Conservatives who have been in government for a few months with the Liberals who were in government for 13 years?

"Why should I give a fuck about some murder in Toronto all of the sudden." Comment on national media coverage.

Well, apart from the obvious - calloused bitch - lets compare that to Harper's waistline, which was huge national news. Which do you think qualifies more as national news? And which do you think is obviously slanted?

"Try to report left wing views and you've got to do icky hard things like look at the facts and engage people's intellects."

You make me laugh. Name one fact that you put in your post. Remember, a fact not a feeling. And for more mental distress - name one left wing 'intellect' in Canada, who is able to engage anybody, let alone their intellect.

And finally, "If you don't want to (or can't) refute my arguments, then don't."

Your arguments? You haven't presented any. It's amazing that your brain knows enough to stay on auto-function in order for you to breath.

R's comment about not giving " a f**k about some murder in Toronto" is rather telling. Don't worry R, you don't sound callous at all, in fact you're probably quite concerned about something crucial like McDonalds exporting US culture!

Outrage? Bluster? Xenophobia? Hysteria? You have to be kidding, no one makes more use of those emotions than the Left. Layton, Parrish, Jennings, Martin et al come to mind. Think - healthcare, weaponization of space, American this & American that.

To convince a Leftist you have to do icky hard things like convince them the concept is too nuanced & intellectual for them to understand & they'll throw their full support behind. No one can march in lockstep like a Leftist.

You're absolutely laughable! Thanks for the amusement.

The Liberals are not left wing...they are shape shifters who can appear left wing at certain times and right wing at other times. Certain social policies promoted by the Liberals are left wing, but when it comes to money matters, trade and being pro-business, they behave more like right wingers.

A part of the MSM reflects Liberal values (CBC, Toronto Star) but you can't say that Canwest Global or The Sun aren't right wing. They are a large player in the MSM of Canada. There is no true "left wing" viewpoint in the MSM.

What anon and 'R' - who've never worked in a newsroom, as far as I can tell - are blithely happy to ignore is the fact that conservatives are scarce on the ground in the print media, and positively endangered in the broadcast media. A paper - the Canwest-owned Post - can have what's perceived as a conservative bias, but that's usually limited to a handful of op-ed columnists, perhaps the editor and chief and publisher; the rank and file of the reporters and editors will (and are - I'm speaking from experience, children) be liberal, in the generally accepted use of the term: in favour of punitive and redistributive tax and economic policies, reduced military funding and capabilities, no change to public healthcare (if pressed, they'll say that there's nothing wrong with the current system that more money won't fix), some sort of national day care system (don't press them for details - they just want to save money and time raising their kids, and this is the only thing that makes sense). They're also believers in some fuzzy version of nationalism that would like to see Quebec remain in the confederation at almost any cost, and whose jagged edge manifests itself as a knee-jerk anti-Americanism.

As such, they're not terribly different from the average civil service worker, and are a perfect support base for Liberal and occasionally NDP political initiatives. They're the people who really run the papers - they assign and write the stories, edit and fact-check them, and implement editorial policy in the manner that feels best for them. If you judge a newspaper by the people who work there, I doubt if there's a truly conservative paper anywhere in Canada.

hmmm...I smell a troll...

Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....

Bush is a small N nazi. He's facist and elitest. He's a meglomaniac.He white,uptight and outa sight. He's a tampon. He's a dictator that's for sure. He's admired by our own little Hitler,Harper.I hope he doesn't piss off China and Russia over Iran. These are big guns not Iraq.
Let sleeping giants sleep.

Check out wordy rappinghood, here...

Well, a little balance. I once took part on a regular local radio show on CBC called the "Business Panel" or something like that--I got them, on-air at least, to change it to "Business and Labour Panel." I represented a large federal public sector union at the time.

We ran about three or four times, and then I was dropped. I was told that this was due to "CBC renewal" and that the format was changing. And so it did--the other two panelists continued to get regular air time, their pro-business views now unimpeded by contrary opinion.

The CBC, like any other entity composed of human beings, is no monolith.

Well, a little balance. I once took part on a regular local radio show on CBC called the "Business Panel" or something like that--I got them, on-air at least, to change it to "Business and Labour Panel." I represented a large federal public sector union at the time.

We ran about three or four times, and then I was dropped. I was told that this was due to "CBC renewal" and that the format was changing. And so it did--the other two panelists continued to get regular air time, their pro-business views now unimpeded by contrary opinion.

The CBC, like any other entity composed of human beings, is no monolith.

All the major papers are right wing. The national Post all radio talk shows. Just here in Sask,980 CJME hosted by a former Tory MLA,CKCK 620 that once offered Devine free air time,The Leader Post.
New media tries to make you Tories look good but it's hard. You make yourselves look so bad. You have too many misguided fools in your party.
You give the media lots of ammo. Canada was just asked this week not to be chair persons of KYoto Accord. We're too pro American and not independant. They want us off the committee. You do it all the time. Keep kiss assing the states and you'll see what you'll get. A shitty taste in your mouths.That's all. You're a joke party who are destined to be remembered as a ship of fools.