Camp Pain Trail

Here's a condensed version of the Western Standard story I blogged yesterday. It ran on the National Post's op-ed page today.

Reporters on the Martin campaign seemed to become almost consumed with Liberal bungling. They began filing stories speculating that there might be a mole in the Liberal war room deliberately leaking stories to hurt Martin. When Martin did get around to announcing his education plan (it matched the details CP had reported the previous evening), the subsequent news conference was dominated by questions about the leaked story, the possibility of a mole, and then tough questions about the income-trust scandal that had been dogging the Grits since December. Only a few reporters bothered asking about policy.

It was becoming clear that the media pool had been poisoned. The next day, at a Whitby, Ont., seniors' centre, after Martin announced hundreds of millions of dollars in aid for seniors and the disabled, the press was openly hostile to Martin. As Allan Woods of CanWest was beginning to ask for the prime minister's response to breaking news about fresh scandal -- the possibility of bogus billing by a Quebec group called Option Canada -- he was cut off by Liberal handlers. The prime minister walked out of the room, leaving reporters shouting questions at his back.

Interestingly, the Post did not cut out the references to the excellent work performed by the Canadian Press throughout the campaign. Last week, when the Post picked up Warren Kinsella's rant against the media, the complimentary bits about CP were cut.

The Post does not subscribe to CP, although it does use its stories on the website. CanWest meanwhile is a subscriber to CP.

POST-DATED: Post publisher Gordon Fisher suddenly quit his seat on CP's executive committee the other day. (Gerry Nott, CanWest's Ottawa bureau chief, still sits on the CP board.) Fisher's move is causing some to speculate on the Post's imminent demise.

Comments

[Robert McClelland]

"the Post's imminent demise"

And not a moment too soon. Canada doesn't need a national newspaper that spews insulting, racist rhetoric in its editorials.
http://sinisterthoughts.blogspot.com/2006/01/off-to-flying-start.html

[Jay Currie]

I suspect what was happening on the Martin campaign was that even the most dedicated of the Liberal press began to realize, to misuse Ms. Stein, "there was no there there". Last time out they were focused on the mystery which they were sure surrounded Harper, this time they looked deep into the bowels of the Liberal Prime Minister and party and discovered a hollow, empty, shell with a rather unpleasant stench of decay. This they reported. And as the Dumpling spouted increasingly out of touch with reality lies that no one in the home office was buying, they reported that as well.

It was not long before the entire Liberal campaign became a laughingstock. Then, of course, the press, even if they tried. could not miss the fact the "Stephen Harper - REALLY SCARY .... IN CANADA" routine was playing to a diminishing audience. Nor could they miss the fact that when Maude Barlow's claque of the "Concerned Wymn and Guyly Guys of Canada (or at least the bits you can see from the roof of the Park Plaza where Peggy used to drink)" published their hissy fit no one actually gave a rats ass.

The Tories switched the narrative. This was smart. The Liberals couldn't buy a clue and that was news and reported as such.

(And Robert, it is away a sad thing when a newspaper, even one you disagree, becomes a shadow of its former self. It means there is one less voice in the room and, for all the left may say about the Post, it raised the level of newspapering in Canada until the Aspers gutted it and the rest of the Southam stable. And Robert, the Aspers are notoriously Liberals.)

[Montreal Simon]

So I guess that's it. Case closed. The media WERE biased, even the Western Standard says so. We already knew the media gave Harper a free ride. Now we know why they gave Martin such a rough one. I thought it was because they are such right-wing, lazy, mediocre media hacks. But it turns out they betrayed the trust of the Canadian people, because their handlers betrayed them on their campaign bus.
I think they should be investigated for campaign fraud. But of course that won't happen.
Next time their handlers will just give them more shrimp cocktails, more beer and popcorn, and a more soothing massage. As for the Canadian voters, we wuz just robbed.

[Bill-Muskoka]

The National Compost...may it be used in bird cages and litter boxes throughout the land.

[arthurdecco]

"And Robert, the Aspers are notoriously Liberals."
Posted by: Jay Currie

Where's your evidence of that? From here they appear to be seedy, selfish businessmen.