Today is the last day for people to provide their input on a change in policy at the CRTC. The policy in question refers to the fact that currently it is illegal to broadcast untruthful and misleading information as news. This goes back to the days when holocaust denier Ernst Zundel published and distributed the pamphlets, "Did 6 Million People Really Die?"
Somebody had concerns that such lies could be as easily spread on TV as Zundel did through pamphlets. So at some point, the CRTC made the decision that it would not allow the broadcasting of such lies to be reported as news. The policy also forces journalists to confirm allegations before actually reporting them. So what's next? The relaxing of libel laws in Canada as well?
So what is this really about? This is about that great Sun TV News project, otherwise known as Fox News North, and their ability to be able to broadcast what amounts to gossip and innuendo. And people of the conservative influence have the nerve to ask what has happened to TV. You are what you watch. While I'm watching channels like Discovery, Oasis, NASA and other great educational channels, a lot of the others are watching shows like "When Animals Attack", "American Idol" and other "reality" shows.
And how about those stupid reality shows? Do you really care who will win "American Idol" anymore? Does watching some douchebag win "Survivor" make you any richer? We are mired in dreams of "freedom" and "wealth" and we are told that we need to buy a ticket if we want to win. Knowledge is power people and if you don't have it, your ignorance can be manipulated. And that's the real problem.
It's time to ask ourselves what kind of a society we want to be. Do we want to go down this path of dishonesty, innuendo and exaggeration or do we want a society that values honesty and facts. Either way, I don't see this ending well.
As with politics and residents...the determining factor here is the viewing public.
ReplyDeleteI know some people who live in the US who constantly going on about how The Tea Party is a destructive force and must be stopped. My standard response is 'Apathy, ignorance and fear are destructive forces and must be stopped. Forget about the party, the politician, any of that. Focus on the people.'
I think I'd be inclined to draw a parallel between media and drug use: it's not the pusher, the dealer that's 'the problem'. It's the fact that there's a demand for the product. Interdiction doesn't work where drugs are concerned. And it doesn't really work in terms of entertainment. That's what they have in North Korea.
As Sy says, 'An educated consumer is our best customer.'
Time to educate.
Ever seen 'Idiocracy'?