The National replies to Harper editing controversy
Updating the brouhaha around a report from The National in which conservative blogger Stephen Taylor said the report took Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s comments out of context, making him appear heartless.
The National responded to a complaint from a blogger. In it, Jonathan Whitten says:
In the bulk of his answer, however, he explained that the issues were far larger than the concerns of some communities. These are “serious international issues, he said, “there are not only many lives at stake, there are a lot of long term strategic interests of this country and of the world.…” He talked about two major elements of the Canadian policy, about terrorist groups, both in Canada and abroad. He talked about humanitarian concerns, including evacuation and re-construction as being among the “focuses of our activity.”
Then he returned to where he had started his answer and repeated: “I’m not concerned or preoccupied in any way with reaction within individual communities. I think that reaction is very predictable.” That was the clip included in the report following the protestor. It is logical to conclude here that the reaction he is “not concerned” with, is the kind of reaction personified by the protestor seen at the beginning of the report. Mr. Harper was talking about predictable reactions in general of which the protestor was a specific example. Some have argued that he was talking about polling within the Arab and Jewish communities, and while that’s possible, he was also discussing, in addition to polling, “reactions within certain domestic communities.” Far from being unrelated, as you suggest, the two are directly related.
However, Whitten added:
I do, however, agree with your concern about the structure of the report. The construction of the piece did make it appear the Prime Minister was responding directly to the woman protester, and that was not the case. We should have taken the time to make it clear that the Prime Minister was responding to a general question, and not a specific question about the woman’s concerns, and I regret that. While this does not constitute a misrepresentation of Mr. Harper’s position, or the position of his Government, the program could have, and should have, taken the time to be clear about what prompted the response.
|
Email This Post |
| The National |
You guys need to shape up or ship out. If you keep letting people like Lawand edit newsclips with a severely biased slant the way the Harper quote following a Lebanese request to meet him was cut, then you deserve what you get.
You deserve 20,000 eyes and ears calling your every move. You deserve to lose Hockey Night in Canada. Can the Olympics be far behind??
Paying people to produce crap like Zed and calling it art is simply a waste of tax payer dollars.
I, and many like me are ecstatic with joy every time you abuse your right as a media outlet to attempt public manipulation. Because everytime we call your bluff, you lose a bit of respect.
keep it up and you will all be looking for jobs.
Another nail in the coffin of the useless CBC. The news is clearly manipulated to reflect anti Conservative bias and the Lawand report was a perfect example. People saw it for what it was and called them on it. CBC has lost it’s moral authority to have taxpayer funding and the Conservative government should review the CBC’s mandate and withdraw all taxpayer funding. A billion dollars could be used for a lot for useful things.
How incredibly sad: CBC’s ongoing pathetic justifications for its biased reporting. It’s time to sell off the CBC and that which no one wants – just close.
No? Whynot? The CBC was created to unite Canadians and no one, NO ONE, can argue that it has accomplished that. Quite the opposite. During its mandate, the CBC has ripped Canadians further apart from eachother than ever, and created not two – but three solitudes: French, Toronto, everyone else in English Canada.
The primary goal of the CBC seems to be to support the very stereotypes that it creates in the first place. Since the CBC has gone on the air seperatism has become a real threat in Quebec, and is bubbling barely beneath the surface in parts of Western Canada. Of course it isn’t only the CBC’s fault, but its complete inability to see the world as Canadians outside of a few power-lunch restaurants in Toronto or Montreal might legitimately view it – has cemented the detatchment that its programming displays.
But then, it must be us, eh, CBC? Us, Candadian trash? Please, just go.
If this is a officail blog of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, why is it that on this blog’s content on this subject there is a video-capture of the prime minister from CTV NewNet? Hhhhhhhm?
Heheheh. Ooops.
I got one of those “form letters” – my reply back asked that Ms. Lawand go on the National and publicly apologize then show the viewer what actually happened.
Do you think they will make her do it? I won’t hold my breath.