Saturday, October 22, 2011

Tell Quebecor To Pound Salt

No reasonable observer disputes the notion that our public broadcaster should be scrutinized and held to account, after all it is our tax dollars at play and the CBC should be accountable to the Canadians it serves. However, what we are witnessing with Quebecor's obsessive ideological pursuit against the CBC amounts to harassment pure and simple. Quebecor hides behind supposed ethical underpinnings, but when you look at some of the people leading the "jihad", it becomes clear there are other factors at play besides simple idealistic notions of accountability and transparency. That Quebecor decided to hire prominent CBC critics and give them high profile platforms, all the more REVEALING in terms of true intent.

Canada has never seen a media outlet with such an ingrained philosophical bias, extrapolating to a clear AGENDA. In fact, it is time people stop referring to this organization as a "media" organization, when in fact, it is a political organ, a propaganda arm of the right, a biased and bastardized presentation that attempts to present itself as "news". The few exceptions aside, anyone with a functioning fore brain can see the intent, can see the ideological zeal that warps every issue to fit neatly into a pre-determined view of the world. That approach isn't news, it isn't "media" in any definition I've read, it's nothing more than ADVOCACY. Quebecor doesn't support a state sponsored broadcaster, particularly one built on the myth that is biased against their political slant, rather than legitimate pursuit, really a special interest disguised as something else.

What I see is ideological zealots flooding the CBC with mostly trivial demands, which if done to an individual, could be construed as nothing more than harassment. Certain people would be bereft of inspiration if they didn't have the CBC to attack, the almost pathological nature of the pursuit unseemly. Quebecor can present arguments to rationalize their sad obsessions, but the sheer volume and venom underlying the attacks, the buffoonery leading the crusade, it is obvious to most what is really occurring here.

I'm glad the CBC has finally addressed these never ending attacks from Quebecor, although it easily ascertained why they've been hesitate in the past. Staying quiet doesn't work, waiting for the flood of requests to stop will never come, hoping the harassment ends wishful thinking; NO the only way to take on bullying behaviour is to stand up and tell them to FUCK RIGHT OFF.

9 comments:

sassy said...

When they do finally get told this is their response.

Their ongoing attacks, and now their whining at the response, has taken asinine to a whole new level.

rockfish said...

What needs to happen is either a facebook page or one of those pages that instructs people how to voice their support for the CBC in this battle -- which is to go to Quebecor's advertisers. If people go directly to those who advertise in the Sun rags and Quebecor crapchannel and say how they are avoiding their products and that Quebecor needs to act rationally in its competition with the CBC, you might see the pea-brains with power at Quebecor flinch. Otherwise, the national broadcaster is being bludgeoned to the extent that the Liberal Party has faced. Remember, Harper's cronies pulled the rug out from under the census supposedly upon the complaint of one.

Steve V said...

I agree rockfish, people need to go directly to the advertisers.


Sassy, history tells us nobody can dish it out and NOT be able to take any return fire like a conservative. Poor dears.

Jerry Prager said...

It ain't just Quebecor.

Four decades ago Keith Davies warned there would be consequences to democracy if conglomerates were allowed to control the media.

Quebecor is one of three right wing corporations that together own 80% of Canadian media. Here again we meet the agenda of the beast. Occupy the means of communication.

Either liberalism fights this dragon or gets eaten. Politics is a blood sport and the right wing owns the money, the arms, the media, at al.

What is the Liberal Party of Canada going to do about it ? With what policies are Keith Davies' prophetic conclusions going to be met with now or soon ?

Will liberalism have a final stand or a last act of capitulation?

Libs may once have been dominant predators, as in Tommy Douglas' cats and mice metaphor, but that was when; this is now, and now Liberals are an endangered species around the world,and that's because they have been hunted to extinction by men like Rupert Murdoch, and in Canada,by Quebecor, Shaw-Canwest and CTV Global.

Wake up liberals or die dreaming of a world that isn't real.

I wrote this back in March, still holds true

http://canadaelects.blogspot.com/2011/03/harpers-transfer-of-wealth-to.html

Jerry Prager said...

Rockfish: the census was an attack on Statscan pure and simple, propaganda works best in a world without reliable sources of information.
By the same token the attack on the CBC is an attack on liberal democracy. When RB Bennett created the CBC in the 30's the Conservative Party, the Empire Club, and even King Edward were supporters of Mussolini's fascist agenda.
Arthur Meighen proved in 1919 that he was an enemy of democracy when he passed a law after the fact which he used to justify an otherwise illegal action on the Part of the Conservative government.
When the CBC was created, it was meant to be a fascist organ, only liberal democracy got in the way.
After WW2 liberalism and labour turned Canada towards liberal democracy.
Harper is a throw back to Meighen-Bennett, corporatism is the 1%, they want the CBC and ALL the rest of Canadian media, the messenger becomes the message.
They don't want to get rid of the CBC, they want to change the news stream.
Meighen was around in the 30's

Greg said...

I expect most Canadians will be horrified at the possibility of a Junior Murdock in their midst (especially one with an interesting political history http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=M1ARTM0010974). The Tories had better tread very, very carefully.

It is one thing to have backbenchers take shots at the CBC. That is their master letting them run free and to protect the base. But let's see what the master proposes for the future of funding. My guess is, status quo.

Anonymous said...

Frankly the CBC is more than welcome in my book to air whatever it darn well pleases. Just don't ask me to pay for it.

LT McDi said...

WayWayUp....you pay for all your programming so what's your point?

Whether it's a satelite subscription, a cable bill or some of your taxes...there's no freebes unless your illegally downloading programming.
so the whole "I don't want to pay for it"...well your paying.
this isn't about who pays what...that's just the "red flag" to wave...it's about a concentration of media in the hands of a smaller and smaller group of private media owners.
that is never a good thing

Anonymous said...

Why does the CBC require $1 billion a year in funding. My taxes help pay for that. Do other networks get that kind of cash. If I don't like a network I don't watch it or buy from their advertisers. But with the CBC I have no choice. I don't understand why these protesters aren't protesting a $1 billion annual handout to a gov't media organization, an organization which by the way, produces shows pretty much no one watches, other than HNIC. For me, its all about choice. The CBC produces all sorts of crap I disagree with that I pay for. I have no choice of opting out. If SUN media produces something I disagree with (and I'll be honest, I watch it but disagree with a lot of what they say) well, then I have the choice of turning off the tv and picking up a good book.