Maybe we are getting closer to Americans
One of the wonderful things that held us together as Canadians was that, well frankly, we were not Americans. You know what I mean. As Canadians, we were more reserved, more stately, more ethical, more thoughtful, well, we were just not Americans.
I grew up in a small northern community. However, I didn't realize it until I was an adult. As a child, I always thought I lived in a thriving southern metropolis. The CBC was my only tv channel for a number of years. My dad used to tell me how lucky I was because, when he was growing up, there was also only one channel but no one turned their tv on because the reception was so bad. He told me a story where one Saturday night, his neighbour phoned him and told him to put the tv on, "it was so clear, you could actually make out the hockey puck!"
I sure appreciated having choice when the second channel came in, but I also appreciated the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. As a crown corporation, they were obliged to have primarily Canadian content and to be avenue for Canadians to get to know our country and each other. I learned a lot of trivia by watching CBC and I did have a lot of pride in our country. As a network dedicated to inform first and entertain second, I felt that the news division was of the highest quality. I felt that I could trust them to give an accurate portrayal of the news without added drama or sensationalism.
I was expecting such when I was watching the CBC Newsworld coverage of the horrible events in Fredericton. Unfortunately, I had to check the channel guide several times to make sure I wasn't watching an American sensational channel.
The anchor was literally advising the reporter on the scene to grab people off the street and interview them. They were broadcasting unconfirmed stories and moments later, they were being rebroadcast on the print wires. They were having people with no known connections to the shooter and or victims speculating on motive and character. They were attracting a whole crowd of people who had just heard shots all gathering at the scene. How irresponsible and what a public safety hazard. Journalism at its worst.
Maybe the line between our two countries is blurring faster than I realized.
I grew up in a small northern community. However, I didn't realize it until I was an adult. As a child, I always thought I lived in a thriving southern metropolis. The CBC was my only tv channel for a number of years. My dad used to tell me how lucky I was because, when he was growing up, there was also only one channel but no one turned their tv on because the reception was so bad. He told me a story where one Saturday night, his neighbour phoned him and told him to put the tv on, "it was so clear, you could actually make out the hockey puck!"
I sure appreciated having choice when the second channel came in, but I also appreciated the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. As a crown corporation, they were obliged to have primarily Canadian content and to be avenue for Canadians to get to know our country and each other. I learned a lot of trivia by watching CBC and I did have a lot of pride in our country. As a network dedicated to inform first and entertain second, I felt that the news division was of the highest quality. I felt that I could trust them to give an accurate portrayal of the news without added drama or sensationalism.
I was expecting such when I was watching the CBC Newsworld coverage of the horrible events in Fredericton. Unfortunately, I had to check the channel guide several times to make sure I wasn't watching an American sensational channel.
The anchor was literally advising the reporter on the scene to grab people off the street and interview them. They were broadcasting unconfirmed stories and moments later, they were being rebroadcast on the print wires. They were having people with no known connections to the shooter and or victims speculating on motive and character. They were attracting a whole crowd of people who had just heard shots all gathering at the scene. How irresponsible and what a public safety hazard. Journalism at its worst.
Maybe the line between our two countries is blurring faster than I realized.
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