by arthur Weinreb
May 21, 2004
Canada’s major television networks have finally decided to play hardball and not allow themselves to be suckered by politicians. Last week, Don Guy, the chief of staff to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, participated in a conference call with the networks to request that the premier be given five minutes of airtime so that he could make "some historic announcements" about the then upcoming budget. CBC, CTV, CHUM City and Global turned him down flat. The word on the street, or at least in the backrooms must be that the media is so easy to manipulate that there was a chance the time would be given despite the fact that no details of this "historic" even were given.
It was an obvious ploy by the governing Liberals to attempt to soften the bad news in the budget by making an announcement that we are living in an historic time rather than being governed by an inept government. The networks were right in refusing to grant the air time but what is really significant is the fact that the media has been so gullible in the past, it was worth a try by McGuinty staffers. There was also the additional irony of the request because the opposition Liberals were the biggest critics of the previous Tory government’s "Magna Budget" where that party’s last budget was delivered at an auto parts company. Budgets should be delivered in the legislature cried the Liberals. Liberal principles went out the window last October, along with the Conservatives.
The federal Liberals made good use of the media a couple of weeks ago when they came out with attack ads against Conservative leader, Stephen Harper. These ads were leaked to the media who dutiful reported them and there was such an uproar about the ads that the Liberals decided they would not run them. The Liberals then managed to be seen as taking the high road while getting the compliant media to report the negative content contained in the ads and the party didn’t have to pay a cent to get its message out.
The Ontario media is still reeling from last august’s power blackout when they all gave then Premier Ernie Eves free airtime to address the province about the "crisis". One unfortunate young man with a severe medical condition died when he was deprived of air conditioning but it was hardly a crisis similar to a terrorist attack. Ernie, who was two months away from an election, used his free airtime for political purposes.
Thanks to McGuinty’s brazen attempt to soften the blow of the budget, perhaps the media will think twice when political parties engage in this type of manipulation.