Truth or Consequence

In a previous post, I slagged the CBC and Rex Murphy for spouting climate denier nonsense. The response from the CBC was interesting, including the claim that the CBC was not obligated “to determine what is ‘truth’.” Truth was in quotation marks because the writer, the Executive Producer of The National, is of the view that truth is subjective; there is no such thing as objective truth. Several of the commenters wholeheartedly supported this view, which I mocked the lot of them for. It is amazing democracy has survived this long.

Let’s try again. I hold the belief that some things are true, that there is truth. Facts are true. For example: The Earth revolves around the Sun. Or, Smoking greatly increases the risk of getting cancer. Certain principles are also true, such as “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal….” If you don’t believe that some things are true, how do you get through the day?
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The other day on Power and Politics, Evan Solomon discussed sexism in the House of Commons. This was in response to accusations by opposition members that when women stand to speak in the House, they are shouted down even louder than when a man stands up. Shocking! Predictably, the panel discussion didn’t get anywhere as this isn’t a new story – nothing has changed over the years. Ironically, this new CBC political program, discussing sexism, is a replacement show for Don Newman, who everyday for many years, with his dervlish masculinity, opened up his show with the famous lines, “Welcome to the BROADcast”.

I will never forget the episode when Newman had a very animated female MP from Quebec on the show, and for some odd reason the CBC cameraman zoomed in and out on the gap in her front teeth. She was large, wore blue eyeshadow and red lipstick. She was no Madonna. It was obviously no technical accident as a CBC cameraman on that show has as much seniority and skill as Santa does on Christmas.
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My political action, or my theory (insomuch as I can be said to have one) can be expressed very simply: create counterweights.

Pierre Elliott Trudeau.

Tens of thousands of airplanes successfully land and take off without incident at major Canadian airports every year. There were significantly fewer traffic accidents in North America during the past five years. The Prime Minister shoved a protester today. A celebrity actor was arrested at the airport for illicit drug possession.

Which news story is likely to be reported heavily in the newspapers and blogs? Which ones will attract the most attention from readers? It is a good time to be alive, but one unfortunate aspect of today’s times is that we live in an age of instant entertainment and political correctness, in which bad news is reported more frequently than good news and in which people are quick to judge and criticize others. We give our political leaders a hard time, demanding instant solutions to difficult and complex problems, criticizing them often and rarely praising them. If you were to examine snapshots taken of a senior career politician from his/her first election to the present, you would probably see an individual who has aged significantly more than most people in their demographic cohort, not unlike the photo timelines of petty criminals that the police sometimes show at anti-drug workshops.
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I, like most people, have to admit to certain beguilement, when seeing a fight take place in the media.
Two pugilists swinging …bludgeoning each another with their point of view. Usually it’s the politically left and the political right battling it out. Usually it’s one argument pitted against another.
And usually the strongest one wins.
Usually… but not now.

Now….. the winner is not the one with the best argument. Best intentions. Or best plans.
Now the winner is the one … who was loudest, who was more outraged, and who got the biggest apology.
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I don’t like economics. I don’t like the recession. It feels as if the media has latched onto a new hot-button issue and won’t let go. Every day it seems like another statistic related to the recession is being discussed without an ounce of optimism for an entire newscast. Keep in mind, I live in Alberta and we’ve yet to face the brunt of the recession. However, let’s be realistic and look at the Petro-Canada/Suncor merger as an example: did anyone talk about the jump in the markets? Not really. Why not? What have we got to hide? Looking forward to today with the G20 meetings, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of optimism. How are we going to face the biggest economic crisis in six decades? It’s obvious we can’t fix this over night but someone has to take a step in the right direction. I like the G20 event, I also noticed the markets have rallied around it (for a third day in a row too), why hasn’t anyone emphasized this? I think we just need some optimism to get the ball rolling.

With the CBC facing a $65 million revenue shortfall, the federal government shows no signs of offering a lifeline – and that has me both worried about the fate of the CBC and disappointed in the Canadian government.

According to CBC president Hubert Lacroix, the corporation is facing the shortfall due to decreased advertising revenues and increased programming and administrative costs – not to mention the prospect of reduced revenues from licensing and rebroadcasting rights.

The CBC has requested a loan, or an advance on their funding, to cover the shortfall but Federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has argued that the CBC already receives $1 billion in funding, along with $60 million in non-recurring funding.
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As a marketer, I am constantly amazed by the exploding power of web-based information transfer – especially the news. Within minutes of Obama’s visit to Ottawa, I received an email from a friend of a friend who happened to be outside the pastry shop where the President bought his beaver tail. Some up close and personal pictures like you’d never get on your favourite news channel – just because they were not there at that exact place. And no dulcet-toned announcer commentary.

So much for the traditional, packaged media coverage brought to you by Peter Mansbridge and his nightly crew. What a tiresome bunch they have become. Especially Rex Murphy. I say stuff a sock in him and send him back to make sand castles and debate politics with Danny Williams on their next beach vacation together. Now wouldn’t that be a lovely down home postcard.
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The budget released last month by Mr. Jim Flaherty and the Conservatives has left out any word of financial appropriations for the CBC’s annual budget. This, coupled with a projected shortfall of $65 million in annual advertising revenue is leaving the CBC in a fiscal scramble.

Traditionally the CBC is given unspecific details about its total appropriation from the Federal Government. However, the CBC has regularly received an allocation of $60 million in government funds. The remainder of the $1 billion annual operating budget of the CBC is made up primarily from CBC Television advertising revenue.
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These days, Canadian politics is dominated by a surge of regionalism. None of the four major parties have a convincing nation-wide support to enable an oncoming majority government in the foreseeable future. The media is in part responsible for this trend in two different but equal areas of impact.

The first area is media coverage of the parties to inform the public. During an election (and even off-election times) the media rushes over to the various party campaigns and flocks to the leaders. What ensues is usually a popularity contests based on the personality of the politicians and not what he/she stands for. Sometime during the election campaign, each of the parties gives the media a scent of their respective vulnerabilities by releasing a policy book. It is literature in which the said party declares what it truly stands for and offers its solutions to impending political and economic problems the country is facing. If it is the media’s responsibility to inform Canadians of their political choices then a comprehensive understanding of these policies need to be understood and relayed to the public. Instead, the media has been satisfied to follow each campaign looking for some memorable quotes, criticisms, and banter from the leaders. This suits the politicians as well because they do not have to answer tough questions on their own policy when they can easily criticize the other guy.
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I’ve always been sceptical of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), the government agency in charge of regulating broadcasting and telecommunications.

After all, it seems to be staffed by a group of public servants who are guided by the “let the market decide” mantra, as opposed to their legislated responsibility to create and sustain a viable broadcast and telecom sector that actually works for Canadians and delivers innovative, high- quality content and services.

Despite my misgivings, I have to admit that it seems as though the CRTC is actually on the right track … for now at least! Of course, this is only a recent development, so maybe I should hold back on my excitement.
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