Harper Plans U.S. Style Media Centre
Fri, 2007-10-19 07:03
#1
Harper Plans U.S. Style Media Centre
Fri, 2007-10-19 07:03
#2
quote:
Secret $2M project to build new briefing centre would supplant nearby National Press Theatre
Great way to control the masses and eliminate transparency (Like it exists).
[url=http://www.thestar.com/article/266854]Full Story - Toronto Star[/url]
Fri, 2007-10-19 14:05
#3
If Harper has full control of the media, how did this story get to the Star?
Fri, 2007-10-19 14:16
#4
Lard Tunderin Jeezus
Because the 'red' Star is the one capital L Liberal (party) mouthpiece, as opposed to all the other major dailies across the country, who toe the regressive Conservative line for the Harpercrits.
Fri, 2007-10-19 15:08
#5
And I can hear the 102 compliant Liberal stoogeocrats nodding their heads up and down vigorously. It's a loud rattle emanating from Ottawa.
Tue, 2007-10-23 06:04
#6
Interesting how this post originally about Harper and the Cons turned into a critique about the Liberals.
Hmmm.
Fri, 2008-05-30 02:52
#7
"The big stuff gets away from PM: Message-control pressure cooker created by Harper government shows signs of exploding"
[url=http://tinyurl.com/4bbtqj]http://tinyurl.com/4bbtqj[/url]
quote:
... What's also different about this government is that many ministers, when they do speak, are in attack mode. Past prime ministers usually let backbenchers or strident partisans do the heckling and goading of political rivals; in Harper's Ottawa, all senior ministers are expected to lace their speeches with scorn for opponents. They are not punished, either, by and large, for stretching the truth or playing loose with facts if it's all for the cause of making the enemy look bad. This too is new; past prime ministers usually insisted that ministers look, well, ministerial.The most significant difference between Harper's message-management style and past prime ministers, however, is in its open resentment to the press pack. It readily acknowledges its intention to set media rivals against each other, to play favourites, to provide only the information that makes it look good.
In that way, this government's message-management approach looks less like a strategy and more like an attitude, plain and simple. The past week has demonstrated that the attitude may have its limits.
Fri, 2008-05-30 03:37
#8
I'd like to know why the media lets them get away with it. They decry it but then they don't do anything about it.
What ever happened to investigative journalism? Of course they're not going to give you anything. You can't expect to get the inside dope by chasing people down the halls after session, or walking into the press room like lemmings and listening to prepared statements.
Fri, 2008-05-30 04:30
#9
quote:
Originally posted by Michelle:
What ever happened to investigative journalism?
You obviously don't appreciate the hard work and intellectual grind required to come up with a story that can be illustrated with this:
[img]http://www.telegraph.co.uk/telegraph/multimedia/archive/00674/canada_min...
Fri, 2008-05-30 05:31
#10
Of course the Conservatives secretly control the media. That is why they have been able to maintain their iron grip on Canada - did you know that since 1935, when radio became widespread, the Conservatives won 3 majority governments and 4 minorities? I mean the Liberals won 10 majorities and 4 minorities, but I mean, no evil conspiracy is perfect.
Sun, 2008-06-01 20:02
#11
How many governments have the NDP won federally? Media has something to do with that as the NDP is nearly everyones second vote. If so why have they never gotten more tan just over 40 seats?
Mon, 2008-06-02 11:04
#12
quote:
Originally posted by Parkdale High Park:
[b] ...did you know that since 1935, when radio became widespread...[/b]
And since the party names are still the same, and radio still exists, your statistics must mean something.
Mon, 2008-06-02 11:55
#13
The OP story is from last year and was discussed on a previous thread; the Media Centre plan itself, I believe, has been put on hold.
Here is more recent stuff on Harper and the media from the May 31, Star:
"....
"The "fascinating" and "frustrating" contradiction is that Harper, as Reform MP and later head of the conservative advocacy group the National Citizens Coalition, was one of the most skilled at "working his contacts, doing interviews, appearing on TV, on the pundit panels, writing the op-eds, working the back channels."
Today, when he chooses to, Harper is effortless at Q&A sessions with reporters or any audience.
"It's not that he can't do it; he's decided not to do it," said the Conservative. "He's decided the media are going to be his downfall at some point, so screw them."
Harper fundamentally sees media and the cogs in his own government communications machine as messengers. He doesn't want to shoot the messenger, but he's by no means interested in flattering it either.
"Harper sees you all as stenographers. Same as (he sees) communications directors: they're not there to provide any communications advice, you're simply there to get a message out, you're a mouthpiece."
The real endgame?
"It's all about the big message, the big picture and the big strategy. The communications and the media? That's just simply a tactic," said the source.
"The majority government, that's what it's all about."
[url=http://www.thestar.com/News/article/434440]Harper and media[/url]
====================
And from the Harper Index:
"Secrecy is a Harper trademark - journalists"
"Conservative government wins top marks again in reverse competition.
Harper and his communications director Sandra Buckler shut out unfriendly reporters -
CAJ.OTTAWA, May 20: Stephen Harper's office leads the list of nominees for this year's Code of Silence Award, to be handed out by the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) later this month.
The prime minister was cited by several members of the organization for having "muzzled" cabinet ministers, civil servants, and, particularly, professional scientists. He has forced Tory Mps to vet their comments to reporters through his office, and his handlers have "cherry-picked questions from friendly journalists and blackballed reporters who dared to ask questions out of turn," according to a CAJ news release. The government "has stalled and denied freedom of information requests and, most recently, the PMO suspended a key access to information database"
" "Killing the registry was the last straw for many reporters," said CAJ President Mary Agnes Welch. "There's a broad and deliberate attempt on the part of Harper and his staff to limit Canadians' right to know by ducking reporters' questions, hoarding documents that ought to be public and choreographing nearly every word uttered by civil servants and cabinet ministers."...."
[url=http://www.harperindex.ca/ViewArticle.cfm?Ref=00149]Harper secrecy[/url]