By arthur Weinreb
Friday, May 13, 2005In last Saturdays edition of Canada Free Press, documentary filmmaker Garth Pritchard wrote about the difficulties of getting a documentary broadcast in Canada that expresses a viewpoint that differs from that of the Liberal government. Pritchard wrote about a group called Friends of Science that prepared a 27-minute documentary showing Canadian scientists expressing the view that there is no evidence of man-made global warming and that the Kyoto Protocol is nothing but a sham.
The view that apparent global warming is not a man-made phenomenon of course goes against the politically correct view of the Liberals and the left. as a result, there is no way that the CBC would ever air such a piece.
We got a lot of emails and letters commenting on Pritchards column. and they all pretty much said the same thing "so what"? The majority of these letters expressed the view that controversial material such as the Friends of Science film can be put on the Internet so it really doesnt matter if the CBC will air it or not.
The response to Pritchards column is more positive proof that the media has undergone massive changes recently. No longer can the Canadian government, through regulation of the airwaves, effectively censor what documentary films and points of views Canadians can have access to. What is implied in this group of letters is that viewing videos on the Internet is becoming as natural as turning on a television set. If we are not at the point where the Internet is accepted as a full and proper alternative to other media, we are quickly approaching that point.
It wont be too long before people like those involved in the Friends of Science wont think twice about going straight to the Internet rather than fight a losing battle with those in charge of producing politically correct programming. Slowly but surely, the CBC is becoming totally irrelevant. and, as Martha would say, this is a good thing.