To his credit … Bill Good took up on air Friday the issue and the strong criticism I raised in my recent article here “BC TV Stations Give Away Their Integrity“. At the opening of his show on CKNW, Good referred to my Blog and my condemnation of the TV stations that ran Premier Gordon Campbell’s 12-minute speech LIVE on their major news shows Wednesday night.
You can listen to Good’s response and those of his callers at the www.cknw.com Audio Vault (left side of the page, half way down) beginning around 8:35 a.m. Friday.
But I must say, I was appalled to hear him say, at 9:10 a.m. “Who are we to deny the elected Premier the opportunity to make a speech or make an announcement?”
Geez! Bill!!
I have NEVER suggested (nor have I heard anyone else suggest) the Premier be denied the right to make a speech or any announcement. I have NEVER suggested the media should not make available time for the Premier or not carry his speech.
JUST NOT FOR 12 MINUTES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE MAJOR EVENING NEWSCAST!!!!
Don’t these supposed “NEWS” people get it?
If the premier wanted to go live with a speech he should have been provided time to do so BEFORE or AFTER the news broadcast. (And I would not care if the stations made the time available free of charge or sold the slot, as long as they offered similar air time/setup to the Official Opposition.)
But NO Politician should EVER be allowed to commandeer A SINGLE MINUTE of any NEWS SHOW in the Free World to make a speech. Period! Regardless of whatever he or she plans to announce.
And to give Campbell the time (12 minutes uninterupted, unchallenged, unedited) on Vancouver’s major evening news shows (except CBC who maintained their integrity ..and carried the story as a news item after the points were announced) … just two weeks before two Vancouver by-elections made the situation all the more political and inexcusable. How could the major media in this city be so co-opted and so co-operative???
And the fact that many of the minions working for these stations are trying to excuse it all by suggesting the critics of their actions didn’t want the Premier to be given ANY time to make his speech whatsoever is pathetic.
To hear them trying to skew the debate to the Premier’s right to speak, rather than the REAL issue of doing so ON THE EVENING NEWSCAST tells me how vulnerable they must feel about what they did.
And the fact they would rather do that, than admit they made a terrible mistake and apologize to their viewers, compounds the sad facts of this matter.
A television station’s major evening News show, I believe, is a sacred spot … as I wrote earlier … the ONE place where “viewers have, until now, always expected to be able to turn to and see top quality journalism, telling the truth about what’s going on in our society … all of it delivered clean, spin-free and laid out in honest, critical stories by highly principled reporters on an independent, totally UNCOMPROMISED show. Not anymore!”
That’s it … pure and simple.
What a terrible precedent has been set by this horrible decision made by weak and/or intimidated management! I truly believe the integrity of the evening news shows that surrendered their airwaves to a Premier for an unedited 12-minute partisan speech during their news broadcasts has been badly tarnished … regardless of any announcements he made.
What’s next? If the Premier or the Health Minister says he has a HUGE major set of announcements to make regarding Medicare coverage, premiums and major new initiatives that will affect EVERYONE in the province … and wants to make the announcements LIVE on the news in a 10 minute speech … will permission be given?
Why not? The precedent has been set. What is the standard required to be met? Six important points to be announced? Ten? Two tax reductions … and a draw for a new car? What’s the criteria? Since none of the stations KNEW ANY of the announcements Campbell was about to make, the bar apparently was set very low … just his request (and a little pressure?) for the time. And they caved.
It is a total red herring to suggest, well, the media have a responsiblity to cover the news whenever it happens …. even if it occurs during the newscast. With today’s technology, any announcement can be taped, turned around and played within a minute or two. What difference would that extra minute have made … enough to give away your appearance of impartiality and integrity? I think not.
The Premier’s specific points would have take less than two minutes to list in their entirety (news media do that kind of thing all the time): the other 10 minutes was typical political speech-making and could have easily been reduced to a clip or two.
Was there anything in Campbell’s points we HAD to know 60 seconds earlier than we should have? Of course not. In fact, the premier himself apparently considers them of so little critical timing… he’s not even calling the legislature back until Nov 20 to deal with them!
Let’s face it! The BC media got taken! The TV stations that ran it live DURING their news shows let their journalistic principles down and let their viewers down.
And what really scares me … from all the excuses they’ve been offering … and their apparent inability to distinguish “air” time from “News” time, I believe it could EASILY happen again.
Harv Oberfeld
10 responses so far ↓
1 Grant g // Oct 24, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Its quite the little media club in BC
Lets look at the cast of players
Global news—Michael Campbell and Keith Baldrey
CTV–Bill Good—And an official sponser of the 2010 Olympics
Chek T.V–Owned by Canwest
CKNW–Bill Good–Keith Baldrey–Vaughn Palmer–Christie Clark(Ex BC Liberal cabinet Minister)–Michael Campbell
Shaw TV—Vaughn Palmer–Owned by Canwest global
Last month–The Bill Good roast at the VBoT (Vancouver board of trade)–
Who attended–Gordon Campbell/ Baldery/Palmer/the other Campbell
Who has the most representation on the Gateway council–The VBoT
Does not anyone in the province see this HUGE CONFLICT of INTEREST!
Today on CKNW at 11.53 am –Bill Good defended M Campbell
On the Cutting ledge 9.00am to 10.00 am
B Good –Slammed Carole James for not saying how she would fix the economic problems of BC
Would Premier (to be) Carole James actually tell Good and Campbell exactly what her platform is? Before the writ was dropped.Just so Campbell would hi-jack any good ideas?
Considering Campbell`s Liberals stole 2 private members bills earlier this year,without giving the NDP any credit or ackoledgement.
The 2 bills were—One bill that guarateed any BC soldier the went to Afghanastan would have their regular job guaranteed when they return.
The other was fees and time limits on gift cards.
P.S. That was me on the cutting ledge at 9.27 am
And lets not forget that Canwest Global and Ipsos Reid have a working relationship–
The press release from 2005 states ” With this new partnership it allows Canwest News officials special access to Ipsos Reid pollsters”
Something sure stinks to high heaven in BC
2 Grant g // Oct 25, 2008 at 12:06 am
Here is a link to that Canwest Global/Ipsos Reid partnership press release.
http://www.ipsos-na.com/news/pressrelease.cfm?id=2838
3 RS // Oct 25, 2008 at 1:59 pm
Anyone know how much 12 minutes of air time would cost; times three?
So when will CTV, Global and CHEK be providing the official opposition with 12 uninterupted, and unchallenged minutes of “news” time???
4 RS // Oct 25, 2008 at 2:19 pm
But I must say, I was appalled to hear him say, at 9:10 a.m. “Who are we to deny the elected Premier the opportunity to make a speech or make an announcement?”
Geez! Bill!!
Bill ——- Good ———-has — never ————-impressed ——me ————as —– the brightest———–light————-in——-the—–cast—–of—– local — news ———readers, and —-to be — quite ———– frank, he —– doesn’t —- do — a —————particularly ——– good —-job —of–reading —–the ——–news.
5 George K // Oct 25, 2008 at 3:17 pm
This isn’t the first time that Harvey Oberfeld has had a problem with news media being used to disseminate news. In August of 2006 Oberfeld submitted a letter to the Georgia Straight complaining about a Lebanese-born professor, a Palestinian activist, and a spokesman for Jews for a Just Peace being allowed to use its pages to express their [unacceptable] analysis regarding the Palestinian problem. He should have considered himself lucky they weren’t doing it on a major news program – in which case I expect he would have suffered an apoplectic fit. A critical analysis of Campbell’s bullshit would have been far more useful than this silly complaint. And, while I didn’t hear Campbell’s speech (as with Harper and Bush – I actually can’t stomach the sound of his voice), I wouldn’t be surprised if it offered welcome comic relief from the usual bullshit that passes for ‘news’.
(Response: Such crap! … nice to be retired so I can describe crap as crap
The Georgia Straight actually agreed with my criticism: an article they did on the Middle East featured TWO Palestininan supporters castigating Israel (I have no problem with that) and then, the only perspective from the Israeli side .. a spokesperson for Jews for Just Peace ..a far left wing group that many Israeli supporters see as almost Anti-Israel … also dumping on Israel: not exactly a “fair” discussion canvassing both sides of the issue, which is all I ever ask. The Straight, in response ot my critical letter, said due to deadline pressures, that spokesman was the only one they could find but AGREED their story had NOT been a fair canvassing of both perspectives. George apparently preferred the one-sided anti-Israeli article. ho)
6 BC Mary // Oct 25, 2008 at 3:59 pm
Bravo Harvey and Thank you! Bravo Grant g as well.
Yesterday’s Globe and Mail carried a similar atrocity: its leading editorial was headlined “A Premier Who Planned Ahead”, an outrageously biased, cruelly ill-informed piece of hackery.
Worse: its first two slavish comments could well have been Media Monitors earning good salaries on the BC government payroll. They extolled the many virtues of G. Campbell.
But after that, the British Columbians came roaring in with the facts of the matter.
I was proud of them, but it’s been worrying me ever since.
It looks like Convergence of a different kind – no longer confined to B.C.
The venerable Globe and Mail endorsed Harper’s “Conservatives” in the recent federal election. So there’s no doubt about who commands their loyalty.
But the G&M isn’t so stupid as to be unaware that BC “Liberals” are virtually the same genre. Harper & Campbell are spiritually joined at the hip, right close to their wallet-pockets.
Question is, if all Big Media is crushed into one Flanaganesque point of view: who will speak for us now?
Harvey is spot-on to speak against the special treatment given so easily, willingly and unnecessarily by the B.C. news media.
Seems that there’s a huge rumbling like distant thunder, as responsibility for free speech in a democratic society is shifting more swiftly onto the shoulders of the citizens.
.
7 Tired of Lies // Oct 26, 2008 at 5:56 pm
When is the last time any public figure (political/news/ etc) ever genuinely apologized for anything?
I no longer expect it of public servant or politicians, but after today I no longer expect it from the media either.
It’s very perplexing that none of them realize how this behaviour (giving campbell air time during the news w/o questions) will damage them. Their lack of foresight is stunning.
8 Vigilantz // Oct 27, 2008 at 4:58 pm
Quote:
“A television station’s major evening News show, I believe, is a sacred spot … as I wrote earlier … the ONE place where “viewers have, until now, always expected to be able to turn to and see top quality journalism, telling the truth about what’s going on in our society … all of it delivered clean, spin-free and laid out in honest, critical stories by highly principled reporters on an independent, totally UNCOMPROMISED show. Not anymore!”
Sorry, Harvey – I like the fact that you are using some of your retirement to try and improve our media (Lord, it sure need it!) but the above statement is laughable. There isn’t and hasn’t been for quite some time any such thing as ‘highly principled reporters’ delivering ’spin-free’ news on an ‘independent, totally UNCOMPROMISED (emphasis is yours) show’. And that should much to our collective shame and concern.
9 DMJ // Nov 2, 2008 at 1:37 am
The media in BC has dipped to new lows and thank god for the blog! Sadly, every-time the Premier is on the media, I turn it off; I stopped taking the sun because of their unrelenting bias; I seldom watch the 6 PM news casts and the radio is just the last resort!
I am so sad the media has, to all intent and purpose, has ceased to be a relevant factor and seem mainly as shills for the highest bidder.
10 salvatore bennedetto // Nov 2, 2008 at 7:19 am
Sensationalism is all they peddle. Where is the deep digging to get all the story? Another thing making me tired is the asking of the self described experts they always ask and always agree with each other. Its all crap.
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