by arthur Weinreb, associate Editor,
March 29, 2004
Honest Reporting Canada (www.honestreporting.ca) is a grassroots organization that monitors the Canadian media for bias in their coverage of the Middle East. The organization decided to take a look at the Globe and Mail, Canada’s National Newspaper, last February after the following poll question was posted on the paper’s website:
" Should all financial and political aid to Israel be cut off until a just peace with the Palestinians is in place?"
The Globe received several complaints from readers regarding the question that had as its premise that only Israel is responsible for what is happening in the Middle East. The bias in the question was worse than the usual anti-Israel bias that consists of criticism of Israel for actions that when done by Palestinians are considered not worth mentioning. The question clearly put all of the blame for Middle East problems on the state of Israel.
When the editor of the Globe’s website was contacted by Honest Reporting Canada, he gave an explanation that was worthy of a high ranking Liberal Cabinet Minister--the poll question was devised and posted by a "junior staffer" without the knowledge of the editor or apparently anyone else in a position of authority. The poll question was removed and replaced by the following:
In order to spur parties to a peace settlement in the Middle East, would you: Cut off aid to Israel; Cut off aid to the Palestinians; Cut off aid to both?"
This question is certainly better than the first one but it is still biased. While the question mentions Israel it does not mention the Palestinian authority, only the Palestinian people. Comparing the State of Israel with the Palestinian people is comparing apples to oranges. There are some people that might think that aid to Yassir arafat and his Palestinian authority should be cut off but not humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people.
Contrary to the belief of many, the Globe and Mail is not a conservative newspaper despite the fact that businessmen in blue pinstripe suits read its business pages. The Globe is a liberal paper that appeals to the "Paul Martin" faction of the Liberal Party as opposed to the Toronto Star that is the favourite of the "Sheila Copps" wing of the Liberals. The Globe definitely has left-wing biases as the initial poll question shows.
alfonso Gagliano praises the media
Well, not in so many words but the tenor of his testimony before the Public accounts Committee of the House of Commons gave at least an indirect boost to the media. according to the beleaguered former Minister of Public Works and former ambassador to Denmark, Gagliano said he was too busy attending meetings to pay any attention to what was going on in his department and everything that he knows about adscam; the fraud, corruption and theft in relation to the awarding of advertising contracts to Liberal-friendly advertising companies, he learned in the media.
If it weren’t for the media, alfonso would know absolutely nothing. Keep up the good work, guys!
CBC and the Conservative Party
although CBC flak Tony Burman may disagree, it’s hardly a secret that the government-funded network just loves the Liberals. In the run-up to the recent Conservative Party convention that saw Stephen Harper obtain 56 percent of the vote on the first ballot, the CBC was constantly putting out the spin of its political masters in Ottawa--that a Harper victory would amount to a takeover of the new party by the former Canadian alliance and that Harper could never break out west of the Manitoba border. Undoubtedly, the fact that Harper did well in Ontario and Quebec will not change the CBC’s position. In the soon-to-be-called election, look for the People’s Network to again follow the message that will be put out by Liberal spin doctors--the new party is nothing more than the old right wing Reform/alliance party.