Teneyck and the death of discourse. . . . . .

Anyone paying attention should be concerned, if not frightened, about the future of the principles of the CRTC which should take as one of it primary goals that broadcast media adhere to the CBSC code on Journalistic Independence. The two national news sources (CBC and CTV) have, for the most part attempted to maintain an unbiased portrayal of events. They include editorial information in their broadcasts but they clearly identify these, and when they tackle political news they usually attempt to bring all parties (within the so-called mainstream) to the table.

Tory Teneycke has made it clear on a number of occasions (and by his overall journalistic style) that should he get his coveted news station he was no intention of adhering to principles of unbiased independence. We should be further concerned when we realize that while Teneycke was writing his editorial on the Avaaz petition against his station he simultaneously had inside information on an unprincipled, online attack on that very petition. How convenient that Mr. Teneycke would have unpublished information on an attack that furthers his political point at the very moment he was making it. The conclusions are easy to draw for yourself. Furthermore, his attacks on Avaaz as an American organization are misleading and diversionary to the real point. Avaaz, like many such non-profit activist groups is international in nature and simply, like the UN, has its headquarter in the US. But it is Mr. Teneycke's style (just like it his former's bosses style) to obfuscate and divert rather than engage in actual political discourse.

Fox News in the US has become an arm of the Republican Party and they spread a culture of fear, chauvinism, and lies in order to pursue their political goals. Real political debate hardly exists in the US (one of the primary reason I left the country) because it is simply too easy to divert people's attention away from real discourse with tried and true methods of diversion such as red-baiting, innuendo, and fear-mongering. (I have actually hear people on Fox News refer to President Obama as a Marxist. They know this is not true but they also know that the majority of US citizens don't know what the word really means so it is a perfect inflammatory technique) Mr. Harper has been using just such a political technique for years now and Mr. Teneycke and his ilk are hoping to bring that into your living room disguised as 'news.' We abandon journalistic integrity at a our peril and when we let fear lead our discourse we will have no discourse at all.