CANADA'S MEDIA HAS A HUGE CREDIBILITY GAP
It's been obvious for a long long time that Canada's media has had a credibility gap when it comes to reporting anything about Britain and the British way of life. That credibility gap doesn't come by way of a lack of getting the facts right. They get the facts right, but they choose to alter them, so that the Canadian people are fed a lot of mistruths, misrepresentations, and improper reporting, all it would seem to bring scorn and ridicule upon the British.
Since I first came to teach in Canada in the 1970's I've been aware of this lack of honesty in Canada's media towards the British but have never really been able to find out exactly why. My research into this most angering form of media racism has turned up many possible reasons, some are so naive and childish that I was drawn away from those, my first findings. I sought a deeper meaning. It must run quite deep to have every form of media outlet from Canada's television news such as that of the CBC, Global, and CTV, to their one history magazine 'The Beaver', to a recently made for TV and paid for by the Canadian federal government, 12 hour documentary entitled, 'Canada. It's People,' and with it all misreport and misrepresent Britain's history, Britain's place in the world, and Britain's links to the foundation and the building of Canada.
But why would Canada's powers that be in national news coverage and reporting want to distort the truth? When I taught briefly in British Columbia a free newspaper was put together for High School students to read entitled, 'Youthink,' it being totally financed by the government. Even it reported so many inaccurate facts about British history that I was apalled to see students being fed incorrect and very anti-British propaganda. I raised the matter with my superiors but not one wanted to discuss it or even answer a few simple but direct questions I had. The students are still taught virtually nothing about British historic connections with Canada, and one text book even states quite plainly that world war two began for Canadians when Pearl Harbor was bombed.
The lastest misrepresentations against the British was when CTV's Canada AM reported that British troops were likely to pull out of Iraq next year. That report was a segment of a very misleading newspaper article that stated the US was pulling troops out of Iraq next year, and, British troops would likely follow suit. They deliberately and decidedly left out the major part of the story about the US troops and instead reported only the British part. That one single report that was re-hashed all morning on CTV's Canada AM that morning and just a few days after the first bombs were let off in London on July 7th, tells you all you want to know about some kind of inner racist hatred for the British the Canadian media has. But what does it do to the Canadian people watching and listening and indeed reading such reports? It makes them the most uninformed, media-fed, racist fed, group of people in the western world. The country might be liberal minded but not when it comes to reporting the news.
All my years in Canada I've been aware that there is an undercurrent of utter dislike for Britain and for most of the British who find themselves in Canada. At first Canadians will deny it, then once the discussion gets down to the hard facts you'll see a lot of clenched teeth and hear a lot of misguided information, all garnered from their own newspapers, magazines, and television. If you don't believe me watch their History channel on TV: watch their news reporting on TV: listen to the lady with the bedtime-story voice narrating that long and inaccurate TV series, 'Canada. It's People.' Read their dailies, The Globe & Mail and The National. Get a copy of 'The Beaver.' And finally ask a High School teacher what they're teaching Canadian children these days about Canada's links with Britain. You'll be surprised. Well not anymore, now you have read this.
Douglas Friers. Ph.D.
Columbia University.
If you have any worthwhile and factual comments please send them to me via this website: Britmail@aol.com
c/o Canadas Credibility. (I am not a British subject)
Is there anyone who would like to accurately and provingly contradict the above? We're waiting. (July 25th 2005)
