Canadian Media

[Subjugation]

I was just wondering if the Canadian media is as sensationalist a group of mofos as the American media? Being the liberal heathen that I am, I tend to think things are pretty fucked up here...our obsession with violence, fearmongering, and ethnocentrism, among other things.

When you watch tv more than a few hours a week and aren't a total idiot, it's impossible not to notice how the media tends to exploit and perpetuate these characteristics by sensationalizing the news, glorifying violence, and belittling other cultures.

It's obvious that our media plays a large role in shaping the collective stupidity of our nation, and I've heard Canada doesn't share as many of our pitfalls. This leads me to wonder what the causality of that difference was, and thought perhaps mabye the Canadian media is not as obsessed with glorifying violence and sensationalizing the news?

Or if anyone has any ideas as to why this is, or perhaps if you disagree and think Canada is just as fucked up as we are, I welcome your input.

[ZeUs!!]

I'm not sure about the Canadians, but despite the best efforts of the BBC a lot of our news doesn't remain impartial, mainly at the government's disgression as opposed to sensationalising a story to get higher ratings

[Subjugation]

I'm not sure about the Canadians, but despite the best efforts of the BBC a lot of our news doesn't remain impartial, mainly at the government's disgression as opposed to sensationalising a story to get higher ratings

So you're saying the British Government pressures the major media outlets into giving them a more appealing portrayal? I guess that makes sense, because I would imagine most Brits would think Tony Blair is a total douchebag for having gone along with Bush so much, but I don't hear much about that.

Because that's a huge issue out here too. The media tends to soften the coverage of the Bush administration and doesn't report on the more damaging stories in order to avoid retribution as well as mantain their access to interviewing key personel.

[ZeUs!!]

Well the BBC and the Labour Party have always had a frosty relationship especially over the Iraqi war and the supposed 45 minute WMD claim:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3609072.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3754559.stm

However the BBC has to remain impartial as it is a public service that derives its money not through advertising but by a form of tax that everyone has to pay if they own a tv. The BBC doesn't say "ooh look at the government weren't they great for going to war", they certainly remain impartial but they don't attack as much as they could, instead holding back. This is probably due to the fact that the government decides how much auxilary funding th BBC recieves and if the Beeb is constantly heckling the government then the government probably won't continue funding them.

Tony Blair is actually quite popular in Britain - although this is down to the lack of a serious alternative rather than support for his actions. A lot of people are very anti-Iraq but still think Blair's the right man for the job

[Troll King]

That's a difficult question to answer.

Part of the problem is that the media doesn't stick to the confines of national borders and a lot of Canadians watch American news outlets like CNN. There are some restrictions on cross-border media with the example of Fox News not being licensed for Canadian broadcast (and on that matter, Fox talking head Bill O'Reilly keeps harping on Fox News being "banned in Canada but the truth is that it's a matter of licensing. Fox News actually had a deal with a Canadian broadcaster that would have allowed it to air on Canadian cable a few years ago but it was Fox News that decided to renege on the deal.) The CRTC, the governing body overseeing radio and television in Canada (pretty much our FCC but without the constant wedgie) recently gave the go ahead for Fox News to come to Canada, but it also did the same for Al Jazeera, although more restrictions were placed on the latter.

Another factor is that one of the major television news sources in Canada is CBC News which is government run. That naturally leads to a certain bias in media coverage. CTV news, a privately run channel is much more popular and tends to be more balanced.

One thing I've noticed about Canadian and American news is that the reporters in Canadian stations tend to be more culturally diverse while American news reporters are, generally, not. Our anchors tend to be mdidle aged white men like Peter Mansbridge and Lloyd Robertson, but at the same time there are more women, minorities and even the physically challenged presenting the news and there isn't the sense of tokenism.

As for the print media, one thing I've noticed is that while the American media tends to be pictured as being left-wing by American standards, the Canadian newspapers tend to be right-wing by Canadian standards. Through the eyes of Americans, they may say that they're still relatively left wing, but that reflects how the Canadian political spectrum is farther to the left than the American spectrum.

Overall, I don't see the Canadian media being as influential to Canadians as the American media seems to be to Americans. Again, that may be because we are also influenced by American news as well as our own, but my feeling is that we just don't find the media to be that big a deal.

[ogron]

Hmmm, being canadian I guess I have to tread carefully here and try to avoid as much bias as I can...

Unfortunately, my opinion on the matter is that canadian media is the most objective and complete media in the world.

Granted, I haven't seen every media outlet out there, but I've seen all the networks in Germany, a very liberal country (newspapers have naked chicks in them, $$), I've seen BBC and CNN Europe, as well as BBC Canada and CNN in the US, Fox, NBC, all the american stations, and a few in other parts of Europe and some in Asia.

CBS and CTV are (in my opinion) the best out there. Why?

I won't bore you with tons of arguments, but let's just take one story I was watching on the news in Canada... "Teen Youth Causing Problems in City" or something.

Most stations will report the story, cut to some footage, show a few exerp's from the Police Chief, cut to the next story.

CBS will report the story, cut to some footage, show a more complete and lengthier interview, then interview said relevant teens as a counter point, then conclude with an objective overview.

Also, the elections coverage in Canada is 5 times better, and story's in Canada aren't sensationalized (check out Bowling for Columbine's part when Moore visits canada and talks about American media's coverage of crime up 600% yet crimes are down 25% and how that isn't the case in Canada).

Really, there are a ton other points and I'm sure I could create some sort of coherent post (unlike this one), but suffice to say that I've seen alot of TV, most of it american, and I think Canada's news outlets are way better.

As for regular shows...I'll take american broadcasting anyday

[Troll King]

Canadian television program is unfortunately underappreciated.

Check out Corner Gas; critics are calling it the Canadian Seinfeld.

Brent LeRoy: Want me to fill it up?
Customer: Sure. You know I've never driven across Saskatchewan before.
Brent LeRoy: Well, you still haven't really. About halfway to go yet.
Customer: Sure is flat.
Brent LeRoy: How do you mean?
Customer: You know, flat. Nothing to see.
Brent LeRoy: What do you mean, like topographically? Hey Hank, this guy says Sasktachewan is flat.
Hank Yarbo: How do you mean?
Brent LeRoy: Topographically I guess. He says there's nothin' to see.
Hank Yarbo: There's lots to see. There's nothin' to block your view.
Brent LeRoy: There's lots to see. Nothin' to block your view. Like the mountains back there. They're uh... Well, what the hell? I could've sworn there was a big mountain range back there. Juttin' up into the sky all purple and majestic. I must be thinkin' of a postcard I saw or somethin'. Hey, it is kinda flat, thanks for pointin' that out.
Customer: You guys always this sarcastic?
Brent LeRoy: There's nothin' else to do.

[Subjugation]

Canadian television program is unfortunately underappreciated.

Check out Corner Gas; critics are calling it the Canadian Seinfeld.

Brent LeRoy: Want me to fill it up?
Customer: Sure. You know I've never driven across Saskatchewan before.
Brent LeRoy: Well, you still haven't really. About halfway to go yet.
Customer: Sure is flat.
Brent LeRoy: How do you mean?
Customer: You know, flat. Nothing to see.
Brent LeRoy: What do you mean, like topographically? Hey Hank, this guy says Sasktachewan is flat.
Hank Yarbo: How do you mean?
Brent LeRoy: Topographically I guess. He says there's nothin' to see.
Hank Yarbo: There's lots to see. There's nothin' to block your view.
Brent LeRoy: There's lots to see. Nothin' to block your view. Like the mountains back there. They're uh... Well, what the hell? I could've sworn there was a big mountain range back there. Juttin' up into the sky all purple and majestic. I must be thinkin' of a postcard I saw or somethin'. Hey, it is kinda flat, thanks for pointin' that out.
Customer: You guys always this sarcastic?
Brent LeRoy: There's nothin' else to do.

Pretty funny shit considering it's just the script.