I made reference to BC Legislative Press Gallery members producing commissioned articles. These are public relations pieces intended to serve particular needs of government or entities doing business with government. It is the kind of output that will ultimately be replaced by automated journalism. Mike Smyth’s recent Province column provides an example… Were Smyth not shilling for private producers, he could be a champion of reducing power consumption through increased energy efficiency. However, there are no industry or environmental groups in BC with sufficient funds to push conservation as a serious alternative to generating more power, whether by hydro, wind, solar, tidal, geothermal or any other technology.
Socialized losses, privatized gains
Every megaproject conceived and executed by BC Liberals in recent years has ended with massive cost overruns, despite the predictable “on-time and on-budget” claims. Most involved contractors with foreign domiciles. Check out the Port Mann bridge project, South Fraser Perimeter Road, BC Place renovation, Vancouver Convention Centre, Sea to Sky Highway, Northwest Transmission Line, etc.
Bridge for sale, cheap
Province columnist Michael Smyth is technically correct about the status of the corporation, when he writes, “B.C. Ferries is a private company that acts independently of government, even though the government still […]
The Sergeant Schultz theory, applied
Alex Tsakumis’ release of Dave Basi’s 2003 memo to file was an interesting test for British Columbia’s corporate media. The results were mixed. NW’s Bill Good managed to do 3½ hours without […]
Needing leadership, we get greed
Province pundit Michael Smyth slammed provincial court judges – bellyachers of the bench, he called them – for demanding richer packages of salaries and benefits. Maybe Smyth is grinding an old axe; […]
Smyth tells part of the story
I wonder if Province political columnist Michael Smyth spends only some of his time in this province and the rest on an isolated beach of Molokai. Occasionally, he seems plain ignorant of […]
Truth is not subjective
In this opinion site, I often take shots at PostMedia dailies for failures to contribute intelligently to a broad discussion of community issues. The conduit between the Fraser Institute and the Vancouver […]
Spin, misinformation and disservice to regular citizens
Corporate media mouthpieces have been quick to deride Warren Buffett for his call to stop coddling the mega-rich. Michael Smyth, perhaps trying to protect his tenure at the top dog, lifted his […]
Michael Smyth’s “scoop”
Last Sunday, Province columnist Michael Smyth asked and answered a question about a floating gravy train: “How does B.C. Ferries boss David Hahn’s salary compare with that of his counterpart in Washington […]
That Smyth guy, what a kidder!
Postmedia columnist Mikael Smyth fits the CKNW political agenda quite seamlessly. This is part of his objective, non-partisan commentary, just before the 1:00 pm news break, November 29: Carole James, as an […]
Piling on
From Michael Smyth in The Province: Colin Hansen revealed to reporters this week that the government spent $780,000 on pro-HST brochures that will now be fed into a paper shredder instead of […]
Credible conclusions
Doug McArthur, from SFU’s Public Policy Program, wrote comments here about Jessica MacDonald’s disconnection from levers of power in Victoria. The Prof is qualified to speculate about whether or not MacDonald jumped […]
Verdict unanimous: guilty of deceit
The consensus is clear. Gordon Campbell, Colin Hansen and their Liberal colleagues based the 2009 election campaign and the two 2009 budgets on centrally crafted deceit. Both deserve no confidence and should […]
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