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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 14, 2015 8:54:09 GMT -5
Warren Kinsella makes some outstanding points. We're gradually losing our traditional news media. A cut and paste: Firstly, folks, I disagreed with those conservatives, too. Plenty. On sex ed, on CBC, on abortion, on niqabs, on social programs, on climate change, on Islam, on gay marriage, on Liberals and liberals, on just about anything you can imagine: I would regularly appear on Sun News Network to argue with those conservatives, face-to-face, on-camera. I would argue, aggressively, against the conservative point of view.
And, over almost four years, a funny thing happened: they kept inviting me back. They asked me to come on much more than my day job would permit, in fact. And they were professional and courteous and fair to me. Only once did they try and shut me down – here – but multiple Sun folks called me afterwards to apologize, and to say that it would never happen again. It didn’t.
That’s the first thing: if you disagree with someone’s opinion, debate them. Present evidence. Argue with facts. Be passionate. Because that’s what Sun News Network gave me an opportunity to do, over and over, for four years.
Here’s the second thing: in case you haven’t noticed, our traditional news media are dying.
There are all kinds of reasons for that: the Internet, Google and Facebook and Craigslist, bad business decisions, whatever. We can debate the causes ad nauseum. But the fact is that the media, as we knew it, is disappearing.
Bloggers and social media mavens will celebrate the mainstream media’s demise, too. But they shouldn’t. Because bloggers and tweeters don’t generate actual news – they just comment on it. They offer opinions on someone else’s work. Someone else’s journalism.
When that journalism disappears, mark my words: our democracy will be diminished, and possibly even in peril. I’m not exaggerating. There is nothing that keeps the powerful in check – not Question Period, not a public opinion poll, not even the police – as effectively as journalists do. I’ve worked on both sides, and I know, I’ve seen it: every time a newspaper dies – every time a TV network dies – the powerful grow more so. You may think that’s okay, but I sure don’t. They are not always benign in the way they exercise power.The link |
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Post by seventeen on Feb 14, 2015 16:02:37 GMT -5
Yes, have to agree totally. Very few bloggers will do the legwork, or can afford to do the legwork, that a paid journalist can do to pry and dig and come up with more of the truth than we would normally hear. Bloggers provide opinions or pass on what they have heard, not what they've investigated.
I better stock up that root cellar and take some shooting lessons. (yes, I'm jesting, but not 100% so).
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 14, 2015 22:16:46 GMT -5
That's one way of looking at the article, I guess ... me, I was more concerned about losing another perspective ... I only tuned into the Sun News Network occasionally because I wanted to hear a different perspective but I think what did them in was their approach ... I found they attacked issues and in some instances, people (see David Suzuki), rather than debating them ... from my perspective the Canadian viewership can only tolerate so much of that ... it's too bad, though ... I didn't like see them go under ... it's not good losing a media voice regardless what side of the fence they're on ...
Cheers.
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Post by jkr on Feb 15, 2015 9:07:14 GMT -5
That's one way of looking at the article, I guess ... me, I was more concerned about losing another perspective ... I only tuned into the Sun News Network occasionally because I wanted to hear a different perspective but I think what did them in was their approach ... I found they attacked issues and in some instances, people (see David Suzuki), rather than debating them ... from my perspective the Canadian viewership can only tolerate so much of that ... it's too bad, though ... I didn't like see them go under ... it's not good losing a media voice regardless what side of the fence they're on ... Cheers. Agree with that Dis. I listened to them too because you need all viewpoints. Perhaps personal attacks ( like Levant on the Trudeaus) helped do them in. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 15, 2015 9:37:47 GMT -5
That's one way of looking at the article, I guess ... me, I was more concerned about losing another perspective ... I only tuned into the Sun News Network occasionally because I wanted to hear a different perspective but I think what did them in was their approach ... I found they attacked issues and in some instances, people (see David Suzuki), rather than debating them ... from my perspective the Canadian viewership can only tolerate so much of that ... it's too bad, though ... I didn't like see them go under ... it's not good losing a media voice regardless what side of the fence they're on ... Cheers. Agree with that Dis. I listened to them too because you need all viewpoints. Perhaps personal attacks ( like Levant on the Trudeaus) helped do them in. I didn't mind it from time to time ... Levant had some good points but he tended to make it personal every so often ... I realize that Suzuki is a hypocrite, but Levant sounded like he wanted to ruin the man ... still, while I watched Suzuki growing up, I was pretty disappointed to learn some of the things Levant found on him ... I didn't mind the criticism on Trudeau ... of all the politicians they criticized, I think Trudeau was the most evasive and that just gave Sun News more ammo ... CBC's Rex Murphy does a good job doing the same thing but he seems less personal about it ... Cheers. |
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Post by franko on Feb 15, 2015 9:50:41 GMT -5
That's one way of looking at the article, I guess ... me, I was more concerned about losing another perspective ... I only tuned into the Sun News Network occasionally because I wanted to hear a different perspective but I think what did them in was their approach ... I found they attacked issues and in some instances, people (see David Suzuki), rather than debating them ... from my perspective the Canadian viewership can only tolerate so much of that ... it's too bad, though ... I didn't like see them go under ... it's not good losing a media voice regardless what side of the fence they're on ... Cheers. Agree with that Dis. I listened to them too because you need all viewpoints. Perhaps personal attacks ( like Levant on the Trudeaus) helped do them in. no, Sun TV never had a chance. television broadcasters have a hard time paying for themselves . . . that's why they're packaged together and lesser-lights are thrown in with watched shows, and thrown a few coppers to help out. Sun knew going in that unless they were subsidized by cable fees they'd be toast. they tried and failed. MSM didn't like the competition; the more liberal talking heads who don't like contrary thinking (I'm talking to you, Margaret Atwood) spoke out against Sun and people lapped it up . . . heck, there was a petition circulating to stop Sun from receiving a broadcast license -- 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! -- from US based Avaaznope, not surprised at all. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Feb 15, 2015 13:06:22 GMT -5
Agree with that Dis. I listened to them too because you need all viewpoints. Perhaps personal attacks ( like Levant on the Trudeaus) helped do them in. no, Sun TV never had a chance. television broadcasters have a hard time paying for themselves . . . that's why they're packaged together and lesser-lights are thrown in with watched shows, and thrown a few coppers to help out. Sun knew going in that unless they were subsidized by cable fees they'd be toast. they tried and failed. MSM didn't like the competition; the more liberal talking heads who don't like contrary thinking (I'm talking to you, Margaret Atwood) spoke out against Sun and people lapped it up . . . heck, there was a petition circulating to stop Sun from receiving a broadcast license -- 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! -- from US based Avaaznope, not surprised at all. One of my friends on FB described Sun News as the voice of the Conservative Party so the perception you're referring to is out there ... but here's the thing ... I remember dad talking about this ... Harper was emulating American-style politics when he first took office ... it didn't matter what the issue was, he was front and centre at the microphone with the minister standing over his shoulder ... there was even talk about him trying to replicate the American political process here in Canada ... I'll try to find it later, but it made for more ammo for the Liberals back then ... the media made it into a story and Harper eventually dropped it ... as for FOX News, they're over the top, but at the same time they have the support ... they have people attacking their format but they welcome it ... good attention or bad attention, it's all attention to them ... Sun News had it's detractors, but they didn't have the support ... Cheers. |
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