Media Bias [Merged]

[vonGarvin]

Money missing ... Harper stole it!

And read the title of the book.  He's an ogre.

 

[Rifleman62]

The always fair and balanced, ethical CBC has this headline. Any resemblance to the actual article or the truth? The CBC knows that this PM ALWAYS pays his own way.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2012/04/13/harper-baseball-trip.html

Harper's baseball trip hit taxpayers with $45,000 tab
By Louise Elliott, CBC News Apr 14, 2012

A blower's response:

http://paulsrants-paulsstuff.blogspot.com/2012/04/will-james-moore-once-again-defend-cbc.html

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Will James Moore Once Again Defend The CBC Over This Crap?

A perfect example of why the cuts to CBC were far short of where they need to be. In what no one could say is not a partisan attack against the PM, CBC gives Canadians a glimpse of paid top-dollar journalism for tabloid worthy news headlines.

In fact, the CBC itself outs itself only two paragraphs after the first, which includes this gem:

"Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Labour Day-weekend trip to Manhattan last fall, which included coveted tickets to a New York Yankees game and a Broadway show, cost Canadian taxpayers at least $45,000, documents reveal."

And if anyone took the time to read the entire story, they come to this:

"A spokesperson for the prime minister told CBC News that Harper covered the cost of both the flight and accommodations for himself, his daughter and two guests on the flight. He also covered the costs of tickets to the game for himself and his guests.

"Prime Minister Harper makes it a practice of reimbursing the government for personal travel," spokesperson Julie Vaux wrote in an email. "As the prime minister is prohibited from flying commercial for security reasons, he also compensates the government for the cost of an equivalent commercial flight. In this case, he compensated for the flight for himself, his daughter, and guests at the cost of a commercial fare for each."

It's time once again for everyone to start sending complaints to the CBC ombudsman, as well as James Moore, telling him this type of trash journalism should not be paid for by the Canadian taxpayer.

 

[Scott]

Letter sent.

Re: the above tripe, vote compasses, spurious polls.

 

[jollyjacktar]

Me too, letter to the ombudsman of the CBC.  Thanks for the inspiration, Scott.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Not CBC, not bias, but journalistic stupidity of the highest order is reported in this artcle which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail:

My emphasis added
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/no-plans-for-thomas-mulcair-to-shave-his-beard/article2402968/

No plans for Thomas Mulcair to shave his beard

ANNE MCILROY

Globe and Mail Update
Published Sunday, Apr. 15, 2012

Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair is putting together his shadow cabinet this week, and says it will include people who campaigned against him in the recent leadership campaign.

“The people who have been involved in this race, all tremendous colleagues, are going to be given prime roles because they represent the best we have to offer,” the leader of the federal New Democrats said in an interview on the CTV program Question Period.

The interview got personal when host Craig Oliver asked Mr. Mulcair if he is planning to shave his beard, since it is rare for a national political leader to wear one.

Mr. Mulcair said he has no intention of shaving his off.

“I have been told I will be the first Canadian prime minister since 1896 with a beard if things go as we hope...” he said.

He said he has been wearing a beard since he was an 18-year-old law student at McGill University in Montreal.

“I grew whatever facial I could to try and make myself look older.”

This is an interview on a national political/public affairs programme - it airs in the same Sunday morning serious time slot as e.g. "Meet The Press" and "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - and the guest is the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, the prime minister in f'ing waiting, and numbnuts asks about his goddamn beard! Craig Oliver is both a fool and a waste of bandwidth. Who in their right minds gives a rat's ass about Mr Mulcair's facial hair? Does Oliver think other Canadians are as shallow and stupid as he is? He, Oliver, had precious, expensive seconds to ask Mulcair real, hard political questions but he's a TV journalist and this is Canada so we get juvenile bullshit.

 

[cupper]

Not CBC, not bias, but journalistic stupidity of the highest order is reported in this artcle which is reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions of the Copyright Act from the Globe and Mail:

My emphasis added
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/no-plans-for-thomas-mulcair-to-shave-his-beard/article2402968/
Quote
No plans for Thomas Mulcair to shave his beard

ANNE MCILROY

Globe and Mail Update
Published Sunday, Apr. 15, 2012

Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair is putting together his shadow cabinet this week, and says it will include people who campaigned against him in the recent leadership campaign.

“The people who have been involved in this race, all tremendous colleagues, are going to be given prime roles because they represent the best we have to offer,” the leader of the federal New Democrats said in an interview on the CTV program Question Period.

The interview got personal when host Craig Oliver asked Mr. Mulcair if he is planning to shave his beard, since it is rare for a national political leader to wear one.

Mr. Mulcair said he has no intention of shaving his off.

“I have been told I will be the first Canadian prime minister since 1896 with a beard if things go as we hope...” he said.

He said he has been wearing a beard since he was an 18-year-old law student at McGill University in Montreal.

“I grew whatever facial I could to try and make myself look older.”


This is an interview on a national political/public affairs programme - it airs in the same Sunday morning serious time slot as e.g. "Meet The Press" and "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - and the guest is the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, the prime minister in f'ing waiting, and numbnuts asks about his goddamn beard! Craig Oliver is both a fool and a waste of bandwidth. Who in their right minds gives a rat's ass about Mr Mulcair's facial hair? Does Oliver think other Canadians are as shallow and stupid as he is? He, Oliver, had precious, expensive seconds to ask Mulcair real, hard political questions but he's a TV journalist and this is Canada so we get juvenile bullshit.

Seriously?  :facepalm:

Now I really am offended by the implications of having formed opinions based on CBC info.

 

[vonGarvin]

Who in their right minds gives a rat's ass about Mr Mulcair's facial hair?

  Other than Mr. Mulcair, and maybe his wife, probably nobody.

Does Oliver think other Canadians are as shallow and stupid as he is?

I believe that Canadians, generally, are both shallow and stupid.  Any browsing of pop culture and what passes as rational thought at all levels ought to be an indicator of that.

He, Oliver, had precious, expensive seconds to ask Mulcair real, hard political questions but he's a TV journalist and this is Canada so we get juvenile bullshit.

Agreed.

 

[jollyjacktar]

I believe that Canadians, generally, are both shallow and stupid.  Any browsing of pop culture and what passes as rational thought at all levels ought to be an indicator of that.

Boy, are you a master of understatement or what.

 

[a_majoor]

When the insides are saying this, you know the CBC is beyond redemption. Kill it with cleansing fire....

http://www.ottawasun.com/2012/04/19/broadcast-blues

Former CBC executive battles with status-quo elites in tell-all book that’s a must-read

BY BRIAN LILLEY ,PARLIAMENTARY BUREAU
FIRST POSTED: THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 08:44 PM EDT | UPDATED: THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 2012 08:51 PM EDT

CBC is a left wing, anti-business, Toronto-centric broadcaster that doesn’t care about producing shows Canadians actually want to watch.

That’s not my verdict — although I may agree with it. That’s the assessment of Richard Stursberg, the former head of English services for both CBC television and radio. Stursberg has just released a tell-all book about his six years at the top of the CBC food chain and it doesn’t always paint a pretty picture.

The Tower of Babble: Sins, Secrets and Successes Inside the CBC (Douglas & McIntyre) details what happened when he tried to take CBC from their lowest ratings ever to new heights. From the beginning Stursberg asked questions at the state broadcaster that would make the establishment uncomfortable.

“Is the CBC there to serve the chatterati, the cultural elites — or the public at large?” he asked while being recruited for the top job by then-CBC president Robert Rabinovitch. “Is it supposed to make art-house fare or Canadian entertainment shows that Canadians might actually find entertaining?”

While Stursberg felt CBC should make Canadian programs that Canadians might actually want to watch, that was not a view shared by many who oversaw the operation.

“The CBC’s Constituency of the good and the great was what determined its direction,” Stursberg writes in Tower of Babble, which will be published April 21. “The board was drawn from its members. The presidents had historically come from the same group. The Constituency determined the budgets and the size of the public subsidy. They all moved in the same circles, and they all agreed that the CBC brand should be sober and a little dull. It should be like them.”

One thing made clear to Stursberg was that CBC should not be involved in making Canadian sitcoms, reality shows or the sorts of American-style programs watched by millions in this country.

To be clear, Tower of Babble is just one side of the tale of Stursberg’s time at the top, but it is fascinating nonetheless. He made enemies of people who felt CBC should make the “art-house fare” that no one would watch and bask in their own superiority.

Nowhere was change resisted as much as the news department. Once upon a time, and it was a long time ago, CBC’s The National had been the dominant television newscast in Canada. Now it was third in a three-horse race and showed no signs of improving. Suggestions they should improve were met with contempt. Stursberg writes that the news department — Fort News, he calls it — felt it was above everyone else.

“It regarded itself as a law unto itself, independent not just of the government of the day but of the CBC board, the president and the head of English television.”

Once, after suggesting that he might work within the news department occasionally or listen in on department conference calls, the head of news, Tony Burman, blew a gasket and said any attempt by Stursberg to get to know the news department would be seen as an attempt to intimidate the journalists.

“I never go to those meetings myself,” Burman told Stursberg.

Despite all his fights, Stursberg would improve CBC’s lot and that would be the reason for his departure. Success at the state broadcaster, it seems, comes from receiving the correct approval over a glass of Pinot Noir at a cocktail party, not from having more Canadians actually watch what you produce.

He had increased CBC’s average-minute audience by 52% from a total of 215,000 in 2004 to 328,000 by 2010. Total audience share was up 34%. Success like that in the private sector would be rewarded; an executive with that record would be prized. Stursberg was fired in August 2010.

Tower of Babble may be highly critical of the CBC and what Stursberg sees as the organization’s flaws, but he also displays a deep love for the state broadcaster. This book, though, is a must-read for those who love the CBC and those who hate it.

Few people could write this kind of book and so far, in recent times, only Stursberg has.

 

[GAP]

CBC demands more money while refusing to release key information
By Brian Lilley, Parliamentary Bureau
Article Link

OTTAWA - CBC wants more money from Canadians to pay for local services but isn't willing to say exactly what that money will buy.

Last week CBC appeared before the CRTC, Canada's broadcast regulator, arguing in favour of keeping a pool of money called the Local Programming Improvement Fund available to television station owners. The fund was set up a few years ago to offset the loss in ad revenue caused by the worldwide economic collapse in 2008.

Facing hard times, broadcasters turned to their MPs and pushed for a new source of money, which led to the creation of the fund. CBC's slice of the pie, paid for by a levy on Canadian cable and satellite companies, is $40 million.

But while the state broadcaster says it needs more money from hard working Canadians to keep local operations going, it is also working hard to keep details of local operations secret.

A request for details on the cost of their new studios in Hamilton, Ont., including the acquisition, renovation and furnishing of a decrepit old building in the city's downtown core, was granted -- with plenty of information removed.

CBC cited security concerns, competitive issues and privacy in refusing to release what they are spending taxpayers money on.


Several documents that were released had most relevant details removed.

One document makes reference to $23,824 spent on interior furnishings. No costs were released on the acquisition of the building, nor did the state broadcaster release costs for the interior designers mentioned in the documents.

CBC became subject to the Access to Information Act in 2007. Since then, they have received failing grades for failure to comply with the law and lost two court challenges where they attempted to keep their secrets from being made public.
end

 

[ModlrMike]

Ironic that the organization the regularly lashes the Conservatives about secrecy consistently fails to follow the Access to Information Act.

 

[Good2Golf]

Ironic that the organization the regularly lashes the Conservatives about secrecy consistently fails to follow the Access to Information Act.

...but they're journalists...they're above all others.

Heck, CSE discloses more information about its operations than the CBC for gosh sake.


Disappointed,
G2G

 

[Maxadia]

I'd like to see an official cost efficiency analysis regarding the funding for the F35 program vs. the funding for the CBC.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Awhile back I reviewing an ATIP sent to the RCMP and noting the many blank sheets and lack of information in general. I have to wonder if they took lessons from the CBC.

 

[PJGary]

News Link: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/albertavotes2012/story/2012/04/23/albertavotes2012-election-results.html

Albertans elect Tory majority government
CBC News
Posted: Apr 23, 2012 8:00 PM MT Last Updated: Apr 23, 2012 11:46 PM MT

Albertans have elected another Progressive Conservative majority government, making Alison Redford the province's first elected female premier.

The Tories, led by Redford, are ahead or elected in 62 ridings; the Wildrose is elected or leading in 17. The NDP is elected and leading in four ridings, as are the Liberals.

Voters have elected 11 Tory majorities in a row — this will be the 12th — since Peter Lougheed first led his party to power in 1971, but polling during this campaign suggested the streak could end.

In the end, voters turned out in large numbers, suggesting that strategic voting to keep the Wildrose Party out of power may have played a role in the Tory win....

Because no one would ever vote for a Conservative gov't because they actually wanted one, right Ignatieff?

On the bright side it's good to know the CBC is putting my f***ing money to good use, hiring a mind reader  :facepalm:

 

[Journeyman]

Yes, the twelfth consecutive Conservative majority in the Province.

There must be some excuse to explain this.....recurring.....uh, situatuion.

 

[vonGarvin]

Yes, the twelfth consecutive Conservative majority in the Province.

There must be some excuse to explain this.....recurring.....uh, situatuion.

Yes.  The people there are obviously idiots who haven't "seen the light".  Neither are they realists.  Mental capacity must be lower there.  Because, as we all know, facts are facts and they tell us that you ought never to vote conservative, because they are fools. 


[/sarcasm]

 

[Kat Stevens]

Oil money and farm money make Albertans dumb. Me no vote PC? Me must be unsane.

 

[exabedtech]

Yes.  The people there are obviously idiots who haven't "seen the light".  Neither are they realists.  Mental capacity must be lower there.  Because, as we all know, facts are facts and they tell us that you ought never to vote conservative, because they are fools. 


[/sarcasm]

Ya, we sure must be!  Poor old Alberta has been run right into the ground... so hard to make a decent living, can't seem to balance that nasty budget, no growth... just a terrible state of affairs we are in!  If things were any worse, people would think this was Ontario!!!  lol 

 

[OldSolduer]

Don't you Albertans know that Ottawa knows what's best for you?