Aspers and Harper, A Toried Love
Ties that bind CanWest to the Conservatives.
Stephen Harper and Leonard Asper: Mutually assured ambition
[Editor's note: This is the first of four excerpts from Marc Edge's new book Asper Nation: Canada's Most Dangerous Media Company.]
Its final report on the news media in Canada was not released by the Standing Senate Committee on Transportation and Communications until June of 2006. It had been more than three years since the study was conceived. It had been disbanded twice while Parliament was dissolved for federal elections. In the end, the Senate report was released by a new committee chair, Lise Bacon, as the term of Senator Joan Fraser had expired. The political landscape onto which the report landed had also been radically altered by the federal election earlier that year.
After more than a dozen years of Liberal rule, a minority Conservative government came to power that February under Stephen Harper. A deregulationist regime in Ottawa meant that any prescription the senators might have had for legislative reform of Canada's news media ownership had little hope of being adopted. Perhaps that was why they proposed such modest measures to curb the growing power of Canada's media giants.
The likelihood of any limits on media ownership being enacted by the new ruling party in Ottawa also grew scant for another reason. The Asper heirs had moved almost as close to the Conservatives as their father had been to the Liberal party.
One senior editor at Global Television even ran in the 2006 election as a Conservative candidate in Toronto with Asper blessing. A new chairman of CanWest's corporate board came directly from Tory ranks and aligned the Aspers uncomfortably close for some with the new party in power. A CanWest executive was discovered helping to fundraise for the Conservative cabinet minister in charge of broadcasting. Parliament Hill reporters for CanWest News proved more co-operative than most with the media management tactics of the new Tory government.
Then, in early 2007, CanWest expanded its communication empire by another quantum leap amid protests over increased ownership concentration. The acquisition also flouted Canada's foreign ownership limits, which the Aspers had long opposed.
A revelation made during the 2004 election campaign should have set off alarm bells that a political sea change was under way with a new generation of Aspers. CanWest's corporate helicopter had been used to ferry a harried Harper above Toronto traffic on his way to an appearance in Hamilton. As Toronto Star media columnist Antonia Zerbisias noted, the favor was business as usual for broadcasters. Both CanWest and CTV contributed generously to the campaign funds of both the Liberal and Conservative parties, she pointed out. "Perhaps it's not so surprising that some very controversial media issues are not being discussed during this campaign."
Power of the press
The political problem of media regulation had been identified more than three decades earlier by Keith Davey, the first senator in Canada to take on Big Media. He became concerned in the late 1960s about increased control of Canada's press by large newspaper chains like Southam, Thomson, and FP Publications. Davey first considered Parliament the appropriate body to conduct an inquiry into press concentration. He soon realized, however, that appointed senators would be better insulated from editorial pressure brought by publishers. His concerns were confirmed, Davey noted, by the easy passage through an elected U.S. Senate of the Newspaper Preservation Act in 1969. The NPA exempted from U.S. anti-trust laws dozens of newspapers that had been illegally sharing production facilities, fixing advertising rates, and pooling profits in arrangements similar to Vancouver's Pacific Press.
President Richard Nixon's flip-flop on the issue, according to Davey, justified his concern. "Politicians looking to re-election," he noted, "must depend substantially upon the mass media in the very real world of practical politics." Nixon was re-elected with the highest modern level of newspaper endorsements despite his government's unprecedented press censorship in the Pentagon Papers case and a simmering Watergate scandal.
Davey struck a Special Senate Subcommittee on Mass Media that forced media companies to open their books. It described what it found as "astonishing." Media owners were making enormous profits, Davey's committee found. More delicious was the secrecy surrounding their financial success. "An industry that is supposed to abhor secrets is sitting on one of the best-kept, least-discussed secrets, one of the hottest scoops, in the entire field of Canadian business -- their own balance sheets." From 1958 to 1967, before-tax profits at Canadian newspapers ranged from 23.4 percent to 30.5 percent. After taxes, they were 12.3-17.5 percent, compared to 9.2-10.4 percent in other manufacturing and retailing industries. "Owning a newspaper, in other words, can be almost twice as profitable as owning a paper-box factory or a department store," observed the senators.
Davey's committee proposed several steps to remedy the problem of media concentration. A Press Ownership Review Board would have had the power to block newspaper sales or mergers that increased concentration. A system of subsidies would have encouraged the founding of alternative publications. Despite generating considerable debate for a number of years, however, neither proposal was enacted. It was disappointing for senators who had hoped to stem the tide of ownership concentration before economic forces overtook the media irreversibly. "We had to conclude that we have in this country not the press we need, but rather the press we deserve," Davey recalled in his memoirs. "The sad fact is that the media must self-regulate because most Canadians are not prepared to demand the press they need."
Conservative coziness
David Asper endorsed the candidacy of Global executive Peter Kent, who had taken a leave of absence to run in the 2006 federal election for the Conservatives in Toronto. Kent made headlines during the campaign with allegations of media bias in favor of the Liberals, for which he urged journalism schools to monitor election news. When he failed to win a seat, Kent returned to CanWest Global as its deputy editor-in-chief in charge of current affairs coverage and documentary development.
Izzy Asper's sons were never as slavish in their support of the Liberals as their father had been. David Asper had even pointed out the "political diversity" within the family in 2001. "I happen to carry provincial and federal political party memberships which are not of the Liberal party," he told an audience in Calgary. "Not one of my critics cared, for example, to take note of my publicized endorsement of former Manitoba Conservative premier Gary Filmon." Asper noted that CanWest had spread its political contributions well beyond just the Liberals, following ideological rather than party lines. "We have provided significant financial support for both the Alliance federally and the Progressive Conservatives provincially," he said. "We are driven by policy ideas and innovation and not by some blind political loyalty."
As the 2006 federal election approached, David Asper dispelled any doubt that might have remained about his political leanings. At a campaign rally, he joined Harper onstage to endorse his candidacy. The open declaration of personal support for a politician was something new for media owners in Canada. "You have to wonder about the wisdom of Mr. Asper's endorsement of Mr. Harper," noted Christopher Dornan, director of Carleton University's journalism school. "Not from Mr. Asper's point of view, but from Mr. Harper's. Why invite accusations of having the press in your pocket?"
After the Conservatives came to power, the links between CanWest and the new ruling party became uncomfortably close for some. It was revealed that CanWest's vice-president of regulatory affairs, Charlotte Bell, helped organize a $250-a-plate dinner for Heritage Minister Bev Oda. A former CanWest executive, Oda's portfolio included responsibility for media. That August, CanWest named Derek Burney as its new chairman, finally filling the vacancy created by Izzy Asper's 2003 death. Burney had been Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney's chief of staff in the 1980s and later his ambassador to the U.S. It was his most recent position, however, that some felt made Burney a bit too close to the new government.
As head of Harper's transition team to power, they pointed out, Burney provided the perfect conduit for CanWest to the new ruling party in Ottawa. "There is no question that his extensive experience and connections within government are exceptionally valuable," noted Maclean's. The political coziness was questionable, however, due to CanWest's reliance on federal regulators for the profitability of its billion-dollar business. "It ties the media companies into an existing social network of decision-makers that affect policy and government regulation in Canada," noted Carleton communication professor Dwayne Winseck. For some critics of CanWest, Burney's appointment was going too far. "I don't think that people prominently associated with one political party are appropriate people to chair the board of a media company," said Russell Mills. "It doesn't create the right climate for journalists to work in."
Senate report on news media
The 2006 Senate report on news media stopped short of urging the breakup of Big Media by recommending that a ban on cross ownership be re-instituted. Instead it suggested the Competition Bureau review future news media mergers to prevent dominance by one owner in any market. It recommended automatic review above a certain concentration threshold, mentioning an audience share of 35 percent. It also proposed allowing the federal Cabinet to review any news media merger that government ministers considered questionable. Press freedom provisions in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the senators reasoned, should only go so far. "The media's right to be free from government interference does not extend . . . to a conclusion that proprietors should be allowed to own an excessive proportion of media holdings in a particular market, let alone the national market."
The inquiry had declined to do what the Davey committee had done when it made media companies open their books and disclose their profits. Instead, the 21st century senators relied on published numbers, from annual reports of newspaper companies and from CRTC data for broadcasters. They showed, however, that media companies were still extremely lucrative. Owning newspapers was even more profitable than in Davey's day. In 2005, earnings for the major newspaper chains varied from 17-24 percent, with CanWest coming in at 20.7 percent. Radio profits ranged from 18.5-22.7 percent between 1999 and 2003, while in television they were 13.6-18.6 percent.
Before 2006 ended, Oda issued a response to the Senate report that confirmed there would be no government action even on its mild recommendations. "The government recognizes," it read, "that convergence has become an essential business strategy for media organizations to stay competitive in a highly competitive and diverse marketplace." The response quickly rendered moot both the Senate report and the Lincoln committee recommendations on reforming broadcasting.
Senator Jim Munson expressed frustration with the government's response. "I am very disappointed that they would have this attitude," he said. "We feel [the report] gives some creative ideas on how we should monitor massive media concentration."
A union official was more pointed on why the Senate report got such a cold shoulder. "Big media is in the driver's seat of big politics," said Peter Murdoch of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada. "It's clear who the government is listening to. It's not just outrageous or appalling. It's scary." The only newspaper in Canada to even report Oda's response at the time was the Toronto Star. Its media critic Antonia Zerbisias noted the Heritage Minister's relationship with the broadcasting industry.
Last month, at a broadcasters' convention in Ottawa, Oda told her audience "I'm with you. I'm one of you." She also said she is "committed to more regulatory flexibility." Well, let me tell you, after covering this business for the better part of 17 years, I have learned that, when broadcasters talk about "flexibility," it's always Canadian artists, citizens, consumers who bend over.
Mutual back scratching
Another area of Asper family interest Oda oversaw was the government's relationship with the long-planned Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg. By 2006, the federal funding commitment to completing the project had grown to $100 million. The Winnipeg and Manitoba governments had pledged $20 million each to supplement $61 million raised from the private sector, including the Asper family. Gail Asper, who spearheaded the fundraising drive, asked Ottawa to also provide $12 million a year in operating expenses. The Liberals had balked at that while they were in power. After the Conservatives were elected, however, the Aspers found that their entreaties to the federal government received a more favorable hearing. By designating the museum a national institution, Oda was prepared to provide the $12 million annually. The sticking point was who would control the museum's operations, noted the Globe and Mail.
The tricky part of the public-private relationship is the question of who dominates the museum board (and therefore who determines such ticklish issues as how the "national" human-rights museum might treat, say, Palestinian rights). Clearly, the board would include Asper family representatives -- but would the government let them control it?
The mutual back-scratching also saw CanWest come to the prime minister's aid in a long-running dispute with the parliamentary press gallery. His election platform had included promises of more government openness, but instead Harper tightly restricted press access to himself and other ministers.
The strategy reminded some of the perception management tactics employed in the U.S. by the White House. In Ottawa, the prime minister's office announced Harper would only take questions at Parliament Hill press conferences from reporters who put their names on a list. He would call on selected reporters to ask questions instead of answering them as before from those lined up at microphones. Reporters boycotted the new rules because they claimed they would allow Harper to "cherry pick" favorite journalists and freeze out those who might ask tough questions.
The dispute went unresolved for months until the CanWest News Service broke ranks and obtained exclusive interviews with the prime minister for two of its reporters after agreeing to go on his list.
A global alliance
The new Conservative government's laissez-faire approach to the continuing consolidation of Canadian media opened the door for an expansion of CanWest. It was an opportunity the Aspers seized on in early 2007 despite being deeply in debt. The strategy they employed, however, flouted Canada's restrictions on foreign ownership of media. It also gambled control of the firm their father had built.
"They're betting the personal farm," offered one unnamed analyst when details of the Aspers' bold venture emerged. "It's a risky move."
It was an ingeniously-financed expansion. Alliance Atlantis was the largest production company in Canada, and one of the most successful in the world. It was a classic example of "vertical integration," not only producing content but also owning multiple avenues of distribution. It held CRTC licenses for thirteen specialty television channels, including Showcase and History Television, and it owned the movie distribution company Odeon Films. Alliance Atlantis also enjoyed a certified hit in the television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and its spin-off series, a billion-dollar franchise in partnership with CBS.
The value of Alliance Atlantis to CanWest Global was obvious, but its debt load left the firm unable to make a play for it alone. Alliance Atlantis had been put on the market in late 2006 by its controlling shareholders, and several contenders lined up to bid. Included were Rogers, Quebecor, Montreal-based Astral Media, and the Shaw family's Corus Entertainment. CanWest was considered a long shot suitor due to its debt burden. It was able to work out an ingenious partnership, however, with New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs. Their winning bid for Alliance Atlantis was $2.3 billion. In an innovative arrangement, CanWest contributed only $262 million in return for a 36-percent stake in a new subsidiary that would own the specialty channels. Goldman Sachs took the CSI franchise, the Odeon division, and the rest of the new specialty channel company.
The twist came in a deal to merge that company with Global's television holdings, including its specialty channels and the CH network, in 2011. Its final division of ownership would depend on the relative earnings of each component at that time. Global was forecast to earn $57 million in 2007, compared to $151 million for the Alliance Atlantis specialty channels. At those revenue levels, CanWest Global would account for 53.5 percent ($57 million + 36% of $151 million = $111.4 million) of the combined revenues of $208 million. The prospect thus loomed of the Aspers being minority owners in 2011. "The risk is really just performance," said Leonard Asper. "We've put it all on our own shoulders to perform."
The financial peril CanWest faced with the clock ticking toward 2011 was significant in the minds of some. The 33-percent profit margin that Global's television operations had enjoyed in their heyday of 2001 had dwindled to a mere 5 percent in 2006. With three hit shows in the fall of 2006, however, Global's financial fortunes blipped upward. Revenues increased by 11 percent in the first quarter of the company's 2006-07 fiscal year and earnings rose 30 percent. The improvement was cause for optimism that CanWest would ultimately emerge as majority owner of its new Global Alliance, according to Leonard Asper. Even if it didn't, he claimed CanWest would still be ahead of the game. "Whether it's 45 per cent or 55 per cent, we're still going to have a stronger net asset value, even on a present value basis, than we have today."
Their bold move to expand against all odds left the Asper heirs more dependent than ever on federal regulators. Their innovative acquisition of Alliance Atlantis would first need the blessing of the CRTC. Their Global television operations would then need every advantage they could get from Ottawa to keep them mostly Canadian. The bridges they had been building to the new Conservative government would thus be more important than ever to CanWest. That in turn suggested mutual admiration would continue to be expressed between the federal government and Canada's largest news media company. Whether the result would be the news coverage Canadians needed seemed less likely than Davey's prediction it would be the press they deserved for failing to demand better.
On Friday: The roots and rise of Israel Asper, founder of CanWest Global. ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
zalm
13-11-2007
More dirt! More dirt!
It was hard giving up the paper at first, but after near-continuous disappointment since 2000, I've gotten quite used to it. Haven't read a Canwaste daily rag since 2005. Still catch the Vancouver Courier now and again, when someone deigns to deliver it to my door, which isn't very often.
TV's been easy to avoid - it's been such a wasteland that I gave it up around the same time, and finally even my completely non-political-and-to-be-perfectly-honest-somewhat-pollyannish wife gave up on Bill and Pamela a few months ago. Even she couldn't stomach the crud that Leonard Asper makes them say.
CKNW's been a little bit harder to give up on. When stripping paint on the house or building a project in the shop, sometimes I'll still turn it for an hour or so - whatever it takes to get completely disillusioned with the manipulation of the issues that Bill and Christy and our very own Chuckie-doll Adler (that complete racist PSYCHO!) perpetrate on a willing gang of balding middle-aged guys of a certain political persuasion.... especially since they got rid of their resident comedian Michael Smyth (7-9pm).
So, with rather more pleasure, I give you the west-coast summary of Edge's book, which you should still read anyway, for the details.
http://sundaymag.ca/index.php?id=237
Who'd have thought that refugees from collectivist repression would learn the lesson so well as to apply it here in the country that gave them home? Isn't there any way of giving the Aspers knighthoods or lordships or something - anything - to get them to drop their Canadian citizenship and lose their papers?
darcy.mcgee
13-11-2007
Umm...one small problem
Isn't it natural for big business to latch onto the winning team?
Izzy was a Liberal on principal, which was one of the things I liked about him.
His kids are just snakes, going after the easiest prey. Nothing more. What they're doing is entirely natural.
Until we build a different culture of business...as different culture of success, why would you expect anything else?
Jeffrey J.
13-11-2007
Marc Edge is Back
I was pleased as punch to see Marc Edge's name on my daily reading of the Tyee this morning. I have his earlier book "Pacific Press" on my shelf and I recommend it to anyone who wants to keep abreast of BC's previous media monopolies. Boycotting current media monopolies like CanWestGlobal is obviously catching on. Their subscription rates are dropping like a stone. Turning off our TV five years ago remains one of the single most coherent decisions we've ever made.
The good news about Canadian and American citizens is that many, many people hunger for real news, real content, real discussions. Which you won't find in these inflated, self serving "infotainment" monopolies which are mostly focused on entertainmnet and ideology. Neither of which are particularly interesting to many citizens. I can't WAIT for Marc's latest book to come out. First on my list. Keep up the great work.
ubiquitous
13-11-2007
speaking of ideology
anyone else catch the vancouver sun's latest attempt to skewer teachers due to the inappropriate actions of 3 or 4?
Working Man
13-11-2007
More Blame?
Of course, the Tyee is also aligned with a particular political movement (perennially the losing team), ergo the fact it did not even report the fall of the government in Saskatchewan. What gives?
Izzy Asper was about as Liberal as anybody can get. Leonard is simply attaching himself to what he sees as the leading horse. We can't forget that the main reason that newspapers exist is to sell copies of said paper and the advertising that is in them. They know their demographic (mostly white and over 45) votes conservative so that is who they target their copy at.
Van Isle
13-11-2007
It's surprising, who reads
It's surprising, who reads the mass-media pulp nowadays? Of all the people my age that I know only have contempt for the mass-media. Most get their information thru the computer or watch programs like Frontline. I was talking to a wife of retired lawyer last week who listens to the Bill Good program occassionally while puttering around the house and made the comment that "Bill isn't too bright, is he?"
murdock
13-11-2007
The Real News
Here is another source Jeffrey J.
The REAL NEWS
Like a TV newscast without the stupid frills with information and informed opinion and content that is like a breath of fresh air after confinement in a hot room.
G West
13-11-2007
Oh Baloney working man
This is your constant refrain:
I think it's BS. As for covering Saskatchewan provincial politics or Ontario, Alberta and the other provinces...excluding Quebec...the Tyee has never made much of what's going on anywhere else except as it impinges on BC.
The NDP loss, after 16 years in power, in Saskatchewan, WAS duly noted on these pages. You need to pay a lot more attention...either that or stop making silly noises that don't reflect the facts.
Working Memory
13-11-2007
Shift gears IAMC
If you're tired of talking about it here on The Tyee, do something about it.
Go online and create something original. It can be a blog, YouTube series, etc.
Write a book.
Pick a topic, set a goal of three months and work towards attracting attention to the cause you think is important.
At the end of three months decide whether you are on track, and move forward based on what you've accomplished and where you want to go.
One suggestion though, if you want to have impact, pick a topic you have passion for and one that will attract wide interest.
The changing face of news media is pretty hot right now, and so is the 2010 Olympics.
Run with it ...
GJW
13-11-2007
Maybe it's in the book
One thing to remember is that business in Canada is different from the U.S. In a lot of ways we've never gotten over the models set centuries ago by the Family Compact and the Hudson Bay Company.
Business grows and expands and takes over other businesses. That's just the nature of the free market. This happens all the time in the U.S. but the difference is that there's still competition in the US among the big players, who are buying and selling and splitting and merging all the time, so bigger is not always better. Small businesses – and news outlets – can still do well and be profitable covering a small field.
In Canada, the name of the game is to become the biggest and buy everyone else out. This approach applies to media companies, too. Small does not usually survive – it either dies out, or gets bought out. The name of the game is to be big, and to use your bulk throw your weight around. By those rules, I guess the Aspers win.
They're not all that different from Hearst.
Working Memory
13-11-2007
Theory of Chaos
Mr. Edge, your book assembles a confluence of information that pushes mainstream news media another step closer to the "edge" of implosion.
When energy is bifurcated along parallel lines into a chaotic state of momentum it takes very little to push the model into the next paradigm.
For example, it takes very little energy to turn water to steam once you've raised the temperature of water to one degree less than boiling point.
The news media pendulum swings far left, then far right, but when it reaches absolute center where energy changes direction, a precarious level of confusion occurs.
Fractals at first look chaotic and without order, but in fact the exact opposite is true if you look closely.
What slight tap will it take to push this old news media model over the edge into the next realm?
I'm betting that any news topic that can sustain public attention for a short span, and one that impacts people socially and financially daily, and that they can easily understand without serious study or personal investment, will do the trick.
In our Vancouver region, events like the 2010 Olympics and how mainstream news media influence the pendulum create the chaos needed to push the news model over the edge.
Thank you Mr. Edge. Your new book makes my job easier.
zalm
13-11-2007
Sorry Working Man
...new metaphor needed. It takes nearly five times as much energy to turn water at the boiling point into steam as it does to raise the temperature of the water from freezing to boiling. Based on a pound of water/steam, it takes 1 Btu for every degree F increase, or 180 Btus to raise water from freezing to boiling, but 970 Btus to convert that boiling water into steam.
How about pushing on two pencils pointed at each other? Nudge them out of line, and you end up with broken knuckles? Might be a decent metaphor for ink-stained scriveners...
Capitalism
13-11-2007
Same old!
Here goes. I've frequented this site far less over the past six months. In fact, I wouldn't even say I frequent it anymore. I seldomly pop in hoping to see some sort of original thought. I certainly haven't found it on this thread.
Is Canwest MSM? Yes. It is what it is. I believe for the most part, we see independent journalism. Though, it has a pro-business slant which is obvious - we are a pro-business society. People in BC and most of Canada believe in commerce and capitalism.
People have heard the tired old olympic/union/poverty debates that are continually pushed on this site. You only need to hear it once. For the most part, people don't agree.
Canwest is merely giving its customers what it wants. As for the subscription comment somewhere above...This has more to do with the digital revolution than anything else. Print media is dying a slow death.
Working Memory
13-11-2007
zalm
First, it's working memory, not working man, and my point was that the news industry is barely one degree from boiling, which means with just a bit of a nudge it will turn to steam, ... but I do like your pencil metaphor too.
Working Memory
13-11-2007
Capitalism
I appreciate your frustration, but when you wrote, "Canwest is merely giving its customers what it wants" you underscore why we have to keep putting pressure on them.
News media is not supposed to give us what we want. It's why too many Vancouverites are complacent respective of global vision.
Surely you can't be happy living in this void, oblivious to what the rest of the world is doing or thinking. Contrary to what local msm preaches, insularity is not an attribute, it's an anchor.
Legally, ethically, and morally, news media is supposed to tell us what we need to hear, not what we want to hear.
If what you say is true, then CanWest must quit referring to themselves as a newspaper and call themselves an advertising brochure.
Why would you want to give in so easily, especially at a time when you have so much power to make a change that would better society?
You're a millimeter away from watching historical transformation, but you choose to close your eyes.
At the very least offer a good argument other than to say "I'm bored."
What exactly do you expect if you don't personally act on the stories and comments made here? When was the last time in casual conversation that you corrected someone when they put too much faith in msm, or when they told you how excited they were to volunteer for 2010? Do you bring them up to speed or simply go along for the ride?
The challenge is that many of the ills suffered in society are tied directly to mainstream news media. If it weren't for mainstream news media allowing themselves to be a conduit to big business and politicians we wouldn't be in such a mess. How do you think George W Bush got his alarmist message out to millions of scared Americans? Osmosis? A newsletter?
Granted, smarter people like you are less influenced, but the point is that the less sophisticated aren't capable of making good choices when all they have is msm on which to base their decisions.
Naive people vote too.
Don't complain when they vote for a leader that drinks a drives - twice.
dorothy
13-11-2007
What who wants?
"News media is not supposed to give us what we want. It's why too many Vancouverites are complacent respective of global vision."
But, but, that's not what the man said. He said
"Canwest is merely giving its customers what it wants..."
AM I mistaken in thinkig I see the ghost of one of those 'original thoughts' here? Please don't tell me I must retreat to my cavern of dark depression again, with nothing to chew on and rejoice in!
Frank
13-11-2007
Mabel Lake
Cap, how is it that you only need to hear about poverty once but you need to hear about business and capitalism every day?
Some of us think it should be the other way around eh.
Stump
13-11-2007
words to work by
The old saying re: journalism's aim no longer rings true very much anymore.
"Comfort the afflicted. Afflict the comfortable."
Birch
13-11-2007
Friday
"Just the facts, Ma'am, just the facts. The opinions I can work out for myself."
Who'da thunk early American tv could get it so right? And how can the Aspers get it so wrong?
The brain
13-11-2007
Marc truly has the "Edge"
Nothing spells out the need to break up media concentration moreso, than what this exerpt has to say, and essentially, its this. In a world where you don't bite the hand that feeds you, you simply don't bite the hand that feeds you. Harper and the Aspers simply need each other for survival right now... thats made plain in Marcs excerpt.
What is not made so plain (mind you, this is only an excerpt), is what the U.S. means for Israels own survival, and what Republican/corporate U.S. wants from Canada... which is to own it, and surprisingly enough, the U.S. doesn't own it all... yet. The U.S. needs a Canadian government that is desperate enough or dumb enough or greedy enough (all one and the same) to deregulate our economic sectors to facilitate the sale of Canada's resources as consumers, not just commodities.
Enter the corporate lobbiest Stephen Harper, 'cause thats exactly what he is. Nothing more, nothing less. No genius here, but rather, a brainwashed ideologue that might seriously believe Canada is just another U.S. state. Harper doesn't speak on behalf of the average Canadian, but rather, U.S. born multinationals who want to own and run us and the quicker this nation wakes up to it, the better off this nation and this world will be.
Broadcasting? Deregulated. Wheatboard? CBC? Medicare? Gone. Insurance? Banks? Foreign owned by guess who. Increases in Defense spending? Its what corporate america/shareholders want. Thats where its all going with Harper. And while they are at it, threaten to get rid of the senate that leads to getting them elected. Easier to control for the likes of all corporations, like Can West media... and oil, insurance, HMO's, manufacturing... you name it... and harder for a government to centralize again. Nothing is safe with Harper's distaste for the Canadian way. It really is corporate america first with him and its not surprising that the average person doesn't know this, knowing who the majority shareholders are of Can West.
Wise is the saying, "You'll know them by their works."
And the media does have that much to play in this. Without facts, the voters can't accurately make the right choices for what is best for Canada and the world... which is why we so badly need media competition in a free democracy. Without it, serious issues can and often are avoided, while mild issues become election issues. From there... its not the best government, but the best run campaign with media backing that wins. This exerpt really impressed me and I can't think of a better solution to impliment at any time, than this one proposed.
Capitalism
14-11-2007
Frank
Business feeds all of our families. Economic issues are incredibly complex. To some extent, you are right. Though, I don't necessarily believe that business issues are front and center. In fact, they are typically relegated to one section of the newspaper. Businessmen have resources to draw upon (Financial Post and various publications/websites) - but I'd hardly say the issues I am interested in are front and centre.
Personally, I recognize things for what they are. I haven't read the NEWS in any CanWest Paper, other than the odd article in the Vancouver Sun, for years.
I have a couple of sites I come to, this being one, though I've come less and less because I'm tired of hearing the same old issues. I'm actually tired of the lack of solutions and ideas proposed. Global Warming is a great example. We all know it is a problem. Yet, I rarely read a productive essay on the issue from this site. However, my business sites, propose all sorts of novel ideas. Mind you, they are typically profit oriented.
The media is what it is. It is made up of people. People are biased. From what I've seen, I don't believe CanWest is incredibly out of touch with the mainstream. I do think the Tyee is. I haven't seen any glaring evidence of an agence, however who knows, maybe we're being sent subliminal messages...
Thankfully, new forms of media are emerging - all full of biases. This place is about as biased as they come. The danger is that people will choose to read what they want to read and dilute themselves further. Fun times ahead.
Stump
14-11-2007
disinformation
It would be easier to discuss solutions and ideas if so much time and energy didn't need to be spent correcting and countering the disinformation that is spread by the posters displaying a "right-wing" bias.
Lead, follow, or get out of the way, but don't whinge about the lack of productive debate when you are among those perpetuating outdated and disproven philosophies and solutions.
ubiquitous
14-11-2007
cappy
I would argue, Capitalism, that the tyee discussion forum is not about generating new ideas but a place to discuss the ideas put forth in their articles. Nevertheless, you haven't been paying attention, the tyee offers many suggestions and ideas to go along with its critisms of the mainstream. That you can't see that is troubling but I presume that if the ideas presented do not offer a reasonable return on investment, it's passed over as the same ol' same ol' from the tyee. Where it gets tiring here is when the debate turns sour, typically as a result of a ron erwin or elliot stir shite up post.
Working Memory
14-11-2007
CanWest is Mainstream?
Quote:
"I don't believe CanWest is incredibly out of touch with the mainstream. I do think the Tyee is."
I actually can't argue with that statement Cap, because that is the point.
CanWest has a stranglehold on the mainstream (what's left of it anyway), while The Tyee is trying to serve an alternative viewpoint.
Like you, I've also suggested in other threads here that capitalism (not you Cap) generates bias for everyone.
Mainstream news is primarily interested in serving large companies, which leaves the smaller companies and their employees out in the cold.
Each time the market becomes fractured mainstream news companies lose their foothold.
What's wrong with giving the owner of a small or midsize company a bigger voice?
Considering that 98% of the businesses in BC are small or midsize, most of us here, if not retired, probably own or work for one, which means it also gives you a bigger voice.
I don't see the downside.
Capitalism
14-11-2007
Working Memory
You are right! Like I said, I don't read the garbage on CanWest. I actually agree with Mr. West though I do so from a different spectrum.
I come here for perspective and I believe that we are starting to see alternative forms of media which do share different viewpoints.
I believe that many of you are right. Capitalism, especially in the States, has outdone itself. Too many corporate fat cats, too many paper pushers, too many people doing nothing of any real value. I've travelled throughout the States and seen it first hand. Something has to give.
I don't think we're as bad here in Canada. We still know how to make, mine and refine things. Though, we have to do a better job of commoditizing our raw materials. We need to refine our crude and process our gas - here in Canada. Right now, we just ship raw commodities to the U.S. We need to mill our own products here - though we have major union problems in BC. It is not cost effective to mill in Canada. Not because we can't but we have too many employees that demand too much. We need to invest in technology at the expense of labour. Otherwise, we'll lose all of our productive capacity. We need to start over to remain competitive.
The U.S. is little more than a shell game. You're right G West. You have to see it to believe it. I've seen it while Garth just spits rhetoric. Stuff I'm sure he's read in other blogs.
Times are changing and we need to be on the cutting edge. Lower taxes and lower spending provides us will more economic flexibility.
Antonia Zerbisias
14-11-2007
Nicely done
Thanks for the freebie book Marc. I was pleased to see my media research and blog live on.
Just one thing about this excerpt.
The following part should have been italicized, or at least in quotes. That last sentence is one of my best lines ever!
Last month, at a broadcasters' convention in Ottawa, Oda told her audience "I'm with you. I'm one of you." She also said she is "committed to more regulatory flexibility." Well, let me tell you, after covering this business for the better part of 17 years, I have learned that, when broadcasters talk about "flexibility," it's always Canadian artists, citizens, consumers who bend over.
Congratulations nonetheless.
James Burns
14-11-2007
lost cause
These days, I tend not to comment much on articles related to Canadian media. I've considered the so-called mainstream media in Canada and the US an utter lost cause since the build-up and launching of the Iraq war. The only solution in my mind are exceptionally harsh antitrust measures that will dissolve and the oligopoly currently in control of much of western mainstream media, especially here in North America.
The affects of corporatization on news and entertainment media has been a clear descent into fascism with all it's kitsch ("reality" TV, celebrity obsession), and all it's horror. Particularly in its unending excusing of the slaughter of countless innocent civilian in the Middle East, and anywhere western corporate interests are being enforced. I often wonder how any journalist of conscience can possibly work to support such bare faced corruption and injustice. It continually boggles my mind.
But there is one thing that amazes me more. The simple fact that those who have suffered most at our hands are still willing treat us as human beings.