The CRTC Makes the Rules
September 3, 2010 | 3 Comments
In a recent post, I noted two posts by Adrian McNair; one of which I disagreed with; one of which I agreed with. To mix things up, I thought I’d make a note of one of his posts that I both agree and disagree with (and, in case Mr. McNair finds this post, I had planned on writing about this topic anyway, then stumbled across your post and decided to include it, hope ya don’t mind).
Here’s how he starts:
Apparently literary legend Margaret Atwood has signed a petition attempting to keep “Fox News North” off the air. Ms.Atwood says it isn’t the channel per se, but the idea that the Prime Minister could exert undue influence on the network and its message:
“Of course Fox & Co. can set up a channel or whatever they want to do, if it’s legal etc.,” she told The Globe and Mail in an email. “But it shouldn’t happen this way. It’s like the head-of-census affair – gov’t direct meddling in affairs that are supposed to be arm’s length – so do what they say or they fire you.
“It’s part of the ‘I make the rules around here,’ Harper-is-a-king thing,” she wrote.
But this is precisely the problem, isn’t it? I mean, the whole “I make the rules” quote is an out-of-context media contrivance that has been repeated ad nauseum for the past few days to the delight of many who remember George W Bush’s “I’m the decider” remark. Taking quotes out of context, portraying the Conservatives as interfering in independent government agencies, and repeating the scandal-stirring sound bytes is the modus operandi of the mainstream media news at present.
Injecting something new into the the media stream can only be a good thing. And a writer like Ms.Atwood should know better than that.
I’m sorry, but I just can’t get behind this. First off, “I make the rules” reminds me a lot more of “Just watch me” than it does “I’m the decider”, but that’s a minor quibble. More importantly, how has anyone taken the “I make the rules” out of context? Sure, it’s been blown out of proportion, but it really was a healthy bit of Prime Ministerial hubris.
Nonetheless, when it comes to the meat of his post, Mr. McNair is bang on:
As for the online petition that Ms.Atwood signed, it reads:
“Prime Minister Harper is trying to push American-style hate media onto our airwaves, and make us all pay for it. His plan is to create a ‘Fox News North’ to mimic the kind of hate-filled propaganda with which Fox News has poisoned U.S. politics. The channel will be run by Harper’s former top aide and will be funded with money from our cable TV fees!”
Actually, no. The channel wouldn’t be bought by anybody who doesn’t want it. The CRTC made sure of that. It’s the CBC that we’re all forced to pay for, whether we think its drivel or not, running David Suzuki documentaries and providing reasoned debate and balance with the left and the farther left.
It is only accurate to suggest that the Conservative government will “make us all pay for” this new channel in the sense that the CRTC rules with an iron fist, forcing channels onto cable providers, whose services the rest of us then choose to purchase.
Still, I’ll support the Avaaz petition if we tweak it so that it addresses the actual culprit. Let’s just ditch the CRTC.
By the way, want to see the gold standard of Prime Ministerial hubris? Here you go:
But, just in case Mr. McNair is right, here’s some actual Conservative revenge on the media.
If you want to read more on Fox News North, go here.
Tags: Adrian McNair > Avaaz > CRTC > Fox News North > Just Watch Me > Pierre Trudeau > Stephen Harper > Sun TV
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3 Responses to “The CRTC Makes the Rules”
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September 3rd, 2010 @ 11:01 am
Anyone else see the irony of a US-based organization (Avaaz) running a petition against this reputed invasion of “American-style” media?
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Jonathan McLeod Reply:
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:21 am
Good catch, R.M.
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September 4th, 2010 @ 6:30 am
Ironic is right, but conservatives must be doing something right to get the lefties all in a howl over this one.
The counter spin to this is that Avaaz is international, not simply U.S. based – really, and that makes it better for them to interfere in our affairs.
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