And Now The News
link Right-wing Sun News Network set to launch with promise of ‘straight talk’ – News1130.
If they had tried to stage this type of publicity, it would have cost them millions. Instead, the new Sun News Network has already stirred the leftist elements in Canadian society to rise up in angst over what they view as inappropriate news content for the innocent public. By virture of all this protest, the new Sun network is guaranteed some big viewership numbers out of the gate. Literary moguls, at least by Canadian standards, such as Margaret Atwood have spoken out against the impending launch of the network…. and they have yet to even hit the air. Does she know what the content will be in advance of everyone else? Even if she did, I don’t recall an election whereby she won the right to censor media content on behalf of 30 million Canadians.
Pit bulls are a breed of dog that appeal to a certain type of owner. The shih-tzu and cat set probably wouldn’t go for them, but imagine if someone opposed the ability for anyone to own a pit bull. Imagine if someone tried to block the sale of rap music or Yanni’s latest offering. While arguably admirable pursuits, the fact is, people are free NOT to consume such cultural treasures. Margaret Atwood has taken umbrage with the idea of Sun News and wants it banned before it even begins. It’s as if she became the Appointee Responsible for Media, Public Information and Television, or ARMPIT. How did Atwood appoint herself Canada’s ARMPIT? Ex-CBC newsman Don Newman groused about ‘the end of Canadian journalism”, whatever that means.
While intriguing as a concept, we won’t know until we see the content of the new Sun News Network to determine if they are any good or if they will add anything to the news menu. At the very least, it promises to offer relief from generations of delusional and inane broadcasting offered in Canada. South of the border in the U.S., they also have delusional programming with laughable pretensions to objectivity, but at least they are not supported by the taxpayer as is our own CBC. In fact, it can be argued that the whole notion of ” Canadian-ness” has been shaped by the CBC for generations rather than being a media outlet that reflects Canadian society. The relevance of the Toronto-centric media to the rest of Canada is comparable to the New York-centric media to the rest of the U.S. Canada has grown sufficiently as a nation that it needs dissenting voices from the homogeneous lump of national media as it exists today. There should not be a ‘national news voice’ for our country any more than there should be a national news voice for the U.S.
With Sun’s launching, it’s hopeful the new network does actually give voice to Canadians not in the circle of media acolytes centered in Toronto. I suspect many Canadians are tired of the Global Warming charade being debated by David Suzuki vs someone from the left. It’s doubtful the rest of Canada thinks Murray Mclauchlan is representative of Canada’s music genius. And come on, as iconic as he is, Lloyd Robertson is 77! Why is he still reading the news? He is like the Yoda of Canadian broadcasting. Couldn’t they find someone in their ’60’s? At the very least, Sun will provide jobs for some younger broadcasters. Maybe it’ll be an impetus for some of the other news dinosaurs to retire.