Fox News North's Ugly Democracy Problem

Oh dear. I see some progressive bloggers still don't understand what the uproar over Fox News North Harper TV is all about.

They are all confused about the carriage question. And don't seem to recognize the threat to our democratic system.

There is no doubt in my mind that Harper would like to see a Conservative biased news and opinion station here in Canada, but I have yet to see any direct personal involvement in bringing that about.

Now I can't tell a carriage from a cadillac eh?  So I had to ask John Doyle to explain how they're trying to ram it down our throats.

Nothing has happened yet except, as Bill Roberts, president and CEO of Vision TV, pointed out last week, the Sun TV application to the CRTC seems to have been fast-tracked.

Now its owners are applying for a “Category 2 specialty licence” and simultaneously asking for “mandatory access,” which essentially means it has to be presented as a choice in a minimum of one type of channel package. No such category of channel currently exists, so the Sun TV News people are, you know, chancing their arm here.

Put all the confusing regulatory language aside, ignore Atwood’s obfuscation, and you reach one conclusion – this thing can’t survive if it isn't given preferential treatment.

And as  for the threat to our democratic system, may I suggest that the Kory Teneycke Fan Club read these scary words from Susan Delacourt.

On the road this summer aboard the "Liberal Express", I witnessed several occasions where Sun reporters in the regions produced a piece of paper with a question for Michael Ignatieff. They would read this query, sometimes saying they'd been told to ask the question by their bosses. Funnily enough, the questions mirrored Conservative talking points that were also sent by email to reporters aboard the bus. 

Then we had stories in the paper the next day saying that Ignatieff's tour was being "derailed" by questions about his candidates. The "derailing" (which was a bit of an overstatement) came from journalists' questions, nothing else.

Because it's one thing to be bigoted,  talk about "locking and loading" and suggest that ships full of desperate men, women and children be fired upon.

But when you are parroting carefully focus tested questions,  to promote the sinister agenda of the Harper regime, you don't only deserve to get your licence application dismissed. Or blown out of the water

You deserve to get hauled up before a board of inquiry, and asked to explain why you are fucking with the fabric of democracy. 

Oh well. The good news? Quebecor executives say if they don't get the preferential treatment they're demanding, their project will go down like the Titanic.

Glug.Glug.Glug.

And on that happy note.

We take you live to Fox News North Harper TV headquarters... 



OMG !!!  Somebody throw them a licence life jacket !!!!

Oh wait. Don't bother.

Muahahahahaha...

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P.S. I'm sorry about the lack of audio on that Harper TV feed eh? But now that I know their financial situation, I guess they just can't afford it.