By arthur Weinreb
Friday, May 6, 2005Earlier this week, Conservative MP, Inky Mark, let it be known that he had received a telephone call from a senior cabinet minister offering him an ambassadorship. The significance of the allegation, if true, is that the minority Liberals are trying to rid Parliament of some opposition members by sending them to patronage heaven.
Treasury Board President Reg alcock denied Mark’s claims. although Mark did not name alcock as the Minister who contacted him (he refused to say who it was), alcock said that as the regional Minister for Manitoba, no offer would have been made without his knowledge (if that is true, it seems funny how adscam could have occurred without Paul Martin, a senior Minister in Quebec knowing about it).
We have Mark’s accusations, followed by alcock’s denial. Obviously fairness dictates that when the media reported this, they report both the allegation and the denial. The media, by use of headlines and leads, determines what is most important in what is being reported.
Most of the mainstream media found the allegations to be the main item that was newsworthy. Examples of headlines that appeared in print and on websites were, "Grits trying to lure MPs away, Tories charge" (CTV), "Tory MP says Liberals offered him plum job" (Globe and Mail) and "Tories: Grits trying bribes" (Toronto Sun). Clearly, it was the allegations that were the crux of the story.
The CBC on the other hand led with the denial as if it was more important than the allegations. The headline on the CBC’s website read, "Liberal Minister denies Tory claim". The headline is of course accurate, just like a headline on September 12, 2001 reading "19 young Muslim males die in plane crashes" would have been accurate. But by highlighting the denial rather than the allegations, the CBC showed which side of the controversy it was taking.
The real bias of the CBC in this matter appeared in its television report. In what purported to be a hard news item, CBC reporter Julie Van Dusen said, "Inky Mark stuck to his story all day", implying rather strongly that the Conservative MP was lying when he alleged that he was offered a patronage post. Van Dusen seems surprised that Mark had not yet fessed up in the same manner that runaway bride, Jennifer Wilbanks had.
The reporting of Inky Mark’s allegations is just more proof that the CBC is nothing more than a mouthpiece for the Liberal Party.