The Walmart-tization of Mass Media

[Buffalo Tom]

The Public Revolt Against Media Monopoly

[The One and Only...]

Is The Nation the only thing you read?

Can't blame the market for this one, I'm afraid.

[Buffalo Tom]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

Is The Nation the only thing you read?

Can't blame the market for this one, I'm afraid.

If that's a rhetorical question and you assume 'The Nation' is the only periodical I read because I post a lot of stories from their website, then it is specious reasoning you've used. Shame on you if that is the case, since you seem more erudite than many of your compatriots in the neo-conservative camp who post here.

If it's a serious query, then yes, I do read other magazines regularly, like 'The Economist'. However, I like to post articles from 'The Nation' because they present issues and viewpoints that are not often heard in mainstream North American media. Which is a side-effect of the monopolization of the news media by a select group of coporations. Whoever controls the means of communication controls what issues can be discussed and what viewpoints are expressed. Any threats to the free flow of information should be a concern to every person.

[Zebra 3]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

Can't blame the market for this one, I'm afraid.

Oh yes you can.

Originally Posted by Buffalo Tom

...I like to post articles from 'The Nation' because they present issues and viewpoints that are not often heard in mainstream North American media. Which is a side-effect of the monopolization of the news media by a select group of coporations....Any threats to the free flow of information should be a concern to every person.

Canadian media is part of the so-call North American media that you're referring to, and has many times address the issue of single ownership multi-media groups (eg.CanWest Global buying Conrad Black's Southam Newspapers) in the past.

[The One and Only...]

Originally Posted by Walter Simard

Oh yes you can.

Care to elaborate?

[Zebra 3]

Take news gathering for example. The big one, AOL Time Warner's CNN waters down its news by giving their viewers what they think they want to hear in hoping they stay tuned for the next commecial break, so in turn reassures the stock holders of this publicly traded company as oppose to something like the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp.) whose mandate is to inform what their viewers should know, which isn't subject to market forces as CNN is because the CBC is a Crown Corp. (federally funded).

[The One and Only...]

You forget that the CBC now must be slanted toward government, for they do not want to lose funding. In other words, they don't feed citizens what they should hear, they feed them want the government thinks they should hear.

Plenty of other news sources are around outside of the major ones. That, and the major ones will report on major happenings. To assume that they do not is asinine. Governmentally provided news is the worst thing that could happen.

[Zebra 3]

In a nutshell, the CBC doesn't march to the government's beat as you are suggesting. It's obvious that you do not watch this network, at least on a regular basis, because if you did you'd realize that they're more reliable, objective (including criticism against the gov't) as a news source as to compare to CNN, which I only watch periodically to have a good laugh. As for reliable news sources which cover international events, there's few of them because of the cost attached of having foreign bureaus.

[The One and Only...]

Which is all opinion. By the way, how many tax dollars go to CBC?

In order to get objective news, all one has to do is look at more than one news source.

I will guaruntee that CBC is not overly critical of government, because it cannot afford to be. It may very well criticize it at times, but I severely doubt it can do whatever it wants.

Partisan newsources are for sheep.

[Buffalo Tom]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

You forget that the CBC now must be slanted toward government, for they do not want to lose funding.

During the APEC summit in Vancouver a few years ago, the CBC did such an outstanding job of reporting not only the official activities of the meeting, but also the possible alleged role of the Prime Minister's Office in ordering the pepper spraying of demonstrators protesting the event, that the Liberals tried to introduce legislation in 1998 to allow the government to fire the management of the CBC if it disapproved of their work.

Clearly, you don't live in Canada, or you would know that the CBC is held to a higher standard for objective journalism than most private news-gathering agencies. In its charter, there are clear and unequivocal directives that state the CBC 'is fully committed to maintaining accuracy, integrity and fairness in its journalism', and that its duty is 'to provide consistent, high-quality information upon which ALL citizens may rely'. Any complaints of biased news reporting on the corporation's part can be submitted to the office of the CBC Ombudsman, who independently must investigate such cases.

Because of this mandate, CBC television stations must, and do, show news stories of interest to people in a particular region, thus forcing the other local outlets to cover the same stories. In this way, the CBC contributes to keeping the citizenry informed not just about global issues, but also about local issues.

[Buffalo Tom]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

It may very well criticize it at times, but I severely doubt it can do whatever it wants.

Partisan newsources are for sheep.

Have you even heard of the show 'The Fifth Estate'? That CBC program has done many illuminating investigative news documentaries on government and public policy. A few years ago, they did a story about the Canadian government's heavy handed treatment of anti-globalization protestors at a WTO meeting in Quebec in 2001, that raised the ire of the Prime Minister and his cabinet. Partisan? I think not.

Try watching and reading the news source, so you can be in a position to make an informed judgement about its journalistic integrity.

[AChimp]

You forget that the CBC now must be slanted toward government, for they do not want to lose funding. In other words, they don't feed citizens what they should hear, they feed them want the government thinks they should hear.

I will guaruntee that CBC is not overly critical of government, because it cannot afford to be. It may very well criticize it at times, but I severely doubt it can do whatever it wants.

AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

You are such a loser, OAO. Maybe you should watch a little bit of CBC before you start bashing it because it's paid for by the Evil Government.

Like BT said above, the CBC is critical of the government quite regularly. It can be as critical as it wants, and it's funding won't suffer because of it. You know why? Canada doesn't operate like that. You'll never hear anyone in Canada wanting to shut someone else down for being "unpatriotic."

Not only does the CBC criticize the government, it also frequently makes fun of the politicians. Hell, the politicians themselves get on the shows and prance around and make fun of themselves, including the Prime Minister. Show me an example where a President has gone on a TV show to participate in a skit that makes fun of his own government's spending practices.

[The One and Only...]

Yet, I must again ask: how many tax dollars are going to it?

I have a feeling that whatever gains you talk of, which cannot be proven, are not worth the money.

[AChimp]

Ah, but now you are assuming that all CBC is about is the news. They show everything from craft shows to The Simpsons to the Olympics, and like BT said, there's a local outlet in every major city across the country.

BTW, the answer to your question is $1 billion. That pays for TV and radio in French and English, along with the production of shows for each, sponsorships and a whole lot more. Not just the news.

[Buffalo Tom]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

Yet, I must again ask: how many tax dollars are going to it?

I have a feeling that whatever gains you talk of, which cannot be proven, are not worth the money.

The CBC's operating budget was $1 billion last year, which covers not only the television and radio news divisions, with its national and international offices, but also the entertainment divisions.

Your simplistic reasoning with regards to state-subsidized news reporting - the CBC is funded by the government, therefore is biased towards whichever government is sitting in the day - reflects your ignorance of the role of the CBC in the lives of Canadians. Note I said state-subsidized, not state-run. The CBC, though a crown corporation, has operated at arm's length from the government, and has acted as a watchdog on government policies. They have done many exposes documenting government misconduct. In 1998, for example, CBC journalist Harvey Cashore revealed that Health Canada was planning to relax food standards on soft drinks aimed at children and allow companies to put caffeine in those drinks. Immediately after that report, the government reversed its position.

Is there partisanship in the CBC? I have no doubt. No organization which encompasses such a diverse group of journalists (a group, I might add, that is far more ethnically diverse than the largely white-washed American media) can be completely without bias. However, as I've stated before, the CBC, like its British counterpart, the BBC, is held to a higher standard for objective journalism than many of its counterparts in mainstream American media. Because it is a publicly-funded corporation, it is under great scrutiny for any perceived bias, one way or another. Contrast this with stories from the British journalist Robert Fisk, who, while in Toronto for a journalism seminar, recounted stories of CNN reporters being given memos by AOL/TimerWarner executives on how they should never refer to Israeli settlements in the West Bank as 'illegal', contrary to judgements made by the United Nations on these places.

[The One and Only...]

Prove to me that CBC is more objective and reliable than american media sources.

That, and I don't think government should choose how to entertain its citizens. I think I saw an article on the CBC about some sort of governmentally-subsidized art show that focused on critiquing conservativism. Need I say more?

$1,000,000,000 is $1,000,000,000 too much.

[Buffalo Tom]

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

That, and I don't think government should choose how to entertain its citizens.

First of all, you need to pay attention. I said the CBC was state-subsidized, not state-run . The government merely funds the CBC. The government has no active, day-to-day role in the management of the corporation. It operates at arms length, a key principle in the operation of Crown Corporations. The government cannot merely abolish Crown Corporations without the official approval from the electorate, nor can it significantly reduce the funding of an institution like the CBC without drawing fire from every corner of Canadian society. The CBC is run like a private corporation, except that the shareholders are all tax-paying Canadian citizens.

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

I think I saw an article on the CBC about some sort of governmentally-subsidized art show that focused on critiquing conservativism. Need I say more?

Uh, yes, you do, Sparky. How does this I-heard-this-story-from-the-friend-of-a-friend's-cousin anecdote prove your original point that the CBC is partisan? It only shows that the CBC sometimes makes idiotic choices in its programming, but that's not we're arguing about.

Originally Posted by The One and Only...

Prove to me that CBC is more objective and reliable than american media sources.

First, you prove to me that mainstream American television news sources (CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox News) are objective and reliable.

[Zebra 3]

Originally Posted by AChimp

Ah, but now you are assuming that all CBC is about is the news. They show everything from craft shows to The Simpsons to the Olympics, and like BT said, there's a local outlet in every major city across the country.

I remember hearing once when the Olympics were held in Europe, and many of the events were showned taped the next day on the US network, and Americans that really wanted to watch it live had to tune into the CBC, who are also responsible for world Olympic hockey coverage.

Originally Posted by Buffalo Tom

Have you even heard of the show 'The Fifth Estate'?

- Yeah, I think of heard of them. Isn't something like W5, but for smart people?