I have long lost trust in the media. I have a few journalists I support such as you (Tara) but am leery of most news organizations, as they are almost with out exception ideologically captured. 25 years ago, CBC radio played continuously in my home. 15 years ago, I turned it off as they were just repeating talking points mindlessly. The incident that really got me was when a reporter did a piece of in-depth journalism on the Iraq war only to be completely contradicted by the News at the end. The journalist left the CBC and the in depth reporting turned into propaganda.
At this point, I follow journalists that consistently get stories right. I judge this by weather their stories stand up over time, and with stand criticism. By this standard most often the most accurate reporting get the most flack. Usually, someone who every one in the MSM hates is the one who's reporting is proven out over many years, and 10 years later is accepted truth.
It must be challenging to bear witness to such evidence of rot in the structure of democracy, as well as the apparent contempt for the citizens paying the bills. Thank you for doing so, and reporting back. I find the comments from MPs chilling. But sadly not surprising.
I only look at the likes of CBC, CTV, CNN, FOX, etc for morbid entertainment purposes - namely to see how absurdly they spin a story, on what what aspects they acknowledge versus remain silent, and to keep tabs on the ongoing train wreck. Real news and insightful opinion I get from various sources on Substack, including Lean Out. In comparing Substack versus the legacy media, I find that the most egregious sin of the latter is the refusal to comment on, or even to acknowledge, stories inconvenient to the favoured narrative. I do not believe legacy media can save itself - the ideological rot runs too deep and is inculcated at journalism schools.
Not surprised that the process is mere political posturing. The government is going to do what it wants to do anyway. You are speaking accurately about the public mistrust in a media funded by the government. Thank you for the work you do.
Thank you Tara! No wonder the political class is almost universally distrusted. They think that the people they are elected to serve are too stupid to decide what is best and must have that decided for them. Sadly I can't say unbelievable, because it is what we have come to expect from our elected officials.
Because the people understand that there's no way to "hold them to account". We've been trying to change things with voting. It doesn't work. After an alleged opponent gets into office, he betrays his voters and runs with the crowd.
Who’s coming out to vote in this country? Less than 30% at the municipal level, just over 50% at the provincial level, and what’s the Federal level…less than 60%? We get the democracy we show up for. Until people want to stop following along, we get what we show up for.
You've a point here, Tara. But simply "showing up" ain't the whole answer...because, as polistra (above) says the current voting mechanism fails to provide any voter satisfaction that change is a likely outcome. We are "Citizen Eunuchs".
Perhaps "voter recall" of MPs, MLAs et al might tickle political complacence a bit.
Government funding of the news media simply doesn't work - it is a fundamental conflict of interest for an institution that is meant to hold the government to account. I'm not sure what the solution is but such funding should be ended completely. Being a center right jerk myself I would also completely defund the CBC for the same reason, but that is probably a step too far for most so maybe as a compromise they should get out of the news business completely and be restricted to entertainment (that no one will watch, but fine I guess?) instead.
Thank you Tara , for speaking to the Commons Heritage Meeting. Although it was not necessarily a positive experience, we can never be sure whether your words will have an impact on someone who was at the meeting, at a later time. What stands out to me is the fact that many of the people at the meeting do not think that it is important to listen to Canadians. This perspective says it all. Much of the legacy media continues to exist in an echo chamber, and they will die there. It’s sad, but it is their choice to stubbornly hold onto their elitist views rather than admit that they have taken the wrong path. Canadians are a free people and many of us are turning away from the media outlets that treat us like consumers rather than citizens. The legacy media has no respect for Canadians and our ability to think critically so they have gradually stopped sharing complete information with us or providing unbiased news coverage. By doing so they have weakened rather than strengthened our democracy. I won’t miss them when they are gone!
"So, public opinion should be taken with a grain of salt."
This is not really what she meant. What she meant is "except for a minority of sceptics that we have proven we can put down, the public has proven to be easily manipulated by fear and anger propaganda from our control position at the top of the elite globalist establishment, so why ask what they want? There would be nothing to gain for me."
I think the "save the independent media" movement is missing the target. The state of the media is a symptom of another root cause, that that is the public education system. It is cranking out hundreds of thousands of new comrades of the 3rd wave feminist postmodernist ideology movement where they eventually settle in position of power and influence. The media is, of course, their second most important institution to take over and corrupt, after they secure enough political positions.
The problem as I see it... those that understand this and want to solve the problem tend to be wired with real liberal democratic values and make the mistake of believing they have to tolerate and respect the globalist collectivists as per those values inviting and accepting a pluralistic society. But that is the primary flaw in the ointment as the enemy is given too much freedom for malice and destruction.
We need to identify the enemy and systematically beat them back to a position of weakness. And it begins with taking back the education system to teach the principles of real democratic liberalism.
"We must save ourselves." Tara, this is beyond hopeless. There is no one left in the industry to do it ...and no industry remaining to do it to. The Globe & Mail is a perfect example of lackluster management, somnolence, and marketplace unresponsiveness.
They ditched CEO, Philip Crawley, in 2023. Crawley presided over an 80% paid circulation death-watch during his 1999-2023 tenure. News Corp (Wall St. Journal amongst other media holdings) drove their paid circulation UP by 200% over the same time frame. Initiative, investment and listening worked during the same troubling times.
As I've said before, those capable of "saving it" have done a John Galt. They've quit, taken their skills and gone home--just like you did. Best wishes for wealth and reward.
Great speech, but it won't help. For 20 years the press has been receiving excellent advice from semi-insiders and former insiders, and ignored all of it. The press enjoys what it's doing and sees no reason to change, even as the business crumbles.
The chorus of voices demanding, “The Government should do something!” seems to be ever-expanding. Every time I hear that sentiment, I shudder, thinking that when the State gets involved with ANYTHING, it becomes bureaucratically expensive, poorly run, and with unnecessary outcomes. There is a forced spirit of universal inclusion which ends up having money spent on people outside of the group in need. And the State grows more powerful and more influential in the lives of the people. When the government offered the money to the MSM, they should have said, emphatically “No, thank you,” and reported on the suggestion as an attempt to bribe. Trust would have remained high, and the problems would find solutions elsewhere.
I appreciate your voice, Tara, saying no to more government. Thanks, but we have plenty to go around. More government is not the solution to every problem, and we, the people, need to stop going to them with our hands out every time we have a problem.
I did this convoy cartoon a while ago. I'm actually starting to change my feelings about that event... but quite apart from that, I think I'm going to change the caption to "Maybe if we had a public broadcaster."
Spot on.
I have long lost trust in the media. I have a few journalists I support such as you (Tara) but am leery of most news organizations, as they are almost with out exception ideologically captured. 25 years ago, CBC radio played continuously in my home. 15 years ago, I turned it off as they were just repeating talking points mindlessly. The incident that really got me was when a reporter did a piece of in-depth journalism on the Iraq war only to be completely contradicted by the News at the end. The journalist left the CBC and the in depth reporting turned into propaganda.
At this point, I follow journalists that consistently get stories right. I judge this by weather their stories stand up over time, and with stand criticism. By this standard most often the most accurate reporting get the most flack. Usually, someone who every one in the MSM hates is the one who's reporting is proven out over many years, and 10 years later is accepted truth.
It must be challenging to bear witness to such evidence of rot in the structure of democracy, as well as the apparent contempt for the citizens paying the bills. Thank you for doing so, and reporting back. I find the comments from MPs chilling. But sadly not surprising.
I only look at the likes of CBC, CTV, CNN, FOX, etc for morbid entertainment purposes - namely to see how absurdly they spin a story, on what what aspects they acknowledge versus remain silent, and to keep tabs on the ongoing train wreck. Real news and insightful opinion I get from various sources on Substack, including Lean Out. In comparing Substack versus the legacy media, I find that the most egregious sin of the latter is the refusal to comment on, or even to acknowledge, stories inconvenient to the favoured narrative. I do not believe legacy media can save itself - the ideological rot runs too deep and is inculcated at journalism schools.
Not surprised that the process is mere political posturing. The government is going to do what it wants to do anyway. You are speaking accurately about the public mistrust in a media funded by the government. Thank you for the work you do.
Thank you Tara! No wonder the political class is almost universally distrusted. They think that the people they are elected to serve are too stupid to decide what is best and must have that decided for them. Sadly I can't say unbelievable, because it is what we have come to expect from our elected officials.
So why are the sheeple merely following along rather than holding our elected leaders to account?
Because the people understand that there's no way to "hold them to account". We've been trying to change things with voting. It doesn't work. After an alleged opponent gets into office, he betrays his voters and runs with the crowd.
Who’s coming out to vote in this country? Less than 30% at the municipal level, just over 50% at the provincial level, and what’s the Federal level…less than 60%? We get the democracy we show up for. Until people want to stop following along, we get what we show up for.
You've a point here, Tara. But simply "showing up" ain't the whole answer...because, as polistra (above) says the current voting mechanism fails to provide any voter satisfaction that change is a likely outcome. We are "Citizen Eunuchs".
Perhaps "voter recall" of MPs, MLAs et al might tickle political complacence a bit.
Government funding of the news media simply doesn't work - it is a fundamental conflict of interest for an institution that is meant to hold the government to account. I'm not sure what the solution is but such funding should be ended completely. Being a center right jerk myself I would also completely defund the CBC for the same reason, but that is probably a step too far for most so maybe as a compromise they should get out of the news business completely and be restricted to entertainment (that no one will watch, but fine I guess?) instead.
Thank you Tara , for speaking to the Commons Heritage Meeting. Although it was not necessarily a positive experience, we can never be sure whether your words will have an impact on someone who was at the meeting, at a later time. What stands out to me is the fact that many of the people at the meeting do not think that it is important to listen to Canadians. This perspective says it all. Much of the legacy media continues to exist in an echo chamber, and they will die there. It’s sad, but it is their choice to stubbornly hold onto their elitist views rather than admit that they have taken the wrong path. Canadians are a free people and many of us are turning away from the media outlets that treat us like consumers rather than citizens. The legacy media has no respect for Canadians and our ability to think critically so they have gradually stopped sharing complete information with us or providing unbiased news coverage. By doing so they have weakened rather than strengthened our democracy. I won’t miss them when they are gone!
"So, public opinion should be taken with a grain of salt."
This is not really what she meant. What she meant is "except for a minority of sceptics that we have proven we can put down, the public has proven to be easily manipulated by fear and anger propaganda from our control position at the top of the elite globalist establishment, so why ask what they want? There would be nothing to gain for me."
I think the "save the independent media" movement is missing the target. The state of the media is a symptom of another root cause, that that is the public education system. It is cranking out hundreds of thousands of new comrades of the 3rd wave feminist postmodernist ideology movement where they eventually settle in position of power and influence. The media is, of course, their second most important institution to take over and corrupt, after they secure enough political positions.
The problem as I see it... those that understand this and want to solve the problem tend to be wired with real liberal democratic values and make the mistake of believing they have to tolerate and respect the globalist collectivists as per those values inviting and accepting a pluralistic society. But that is the primary flaw in the ointment as the enemy is given too much freedom for malice and destruction.
We need to identify the enemy and systematically beat them back to a position of weakness. And it begins with taking back the education system to teach the principles of real democratic liberalism.
Bang on. Best reply here. Thank you Frank.
"We must save ourselves." Tara, this is beyond hopeless. There is no one left in the industry to do it ...and no industry remaining to do it to. The Globe & Mail is a perfect example of lackluster management, somnolence, and marketplace unresponsiveness.
They ditched CEO, Philip Crawley, in 2023. Crawley presided over an 80% paid circulation death-watch during his 1999-2023 tenure. News Corp (Wall St. Journal amongst other media holdings) drove their paid circulation UP by 200% over the same time frame. Initiative, investment and listening worked during the same troubling times.
As I've said before, those capable of "saving it" have done a John Galt. They've quit, taken their skills and gone home--just like you did. Best wishes for wealth and reward.
So a parasitic propaganda outfit is terrified about having their unearned funding cut off.
Bummer.
Great speech, but it won't help. For 20 years the press has been receiving excellent advice from semi-insiders and former insiders, and ignored all of it. The press enjoys what it's doing and sees no reason to change, even as the business crumbles.
Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed: the house flipper. Clearly a man of great intellect.
The chorus of voices demanding, “The Government should do something!” seems to be ever-expanding. Every time I hear that sentiment, I shudder, thinking that when the State gets involved with ANYTHING, it becomes bureaucratically expensive, poorly run, and with unnecessary outcomes. There is a forced spirit of universal inclusion which ends up having money spent on people outside of the group in need. And the State grows more powerful and more influential in the lives of the people. When the government offered the money to the MSM, they should have said, emphatically “No, thank you,” and reported on the suggestion as an attempt to bribe. Trust would have remained high, and the problems would find solutions elsewhere.
I appreciate your voice, Tara, saying no to more government. Thanks, but we have plenty to go around. More government is not the solution to every problem, and we, the people, need to stop going to them with our hands out every time we have a problem.
I did this convoy cartoon a while ago. I'm actually starting to change my feelings about that event... but quite apart from that, I think I'm going to change the caption to "Maybe if we had a public broadcaster."
https://open.substack.com/pub/toonsday/p/remembering-the-convoy
Good job, Tara. Nailed it again.