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Wednesday, October 17, 2007
The Liberal Party, the Conservative Party and the Media Party
It's okay for political activists to write for newspapers -- that's what the editorial columns are for. But what's the excuse of Richard Brennan, a Toronto Star reporter?
As Steve Janke points out, Brennan's style isn't just to collect news -- it's to make news, and then to report on the story he creates. That's dirty tricksterism when it's done by a political campaign. When it's done by a reporter, it puts a lie to journalism's claim to be a profession.
Here are Brennan's latest thoughts as a "reporter", as shared with a left-wing activist magazine: Harper follows "the Republican handbook" and wants to "produce unfiltered messages disguised as news". He uses "bully tactics" towards reporters.
Those are fighting words. They're fine for someone who is a political opponent of Harper; or even for someone whose job is to "fight" for more "rights" for journalists on Parliament Hill, as the Parliamentary Press Gallery, a quasi-union, seeks to do. But can someone who is clearly such a partisan pretend to write straight reportage for the "news" pages?
It's difficult to imagine the mirror image of this -- a conservative activist who rails against Liberals during his free time, but who keeps a day job as a "reporter" in the Parliamentary Press Gallery. He would be fired; before that he would be shunned by his colleagues. But none of that happens to Brennan. No wonder Harper treats the gallery with such gleeful contempt.
UPDATE: A commenter points out something that I missed -- Brennan is the president of the Parliamentary Press Gallery. Does that make it better or worse? In this fight between the gallery and the P.M., it's clear that Brennan can't separate his duties as PPG president and reporter -- he's consumed by his PPG fight.
Posted by Ezra Levant on October 17, 2007 | Permalink
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Comments
"But what's the excuse of Richard Brennan, a Toronto Star reporter?"
Ezra:
Good morning! I don't mean to disparage your post. I don't mean to deny the veracity of it either. But this has been going on in the media for decades on both sides of the 49th parallel.
The only difference between then & now is that we have other sources for our news that expose these biased reporters for who they are, despite all their claims to objectivity.
We now have this website, many other blogs, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and a few Canadian reporters & columnists at the National Post and the Sun newspapers who will not allow these slanted views to go unreported & unchallenged.
Posted by: obc | 2007-10-17 8:37:46 PM
The double standard in media reporting continues to grow. The Star and the Globe and mail have become parodies of themselves
No thinking person takes anything these far left loons write any more. It is all propaganda all the time. The they spew bile not ideas, vision or solutions. They have nothing but bitterness now that their political masters have lost their mojos and the power to appoint and anoint them to some ascended place for their years of loyal lying and disttorting on their behalf.
I see despair in the faces of men like Keith Boag and others who now know that their expected appointments fade with each new idiotic blurt by Dion or each bloodied knife that is rumored from the back rooms and trenches of the terrified and vindictive ranks of the Liberal caucus.
I feel a Vincent Price fit laughter coming on as I write this.
Posted by: John | 2007-10-17 8:41:42 PM
This is news? Haven't reporters like this been around forever? The CBC, Globe and Star are full of people like this.
Now if they worked for the Sun chain or the National Post, that would be news.
Posted by: Zebulon Pike | 2007-10-17 8:51:28 PM
While watching proceedings of the House of Commons today I could not escape the impression that the Liberals consider Harper and the Conservatives inconvenient, illegitimate and unqualified interlopers on their turf. The fawning agents of the press do all they can to keep this impression alive as they harbor dreams of Governor General, Red Chamber or heads of crown corporation appointments as so many of thir ilk were awarded under the Liberals.
Posted by: Bob Wood | 2007-10-17 9:04:43 PM
Despite its obvious deterioration, The National Post continues to offer the most balanced reporting.
Posted by: Cynic | 2007-10-17 9:24:06 PM
Lamestream media is full of characters who rant and rave against any conservative thought now. It's predictable, boring, juvenile - and apparently going the way of the dinosaur if their reader/consumer numbers are any indication.
Posted by: philanthropist | 2007-10-17 9:42:16 PM
Would that be National Press Gallery president Richard Brennan, as revealed in the interview preamble?
Might it have been better, for clarity's sake, to say that in the original post?
There is a difference between a mere reporter and the NPG president, I'd guess.
Posted by: set you free | 2007-10-17 10:40:18 PM
The behavior of most of the media is so juvenile it appeals to a those on the same level, those who support the Liberals no matter what they do.
It's so bloody entertaining to watch them scuttling about trying to get something on the Harper Conservatives and coming up empty. Then they turn to surmising and fabrication in sheer frustration.
What can't be answered is what's wrong with having a Conservative government in power when the people put them there? Why can't they accept it and get down to reporting facts instead of bemoaning the Liberal mess? We are now well served, we do not need the Liberals now or in the near future.
They're party is in a shambles, can't get their own act together and are in no position to govern, the MSM will have to accept that and get used to buying their own libations.
Posted by: LizJ | 2007-10-18 6:11:24 AM
The likes of Brennan and his MSM cohorts have been the enablers of corruption and government malfeasance to thrive under Chretien and Martin for over a decade.
Posted by: Joe Molnar | 2007-10-18 7:20:30 AM
Red Star Brennan is an amateur compared to Puffy Duffy, Tiny Taber and Horseman Oliver. Red Star has
been manipulating "the news" and carrying the ball for the once mighty Read Machine for decades -one cannot buy the paper edition of the Toronto Star
in New Brunswick and in only one newstand in Nova Scotia -not a newspaper to be taken seriously. MSM
are mostly composed of media whores whose main goal in life is staying employed. Harper's well motivated contempt for the Media is greatly appreciated by many citizens across Canada. PM Harper was particularly impressive this week in destroying the political career of Citoyen Dion.
MacLeod still laughing on Monckton NB
Posted by: JackMacLeod | 2007-10-18 7:53:27 AM
you mean the Liberal party and the media party are separate entities?
I though these statist-corporatists ruled by polls and manufactured consensus with media policy saturation.
Posted by: bill | 2007-10-18 11:08:58 AM
IN NON-BREAKING NEWS ! ! !
Charles Gibson said on ABC last night that there was "no news" from Iraq since no suicide or roadside bombings had been reported. Then he giggled like a schoolgirl.
IDIOT! That IS the news!!! There were NO bombings!
They cannot report the good stuff as good news because it doesn't fit their template of the war. SHEEEESH!
Posted by: obc | 2007-10-18 12:31:47 PM
Serves abc right for watching ABC the network specifically designed for Morons. is it true that
statists corporatists introduced HIV AIDS into Canada? just asking will appear as news on ABC tomorrow -Stick with Foxy Good News Fox -available
here in the middle of nowhere from the State of Maine - MacLeod in Monckton NB
Posted by: Jack Macleod | 2007-10-18 1:47:34 PM
"Serves abc right for watching ABC"
Haven't tuned in to any network news in over a decade.
The topic was on Rush today. He played the clip on the radio show.
Posted by: obc | 2007-10-18 2:15:37 PM
>"is it true that
statists corporatists introduced HIV AIDS into Canada?"
MacLeod
According to investigation by the CDC, patient Zero(for the entire pandemic) was a male airline attendant from Quebec.
Posted by: Speller | 2007-10-18 2:23:00 PM
It was common gossip at Air Canada HO Montreal that a Homosexual Flight Steward originally from Moncton but residing in Halifax a terminus in those days for Cross Atlantic continental flights brought HIV to North America - several years later Film notable Rock Hudson died of HIV Aids - the story continues
as Homosexuals continue to commit suicide by overt
sexual activity -they should stick to screwing the
Liberal Party of Canada - Just noticed Martha Hall-Findlay (Second Hand Rose from Toronto) advising Puffy Duffy that violent crime is in great decline in Canada - Black hoodlums are still murdering people on the streets of Halifax Nova Scotia the crime capital of Atlantic Canada.Duffy
encourages this sort of partisan nonsense on his evening CTV Political Gossip Show. Macleod
Posted by: Jack Macleod | 2007-10-18 3:59:11 PM
Duffy was all excited about all the good news for the Liberal Party today. Big news that Space guy Garneau will get to run for them in Westmount after all so they're billing that as a coup for Dion!
Next good news according to those Liberals lovers, is Justin Trudeau and wife are the parents of a son, born today and it just happened to be Papa Pierre's birthday, 18th of October.
Martha H-F is reality challenged. She's still more concerned with why these poor unfortunate criminals get that way and rehabilitating them.
Tell that to the family of the young RCMP Officer killed recently in the North.
Posted by: LizJ | 2007-10-18 5:01:21 PM
Oh, brother! This is all we need:
"MP proposes Pierre Elliott Trudeau Day"
OTTAWA — A Liberal MP has tabled proposed legislation that would officially recognize the birthday of former prime minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau each Oct. 18.
Mario Silva says Mr. Trudeau had “vigour, innovation and daring” and symbolized Canada at its best.
The Toronto-area MP says Mr. Trudeau inspired countless Canadians to get involved in the political process and he should be recognized.
Born Oct. 18, 1919, Mr. Trudeau served as prime minister from 1968 until 1984, with a nine-month break in 1979-80 after Joe Clark's Progressive Conservatives won a short-lived minority government in Ottawa.
Ever a controversial and much-debated figure in Canadian history, Mr. Trudeau repatriated Canada's Constitution, introduced the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enshrined both official languages in law and established multiculturalism as official federal policy.
Mr. Silva's tabled his proposal as a private member's bill on Mr. Trudeau's 88th birthday; like most private member's bills, it is unlikely to pass.
THANK GOD for that.
Posted by: obc | 2007-10-19 3:04:12 PM
Election in the near future? Perhaps:
"Fears of Harper majority waning, poll shows"
OTTAWA - Most Canadians say the best outcome of the next federal election would be a majority government, according to a new national Ipsos-Reid poll.
Moreover, the poll conducted exclusively this week for CanWest News Service and Global National reveals that of those Canadians who prefer a majority most think it ought to be led by Stephen Harper.
58% of those in favour of a majority would rather have Harper as the prime minister in such a circumstance, compared to 28% who preferred Liberal Leader Stephane Dion.
THAT LEAVES 14% that either favour someone else or have no opinion. Hmmmmm. That's not saying much for Taliban Jack, is it.
Posted by: obc | 2007-10-19 6:36:27 PM
That MP, Larry Bagnel, who tabled the Turdo thingie is from the Yukon. Imagine my shame!!
Before Cretian and his Dipper pals (territorial Dippers) ran all miners and business people out of the Territory, the Yukon was a wonderful, free, tolerant, profitable, exciting place to live - and the Turdo was detested for the NEP.
Just shows how far down a place can go when Conservatives don't vote because they like 'non of the above' (we LIKED Eric Nielson and the Mulroney outfit did not have the brains to honor him and keep him; Eric was the MP who won the Mulroney victory, Eric was the MP who chewed the little Turdo to shreds every time Turdo moved his lips, Brian owed Eric for everything he achieved yet he gave Eric no credit- Eric quit in disgust).
I hope you are taking notes Eddie Stelmach.
Posted by: jema54j | 2008-01-31 12:51:59 AM
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