Harper says national media are biased against him

Harper says national media are biased against him

BitWhys

#1May 24th, 2006

Quote:

OTTAWA (CP) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the national media are biased against him so he will avoid them from now on.

The prime minister says the Ottawa press gallery seems to have decided to become the opposition to his Conservative government. He told a London, Ont., TV station Wednesday that he is having problems with the media that a Liberal prime minister would never have to face. So Harper says he will take his message out on the road and deal with the less hostile local media.

Two dozen Ottawa reporters walked out on a Harper event this week when he refused to take their questions.

The prime minister does not want to hold press conferences unless his staff gets to pick which journalists ask questions.

The Ottawa press gallery has refused to play by those rules.

Harper has grumbled publicly about an anti-Conservative bias in the media before - but not since becoming prime minister.

Ironically, Liberals have recently been convinced of the contrary.

In the dying days of the last election campaign, Paul Martin's staff grumbled that reporters were out to get them and were working to elect Harper.

Howard Hughs?

FiveParadox

Liberal

Re: Government's Relationship with the Media

May 24th, 2006

I think it is quite inappropriate for The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., the Member for Calgary Southwest and the Prime Minister of Canada, and his Government of Canada, wish to have the right to choose, ahead of time, which reporters should have the right to ask questions to the Government's representatives. I see this, in my opinion, as an overt attempt to hide things from the press, and by proxy, the people of Canada.

Hank C

Re: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Quote:

The prime minister says the Ottawa press gallery seems to have decided to become the opposition to his Conservative government. He told a London, Ont., TV station Wednesday that he is having problems with the media that a Liberal prime minister would never have to face. So Harper says he will take his message out on the road and deal with the less hostile local media.

not a bad idea.....

Kreskin

RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

I thought he dictated what got published at the socialist CBC.

yballa09

Re: Government's Relationship with the Media

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by FiveParadox

I think it is quite inappropriate for The Right Honourable Stephen Harper, P.C., M.P., the Member for Calgary Southwest and the Prime Minister of Canada, and his Government of Canada, wish to have the right to choose, ahead of time, which reporters should have the right to ask questions to the Government's representatives. I see this, in my opinion, as an overt attempt to hide things from the press, and by proxy, the people of Canada.

I don't like it either. Martin did the exact same thing during election time once the liberals started falling in the polls.

Jay

Re: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by Hank C

Quote:
The prime minister says the Ottawa press gallery seems to have decided to become the opposition to his Conservative government. He told a London, Ont., TV station Wednesday that he is having problems with the media that a Liberal prime minister would never have to face. So Harper says he will take his message out on the road and deal with the less hostile local media.
not a bad idea.....

Especially with such a slim minority.....

Jay

Re: Government's Relationship with the Media

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by yballa09

Martin did the exact same thing during election time once the liberals started falling in the polls.

I will have to go back in the posts and find all the screaming and fussing over it by the Liberals around here....shouldn't be to hard to find I would imagine.

BitWhys

RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

um

you DO realize there's a difference between campaigning and governing, right?

LittleRunningGag

Free Thinker

RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

The media is being mean so he's taking his ball home? Give me a break.

Jay, just because some people didn't object when their party was doing it, doesn't make it the correct thing to do.

BitWhys

#10

RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

who's objecting? I for one look forward to reading rewrites of verbatums released out of Swift Current and Medicine Hat.

Jersay

#11

Re: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

All Hail Dictator Harper.

But now that he has declared war on national media. He can go and spread his announcements to local media and local areas, but the National papers can all publish reports based on rumors, and they don't have to trust their accuracy to villify him. So he is screwed.

He and his little business buddies are screwed.

Jay

#12

Re: RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by BitWhys

um

you DO realize there's a difference between campaigning and governing, right?

Thats not how I read that...they were in power then.

Jay

#13

Re: RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by LittleRunningGag

The media is being mean so he's taking his ball home? Give me a break.

Jay, just because some people didn't object when their party was doing it, doesn't make it the correct thing to do.

I think some people are acting like he isn't saying anything to the media....

Jersay

#14

Re: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Well Jay, you can believe all you want. But the Cons are going down.

If they thought the media was bad before, I hope the media is 100 X worth.

BitWhys

#15

RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

the opposition must be pissing themselves laughing. Harper just gave them dibs to the front page.

Jersay

#16

Re: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Exactly he can have all the local media he wants. With page after page filled with comments from the NDP and the Liberals and the Bloc in National papers it wouldn't help him.

BitWhys

#17

RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

The funniest part is every quote that makes the big leagues will have to cite who he talked to.

Jay

#18

Re: RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by BitWhys

the opposition must be pissing themselves laughing. Harper just gave them dibs to the front page.

I would imagine the opposition is pissing themselves over the latest polls, and besides what does the opposition have to bring to the table? Separation? I don't have a leader? I'm Jack and I hate America?

Who cares?

darkbeaver

Republican

#19

RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

If Harper were as smart as he is evil we'd be in trouble.

bluealberta

#20

Re: RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by darkbeaver

If Harper were as smart as he is evil we'd be in trouble.

The topic makes me laugh, and DB's response is even funnier. Have you seen the polls? Even in Quebec? Harper rises, and is in majority numbers.

The thing is, this is only an issue with the Ottawa press gallery, and most folks in Canada don't have a lot of sympathy for the press anyway, and have much more important things to do than worry about this.

I saw on CPAC the other night the forum that was held in Halifax about this issue. Don Martin complained that he was unable to get an appt with Rona Ambrose without giving her the topic(s) he wanted to talk about. Then he made an appt, which was cancelled at the last minute the day the Accountability Act was introduced because the government wanted only one big message that day, not Kyoto issues. The funny thing is, that after all this, he still got his interview, with all the topics he wanted to discuss. But because it was not done on HIS terms and HIS timetable, his assertion was that the government was trying to control the media. He still got everything he wanted, just not when. Tough luck, Don, get over it.

One of the other guys, Keith Boag from CTV, even allowed as how he could understand Harper wanting to have some control over this issue after the shameful way (his words) that the media treated Stockwell Day, and let the Libs off the hook for their supposed gaffs.

Its not that big an issue, except to the Liberal lapdogs in the Press Gallery. Just one more thing. They admitted freely that a great many of the National Press went to summer homes of Liberals, went on vacation with Liberal ministers, and had regular dinners with Liberal ministers. Even the panel agreed that stopping this was a good idea.

FiveParadox

Liberal

#21

RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

bluealberta, I would assume then, from your preceding post, that you think any Government of Canada should have the right to choose the reporters whom are given the right to ask questions, and to reject others, based on the decisions of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, as is our new practice?

bluealberta

#22

Re: RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by FiveParadox

bluealberta, I would assume then, from your preceding post, that you think any Government of Canada should have the right to choose the reporters whom are given the right to ask questions, and to reject others, based on the decisions of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, as is our new practice?

Maybe doing this would get more balanced and fairer coverage?

I also just rembered that the PM's press sec was also on this panel, and wondered by nobody had mentioned that at an announcement he made about two weeks ago now about immigration, I believe or gun control, that the PM took questions until there were no more. Again, all we ever hear is what the press wants us to hear, not what actually happens.

Frankly, Five, after the way the press treated the CPC in the 2004 election, I have no respect for most of them anyway. The 2006 election was better and why? Because Harper was in total control, ran an extremely disciplined election campaign, and the press had virtually nothing bad they could say.

IMO, the Vaillancourt press coverage is a further example of the bias against the CPC by the CBC, at least. I saw that interview, and there was nothing that was offensive in that at all, except to certain liberal media and judges.

LittleRunningGag

Free Thinker

#23

Re: RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

Quote: Originally Posted by bluealberta

Quote: Originally Posted by FiveParadox
bluealberta, I would assume then, from your preceding post, that you think any Government of Canada should have the right to choose the reporters whom are given the right to ask questions, and to reject others, based on the decisions of the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada, as is our new practice?
Maybe doing this would get more balanced and fairer coverage?

:blink:

It will create a more balanced media? How exactly? If the only ones allowed to ask questions are pro government media, then the media simply becomes the propaganda arm of the party. It ceases to be one of the checks that democratic governments need.

elevennevele

#24

RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

It is a strong characteristic of a leader to be able to face and weather tough questions in the media. I guess Harper doesn’t have it in him.

FiveParadox

Liberal

#25

RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 24th, 2006

By that same token, however, bluealberta, would you contend that every Government of Canada should have that right, or only the one run by the Conservative Party of Canada?

elevennevele

#26

Re: RE: Harper says national

May 24th, 2006

I have to shake my head every time when I hear people justify a Canadian Prime Minister insulating himself from the media to this extent, and making attempts to control the message to the level that it turns media into a propaganda arm of the government.

Why should the government bother answering any questions altogether? Issuing unchallenged public statements will provide much the same effect in the end. To pick the questions that you plan to answer becomes all show at that point. A meaningless disingenuous display of the government pretending to be accountable to public scrutiny.

I can think of societies that control the message of the media. However they are typical of dictatorships or regimes.

mabudon

#27

RE: Harper says national

May 25th, 2006

I think that that joke circulating a few months ago is maybe true- we are helping the US and Britain export so much freedom and democracy that our own supply is being threatened

Seriously tho, this whole deal is pretty funny in a spooky kind of way- the concept of telling someone who is an "investigator" (which is one facet of reporting when it's done right) what questions they can ask and thus what answers they can expect is simply ludicrous...

I thought "transparency" and "accountability" were part of this jokers platform??? How can anyone be accountable if you can't even ask for an account???

And as some here have said, this is a fine example of shooting oneself in the foot- I would hope that as an escalated form of protest, political reporters begin to actually write speculative pieces, using just the observable facts, such as "With all this secrecy,Wonder what the REAL agenda is??" or "why can't the PMO stand up to questions??"

Might as well. I know overall the MSM is just crap, but every once in a while reporting done right can get important issues into the public eye, it is too bad Harper doesn't see this...

And as a final quick point- the delicious irony of the "Nazi" charges against Iran ("they are turning into the 'new nazi germany'") and now Harper himself ACTUALLY enacts policies that would make Goebbels proud...

Too bad this is all true, too, or it would be REAL funny

BitWhys

#28

RE: Harper says national

May 25th, 2006

everyone realizes that aside from a proportion of political junkies nobody cares, right?

it IS funny, though.

mabudon

#29

RE: Harper says national

May 25th, 2006

LOL too bad what you said is true and somehow makes it even funnier in a most peculiar way... at least we won't run out of topics

Jay

#30

RE: Harper says national media are biased against him

May 25th, 2006

He has a slim minority, and the MSM are left leaning, so he has every right to bring order to the table.

I hear in this thread that Martin did the same thing, and I've been around here long enough to know there was no uproar from Libs then, as there is now, so being a reflection of yourselves, Harper is right to limit "stupid question time".

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