...is why Rex still works for the CBC? Rex Murphy is soooooo good at describing hypocrisy wherever it's found, in this case:
The United Nations: Once a noble dream, is now just a joke. Yet, the corporation for which he works, the CBC, is virtually dripping with hypocrisy. Go figure. Maybe it's through his sense of duty to the tax paying public that they should at least get a little back for what they spend on that monstrosity. Rex is perfectly right about the UN. Its time has long passed, yet in so many ways, the CBC simply can't move on.
Nor can it distinguish news reporting from editorializing, viz, from today's CBC website:
The Greening of America
Does anybody remember that book? Unless you're over fifty, chances are, you've never heard of it. It was a fave of the 60s counter-culture generation, a wide ranging, rambling exaltation to the hippie generation, required reading in many undergrad liberal arts courses. Why is the CBC dredging it up? There have been many, many bestselling books published in the last forty years, not to mention others prior to that. Why choose one that glorifies a long lost cause? Not on any of
these best seller lists,
either.
Bay St. exec named PM's new chief of staff, from which we are treated to this bit of irrelevancy:
"News of Wright's appointment comes after a tough summer for the Conservative government, which has faced mounting criticism over costs of Canada's dual hosting of the G8 and G20 summits in June, as well as its decision to scrap the mandatory long-form census and a Tory backbencher's failed attempt to scrap the federal long-gun registry."
Couldn't resist integrating an editorial and a groundless assumption into an otherwise factual news story, could ya, CBC, not to mention utilizing the old media (I mean that in both senses) standby - construct a narrative so you can then exploit it, otherwise known as a straw man. (And just who has provided the fodder for the "mounting criticism", hmmmmmm? Simply listening to the banter taking place at the water cooler in the hallway or at the Starbucks at the end of the street isn't indicative of "mounting criticism" throughout the country you supposedly serve.) Really, you should leave the editorializing to Rex. He's much better at it.
And speaking of Starbucks, even their admitted opinion pieces smack of elitism:
Starbucks price hike: How much is too much? Other than those who sit in the corner Starbucks franchise sipping their lattes while berating capitalism, the fruits of which they happen to be imbibing, who the hell cares???
In fairness, there are many news articles on CBC's webpage today that do stick to the facts and only the facts, but this is only the webpage. There are the radio and television venues, too. For example, try as I may, I can find neither an audio file nor a pixels on screen piece which headlined the Harper government's decision to boycott the recent speech at the UN by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. But there is one about the US walking out, deep inside of which a description of Canada's and other nations' actions was buried, amid a recounting of the disgusting rhetoric (Ahmadinejad's 9/11 troofer beliefs, for example) of the speech itself. Fair enough, I suppose, but I would think either the content of the speech or the decision of 33 sovereign nations (not just the one CBC loves to hate) to snub the little dictator should merit some mention in the headline.
Taken together over the months and years, the bias and elitism of old-guard liberalism cannot be hidden, even with Rex Murphy as a counter-weight. I think Rex should move Sun TV. He seems to be a freelancer, so who knows, maybe he will.
/bitchin'
Labels: CBC, media bias, Rex Murphy
