Who can't handle the truth?

The Globe and Mail reminds us again today that if the Conservative government has a cost-cutting plan, it's a secret. Just like the Canada-U.S. perimeter deal, and actually, a whole host of complicated issues on the national agenda. While this may be yet another illustration of this government's secretive tendencies, I also think it may be a larger  sign of the times. 

A while back, a friend  who was deeply involved in the Liberals' tough, deficit-slashing 1995 budget told me that a similar exercise couldn't be pulled off today. Why? Because of the changes in my business -- journalism, which no longer seems to have the attention span or appetite to handle an ongoing story line. (Or "narrative," if you prefer that rapidly-becoming-overused term.) 

The Liberals spent a considerable amount of time preparing the ground for the 1995 cuts, which were deep and severe.  Read Double Vision, by Edward Greenspon and Anthony Wilson-Smith,  for just what was involved in that PR spadework. It required an ongoing interest and debate in the public sphere; journalists who could spend days, weeks, months getting their heads around government spending priorities. It depended on a sophisticated, respectful  relationship between journalists and politicians, which didn't send the reporter rushing to print with sky-is-falling stories every time he/she heard details of the cuts to come. 

Today, with a diminished journalistic workforce on Parliament Hill, handling multiple deadlines and shrinking news space, it's harder to keep any  story in the frame of attention, let alone a dry, complicated fiscal debate.    Note the revolving controversies of the past few years. Remember the Afghan-documents issue? Prorogation? We're also told that the public has no interest now in "process" stories -- which pretty much describes most political stories. I'm old enough to remember a time when I covered a story for months at a time -- years, in the case of the national-unity struggles of Meech and Charlottetown.  Now that prospect seems almost ridiculous. 

 And an important note -- on that public reluctance for "process" stories --  I think that's also a product of a political system that now rewards those who best talk to citizens as consumers. Anything that negatively affects the wallet is bad news. Anything that doesn't affect the wallet is simply not news. 

I don't note this phenomenon to wax nostalgic or whine for a return of what journalism/politics  used to be. It is what it is.  The folks grousing about the Internet today remind me of the grumpy old-timers in the 1980s, saying that nothing good would come of television journalism. 

But if the government isn't telling us about what cuts are necessary in the coming budget, that may not be just the government's fault. It could have a lot to do with journalism, and you, the public, too. 

Comments

[karen]

hmmm. sounds like a bit of defeatism in the face of Harper's language police and the draconian message control put in place by giorno and findley. the cpc has got cops, lawyers and enforcers who help the corrupting tendancies of media conglomeration. the public doesn't want dumbed down news! its not our fault.

[David B]

Good report, the sad news, It was all part of a plan. Think Egypt, one of first moves was to do what? Shutting down/out the media has various reasons but for any government they are same .. control. Embedded journalists is a prime example, as is the term insurgent. History is full of methods that governments have uses to control the masses and it is never ending as the people remain in charge and pushed too far they will unite to stand their ground as millions are to-day in Egypt.

[Chris]

Ms Delacourt, valid points but I think you forget the explosion in technology-based tools --including social media and nearly universal internet usage -- that are now at the disposal of the a government wanting to get a message out. This particular government has no difficulty delivering messages they consider positive using both MSM and so called "new media".

The lack of media and media attention span are pretty lame excuses for a much improved political capability to hide truths and a media that, with few exceptions, can no longer be bothered to call them on it.

I think you are letting journalists, media and politicians off the hook.

[Francie McGlynn]

If it is what it is, 'it' isn't a good thing. It looks as if the government is taking advantage of the upheaval in the world of journalism.

[maggi]

The process today means, control the message, control Canadians. At one time knowledge was appreciated,information was useful now we get spin for facts. Being controlled by spin seems to be what Canadians like. Canadians are slumbering away, believing in fairy tales, waking up is going to be a real shocker.

[Darwin O'Connor]

The trouble is that the justification for the Liberal deficit cutting was dubious and the cuts disproportionally hit the poor and the benefits, in the form of Liberal tax cuts, disproportionally benefited the rich.

[Chris Baker]

Rather than talking to people like they are consumers, they need to be engaged as citizens.

[M. Halpen]

It seems to me that journalism has become much more partisan than ever before. It is very seldom that balanced and objective "stories" emerge in the MSM. Depending on the source, each story is colored politically even before it is read. Sad but true!!

[David B]

I am a independent voter. Like him or not Paul Martin did make cuts but in turn we had balanced budges, paid down the debt, put $13 Billion in our savings account plus an $3 Billion emergency fund. Employment was good, and from what I saw there were a lot of people driving to work in new cars. So what is so great of Harper government? Plse do not say 0/40 mortgages or we weathered the down fall better .. hello there is oil in them there fields and a money printing press working overtime.

Note on journalism wrt politics. CNN/FOX will fill the needs of anyone 24/7 most Canadians are one paycheck away from financial disaster and up to neck in hock coupled to an aging population who for the most part fear retirement. AND all have little or no use for politicians so o not give a hoot. Any bets Susan next election will have even lower turn out? (We few who follow politics know that will give a majority to Harper as their base flock to the polls) .

[Bob Larocque]

Right on!! Over the last couple of months I've tried emailing many of the media and politicians in Ottawa (including Ralph Goodale) to find out what's happening with the Detainee Issue and couldn't get even ONE reply except from you. If the media can't get them to react, and the public can't get them to react, other than an election I don't know what else we can do. God knows the public has been put to sleep.