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Media Report

CBC Gets A Pass

by Arthur Weinreb

September 30, 2002

CBC ran documentaries about September 11, for 10 days prior to the anniversary of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and then spent most of September 11 airing programs of last year’s events. One of the documentaries featured an interview of Prime Minister Chrétien in which he first publicly made known his views that the terrorist attacks were caused, at least in part, by the greed and arrogance of the West. While the Canadian cultural and intellectual elite praised the PM’s anti-American and anti-West statements, a lot of Canadians were offended by Chrétien’s comments. Many indicated that they felt embarrassed to be Canadians.

Although the CBC spent several days showing 9/11 programming, the network chose the anniversary date to air this particular documentary. September 11, 2002 was not only the anniversary of the attack but was the day in which a somber looking Jean Chrétien attended a memorial service that was held in New York’s Battery Park. Although the network no doubt prided itself on taking an extra stab at the Americans, they came out of the event unscathed. The network should have taken some of the heat for the timing of the showing of Chrétien’s comments.

It’s The Cellphone’s Fault

There has been a lot of coverage in the Canadian media about the use of cellphones in vehicles, especially since the inquest into the deaths of Richard Schewe and his 2-year-old daughter Amanda got underway. Schewe and his daughter died when their vehicle was struck by a freight train at a level crossing just east of Toronto. The media, as it always does, engaged in a lot of hand-wringing about the government stepping in and banning the use of phones in cars, but said nothing about personal responsibility. Some crucial facts that were known after the accident occurred were never reported in the media, at least until the inquest started. Schewe had been talking to his ex-wife to tell her where he was taking their little girl. He extended his arm over to his daughter so that the parties could have a three- way conversation. It appears that he was more distracted by his attempts to involve the 2-year-old in the conversation than he was by simply the use of the phone itself. But that fact negates the media push to mention banning the devices at every opportunity.

But not all media are in favour of banning cell phones from vehicles. Unlike other issues where the scribes and talking heads cry out for government intervention, this one affects the media personally. In a report on Toronto’s cp24, Merella Fernandez showed the interior of one of the station’s jeeps, packed full of cell phones, scanners and assorted other communications equipment. In Fernandez’ words, "we just can’t get along without it".

If the media really wanted to be helpful, they could stress the real problem which is that drivers allow themselves to be distracted while driving. Instead the media tries to focus on cellphones and needed government intervention.

A Typical Article on the Environment

A Canadian Press article appeared in the National Post on September 23 entitled "Activists warn province against spraying". The piece was in response to Premier Eves’ statement that there might be a massive spray next year throughout Ontario to combat the West Nile virus. The article gave one good reason not to spray; the cost can’t be justified in light of the relatively small amount of harm that occurs. However, it was assumed as a fact, that pesticides are dangerous and should be avoided. The article quoted Janet May of Pesticide Free Ontario as saying, " I think it would be an environmental and a public health disaster to start spraying for mosquitoes".

As nice as it was to read what Ms. May thinks, there were no facts given to support the "disaster" theory. In fact, there is scientific evidence that if pesticides are banned generally, the price of fruit and vegetables will rise. As prices rise, people, especially those with lower incomes, will eat less fruits and vegetables and more foods containing starch. The increase in illness and death from the change in diet will more than offset any risks to health from the use of pesticides.

The media rarely gives two sides or opposing views in stories such as this; they merely accept the environmental activists’ scenarios of doom and gloom as a given.

Arthur Weinreb is a lawyer and author and Associate Editor of Canadafreepress.com



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