RossK at The Gazetteer notes one particular whine of one particular practitioner in the corporate media,
Sanctimonious was an interesting choice of word by this guy but it better fits a message he sent to me last month. (Its definition relates to hypocritical righteousness.)
My response is pictured below. The second part quoted from the code of ethics of The Association of Electronic Journalists, which I discussed in the article No free lunches… ever:
Categories: Journalism
in-sights.ca 
wait a second here. in the original tweet, is baldrey asserting that democratic elections are immune from any effect that mainstream media may have on the population?
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Globull news…waste of time…reach for the remote…Shaw Cable …cancelled as well…big time corporate msm company, spouting their “own” message….
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Kieth Baldrey is probably the biggest reason I no longer wach Glowball News,and cancelled my shaw cable
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The biggest problem I have with mainstream media hacks is their utter hypocrisy in repeating the lie that they practice any kind of neutrality in reporting. Any thinking person knows that if they appear before lobby groups on a “speaking engagement”, they cannot be neutral towards those groups. Before they even type one word, they have essentially declared themselves as hypocritical liars. It would be much better if they opened every column with an advisory stating they have received funds from the group about to be “reported” on, and that the owners of their outlet have a business alliance with that same group. Then, I might actually listen to the point of view they are putting forward.
Thanks, again, for your great work on this blog, Norm. If Baldrey's complaining about you, you can assume you're having an impact.
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Note to Keith:
To state that you're useless in your chosen profession isn't quite true…very close but not true. Nothing and no one is ever totally useless – they can always be used as a bad example. Some, like you, fit that bill perfectly.
To think I used to listen to your opinion, and would seek it out on certain issues, now makes me violently ill. You've sold your soul for a mess of pottage, the depth of which you have no clue. The sad part is, once you've sold your soul no amount of money, apology, or tears can ever buy it back. It's done. It's gonna hurt – when you wake up.
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We must remember, Adolf Hitler was first elected in a democratic election, an election that was far more democratic than Canada at the time! We no longer take history seriously, thus, we (as a country) remain largely ignorant of the lessons of the past.
Mr. Baldry's un-news, is designed to further propagandize to the proals, he is well paid (from speaking engagements) to maintain the government-speak messages is retained. His fear, as with many other “Lord Ha-Ha's”, is that the lowly bloggist, will expose his and theirs un-news as invention and or pixie-dust faerie tales. His fear is great, for when his puppeteers tire of him, so will his income dry up for lack of public speaking engagements.
It is a sad commentary, that those so easily bought in the mainstream media, remain and without a whimper from more honest types, but then honesty is not their forte.
Rafe Mair was sacrificed for his blunt reporting and nary a person came to his defense. All I can say is that the mainstream media have a collective “lack of moral fibre”.
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A strong, understandable message that had the ring of truth was needed for the NDP to quash the Liberal courtier's messaging.
This is how the pros do it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDTBnsqxZ3k
July Morning
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I agree and for some time, I've been saying the following in my usual email signature:
“Northern Insight is an online journal exploring political and social issues, with a focus on justice, ethics and accountability, and a related interest in journalism. Bloggers are akin to pamphleteers of early days and the Internet is our tool of free speech. Value it. Use it. Respect it. Protect it.”
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In the eighteenth century, when newspapers carried little more than the court circular and classifieds, political discussion was driven by pamphleteers, the bloggers of their age. Several, such as Gillray or Paine, are remembered to this day, though many a bewigged and long forgotten Baldrey spluttered the same pre-twitter twitterings from the twilight gloom of irrelevance.
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To “Mr./Ms. Anonymous” above (who does not self-identify incidentally) … I do not want to start a long and acrimonious dialogue with you here on Mr. Farrell's blog, but it utterly infuriates me when people say inane things like ” If you don't like what ya see, change it.”
This is beyond naïve. Some very capable people have been trying to fix the political problems in BC for many years, with little if any success(see BC Rail, etc).
Moreover, in terms of “changing the system” itself …. if you and others like you who say things like that have any minimal comprehension of what they are talking about, then they must be fully aware that our provincial government is integrally embedded in our national system of government ….. it cannot be changed unless it is changed throughout the country. Some people who are working on just that are obviously more familiar with the huge obstacles than you. It takes a monumental amount of effort just to correct a SINGLE FACET of our Canadian system of government for the better (that is, the system itself, and not the people who run it).
So again, addressing Mr./Ms. Anonymous, at the risk of being considered rude by Mr. Farrell, it's a waste of both space and time when you say assinine things like what you said here above.
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The system is not so designed to represent the 48% of the people who did not vote.
If one did not support a Liberal or NDP candidate, really there is little or no option left. In Delta south and in the “Islands”, there were two credible candidates that raised the cash to run and were elected. Maybe only 25% of the riding's have a credible alternative to the two mainstream parties, so the voter is turned off and does not vote.
This is why proportional representation is so important for our democracy because proportional representation is far more democratic than the 18th century, first past the post.
We must change and soon, or our government will be seen by many has totally corrupt and evil, which then opens the door to dictatorship; which with the BC Liberals, is how they run government.
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Quite pathetic really that mr. Baldrey has taken to twitter the way he has, a man realizing his failure and lashing out.
It is sad but a consequence of decisions he made.
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48% of the electorate choose to not be represented and whine instead. If you don't like what ya see, change it.
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Baldry called you sanctimonous????? Gee he doesn't know you. Now that I know who used to be, the word sanctimonous would never come to mind! Really that is funny. If he is referring to AGT he is being even funnier. If he is referring to Laila Yuille he needs to get a grip and a pill.
Baldry doesn't understand what democracy actually is. A democractic government does not use its power, of the majority, to inflict pain upon the minority. That is what the lieberals are doing, as a government. As a group, the lieberals actually are the minority because they as individual are few, but the pain they inflict on the many is not the actions of a democratic government nor any person who has leadership qualities. The pain I am referring to is such things as being No. 1 in child poverty, charging seniors $25 per month for their wheel chairs, leaving people on disability so little money they can not afford to live with any dignity, awarding contracts to endanger our enviorment, still holding fund raisers for a new children's hospital, not having an education system as good as it should be. The list goes on.
Baldrey might want to look at the role of journalists in a democracy. There are any number of books he can read on the subject by very eminent authors. They will explain how a real journalist should do their job. Baldrey isn't doing his job at all. He acts more like a shrill for the liebeal government in B.C. than a journalist.
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One wonders how much of this griping by Keith Baldrey is sour grapes.
His media “world' is slowly shrinking before his very eyes. This is not the world he entered into as a bright eyed , bushy tailed cub reporter many moons ago. I'm sure his personal debts were probably not as onerous back then either. Newspapers folding, TV ratings falling faster than a Victoria MLS listing. MSM in general decline.
Ironically enough he whines about “whining bloggers”.
His sniping at Bloggers reveals an ugly truth which he may or may not admit to.
He and his ilk are inexorably being replaced.
Sorry Keith, when you and the rest of the media lapdogs in this province grow testes. THEN the audience will pay attention…… But im not holding my breath.
P.S.
Just dont act surprised if Keith suddenly resigns his cushy job as Legislative reporter for a cushy job as a Liberal media hack in the future. Anyone has to be better than Sara The Gum……
Nonconfidencevote
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The quality of material coming from the hearts and minds of smart bloggers (and equally smart commenters like this one) far exceeds Baldrey for CQ (credibility quotient). Bloggers are not getting paid for what they communicate to those who want to read something worth reading. Main stream media hacks are getting paid to write what the paymasters wish to see in print. Who would you choose to believe?
Again, Evil Eye, well said.
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Excellent point. Well said.
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As per comments on Cutting the Hedge re liquor law reform–the discussion led to the conclusion that we would not see beer or wine sold in grocery stores because the private liquor store lobby is a significant donor to the BC Liberal Party.
OK MSM “heavy weights”, when are we going to see a story about Liberal Party donors pulling Liberal Party strings?… Or how the private liquor store lobby both inconveniences me, and limits my choices?
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According to the figures I have seen, only 18% of the eligible electorate voted for the BC Liberals in the last election. It maybe democratic by BC election laws, but it is hardly democratic by world standards, especially the standards the Allies forced on the defeated European combatants.
In Canada and BC, democracy is just a phrase to hide behind, because the recent election was not democratic, not in a long shot. With the first past the post theocracy, which we are ruled by, 3rd or 4th parties have little chance of being elected, though the electorate in South Delta reelected an independent and a Green was elected on the islands. A less than mediocre BC Liberal Party was elected, when an even less than mediocre NDP party, lead by an idiot, self destructed before our eyes.
In reality, the electorate had very limited choices, including not voting and not voting they did in droves. I believe 48% of the electorate did not vote. This is the stuff of dictatorships, but ass-kisser Baldry moans on and on and on about bloggers and blogging.
The real villain in BC's downward spiral to a fiefdom of the wealthy, is the mainstream media, who have whored out to whoever will advertise in their papers or other media.
Long live the blog, and long live the blogger!
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Baldrey's credibility would benefit if he had the balls to name the specific bloggers and columns he has a problem with. I don't believe he'd agree with me saying every member of the Legislative Press Gallery is a lazy, incompetent, sycophantic asshole unless I provided specifics.
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Of course Baldrey is correct. Some bloggers (after all, there are hundreds, maybe thousands in BC alone) DO make unsubstantiated or poorly researched claims. Their readership numbers are low as a result. Keef doesn't realize that many British Columbians have a functioning bullshit meter.
But there is a cadre of bloggers who do the work, cultivate knowledgeable sources, and have the writing skills to deliver powerful messages to a public eager to sift the truth from the bafflegab. This cadre is regularly showing up the “professionals” in quality of work and depth of research.
To paraphrase Baldrey's comment, “some columnists have zero credibility. There is a perception among readers that their services have been bought and paid for by special interests.”
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Sanctimonious? Who the fuck is Keith Baldrey, anyway?
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