Hunter S. Thompson: “As far as I’m concerned, it’s a damned shame that a field as potentially dynamic and vital as journalism should be overrun with dullards, bums, and hacks, hag-ridden with myopia, apathy, and complacence, and generally stuck in a bog of stagnant mediocrity.”
One of the brighter contributors on my Twitter feed is Reema Faris. She is a PHD candidate at SFU, a former West Vancouver school trustee and member of a family that has long given extraordinary support to the arts in Canada. Reema’s social media contributions are invariably astute, logical and worthy of attention. With permission, here are threads she published in response to insubstantial punditry found in Postmedia’s Vancouver pages.
On April 8, Vancouver Sun published an opinion piece by BC Hydro Chair Brad Bennett titled B.C. Hydro, vision, planning and fortitude — getting the job done. The Vancouver Sun does not identify Bennett as a partisan campaigner in BC’s current general election. In the article, Bennett applauds Liberal power policies and repeats an outrageous lie that has been part of BC Hydro’s misinformation strategy for more than 12 years.
By slanting news or withholding information, media affect what a large segment of the public knows or does not know about public affairs. If groups profit improperly through actions of government, rewards can be immense but, if the looters control media, they can act in the shadows. The checks and balances within a democracy are distorted if media becomes a subsidiary of vested interests. Accurate public discourse is discouraged or impossible.
With mounting losses, declining consumption, soft markets for surplus power, $58.3 billion committed to high cost private power and a massive capital spending plan, only BC Liberals and their minions can see anything positive on the horizon for BC Hydro.
Overall, says Dermod Travis of Integrity B.C., the Gateway transportation plan — other components include the Port Mann Bridge replacement, widening of the Trans-Canada Highway, and the North Fraser Perimeter Road — overshot budget estimates by more than $2 billion. Travis warns that of 18 projects announced by the B.C. government since 2003, nine hospitals are over-budget by 12.6 per cent, seven transportation projects are 59.2 per cent over budget, and the Vancouver Convention Centre Expansion Project and a new roof for B.C. Place were 68.1 per cent over budget. Then there are the provincial government’s large-scale information technology projects. Reporters Lori Culbert and Rob Shaw found them plagued by operational problems, behind schedule, and $350 million over budget… Finally, there is the abysmal B.C. Hydro file…
Are you unhappy with rapidly increasing electricity rates and the general state of BC Hydro finances? Are you looking for the party responsible? Well, the Vancouver Sun has the answer. It’s a […]
Not what it seems. I’ve kept an eye on finances of the CKNW Orphans’ Fund. My attention began after the Corus radio station dropped its long time policy – under Griffiths family […]
Nineteen months and one general election have passed since Premier Clark announced “establishment of a new British Columbia Prosperity Fund.” However, we still have no word on exactly how LNG is going […]
I add to a piece from a few days ago because Rafe wrote what amounts to Part 2: “Why Rafe Mair is Cancelling his Sun, Province Subscriptions” This part I appreciate particularly: […]
Keep your eyes on 2010 Gold Rush – News and Views on Vancouver 2010 (And Beyond) From Bob Mackin. On Twitter, follow hashtag #LiquorLeaks as Bob reports on Liberal friends maneuvering to […]
Ian Reid cleverly captures the question to be answered about BC Rail: Why did the BC Liberals want to shut the trial down? What were they so afraid of that they would […]
In 2006, Rafe Mair wrote News Media, Defanged for The Tyee. It included the headline: Politicians, not too long ago, feared the press. Of course miscreants particularly feared Rafe Mair during his […]
As Ian Reid succinctly observes, the Vancouver Sun “has apparently merged with Encana’s communications department and is now almost desperately spinning the Northern Pipeline on their behalf.” The Sun and its parent […]
“On the left you can see yesterday’s Vancouver Sun cover page the day after more than 60 First Nations announced they will not allow the Enbridge pipeline through their territories, on the […]
After examining Mihlar’s collection of writings, one may conclude that he holds a senior newspaper position, not for cogent analysis or deft word construction, but for reliable parroting of talking points from obscurantist ‘research’ facilities. Mihlar is not one to provide graceful penetration of complicated economic questions. Instead, we get repetition of chatter from the right-wing information machine.
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 […]
April 5, the Vancouver Sun brought us a “Special to the Sun” by Patrick Moore PHD, titled Fukushima is nowhere near as bad as Chernobyl. “Stephanie Goodwin’s letter comparing the incident at […]
Vancouver Sun last week published a report aimed at diluting public concern over the dangers of nuclear power. It was written by public relations operative Pamela Groberman, whose company serves a diverse list […]
One thing repeated over and over and over again by government supporters in British Columbia is the assertion that Gordon Campbell “transformed the province’s finances.” What is unsaid though is that the transformation rewarded the wealthiest citizens and penalized the poorest.
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