…then the lower house of our Parliament is confirmed in its massive mediocrity. Take a look at this post by David Akin of QMI Agency (Sun Media):
My picks for the year’s top MPs
Might Mr Akin also perchance be currying up a bit of favour, i.e. sources?
Mark
Ottawa
At least seven of the 24 names on this sub-list for inside the Queenswayers are plain awful; few of the rest are beyond mediocre. Your thoughts in the “Comments”, any names?
The Hill Times’ top 100 most influential people in government and politics in 2011
…
MEDIACBC’s The National’s At Issue Panel
The CBC’s At Issue Panel is one of the most-looked-forward to political panels because Andrew Coyne, Allan Gregg, and Chantal Hébert’s comments on the day’s top issues are insightful and accurate. Politicos usually take note of the 13-minute panel and is a must watch among the country’s top decision makers.
QMI Agency bureau chief David Akin
As the bureau chief of the wire agency for the largest news publisher in Canada, David Akin is influential in shaping the news agenda. He’s also a top social media user and often breaks stories on Twitter and through his blog.
La Presse bureau chief Joel Denis Bellavance
Joel Denis Bellavance is a well respected and well connected reporter who often break stories that the English media follows. As one insider said, if Mr. Bellavance has a story, “you can almost rest assured it came straight from the PMO.”
CBC reporter Rosemary Barton
Since veteran broadcaster Don Newman left his seat at the CBC-TV’s Rosemary Barton has taken on an even bigger presence for the national public broadcaster. She’s been called upon to fill in for Power & Politics host Evan Solomon, and she often breaks stories that shape the news agenda. Ms. Barton is new to the list and is also an influential Twitterer, engaging her followers with witty commentary and political news.
George Cope, CEO Bell
With the $1.3-billion purchase of CTV, President and Chief Executive Officer Bell George Cope steps into a whole new league as he leads the transformation of the country’s largest communications company. The deal will split the assets of CTV Globemedia, which includes The Globe and Mail newspaper, which will go to the Thompson family’s Woodbridge Company Ltd., although BCE will keep a 15 per cent stake in the newspaper. BCE will have full ownership of CTV and its specialty television, digital media, conventional TV and radio. Mr. Cope plans to broaden the media corporation’s content assets across its Bell mobile, online and television services.
Le Devoir reporter Hélène Buzzetti
Hélène Buzzetti has a keen political sense and often breaks stories which the English national media later follow. Her stories are a must-read for her in-depth analysis of the federal political scene from a Quebec perspective.
Toronto Star senior writer Susan Delacourt
Susan Delacourt is a Hill veteran who writes for Canada’s largest circulation daily paper. Her stories are full of insider perspectives and analyses. Top political players keep a close eye on her work, as does her large blog, Twitter, and Facebook following. She’s one of few Hill reporters who uses her blog to give insightful political commentary on the day’s top issues.
La Presse columnist Alain Dubuc
Alain Dubuc has been covering federal and provincial politics for more than 30 years and is a must-read columnist for any top political players wanting a French-Canadian perspective on the day’s most important stories.
CTV Ottawa bureau chief Bob Fife
Top political players and government officials often take note of Bob Fife’s stories. As a Hill veteran, he’s cultivated many sources on all sides of the House to break stories that shape the political agenda.
Toronto Star, Le Devoir, The Hill Times columnist Chantal Hébert
Chantal Hébert has covered politics since 1975 and top federal political players trust her honest, ever sharp and insightful views of Parliament and federal politics. She’s definitely an influential must-read and often shapes the political agenda.
The Globe and Mail Ottawa bureau chief John Ibbitson
As the Ottawa bureau chief for one of Canada’s national newspapers, John Ibbitson plays a large role in shaping both the news and political agenda. He has close contacts inside the PMO and often is the first to break stories which are followed closely by top political and government players [see here].
National Post columnist John Ivison
John Ivison is well-known for his Scottish accent, but is also best known for his gritty, insider, and thoughtful must-read columns that often have Hill reporters chasing stories of their own. Top political and government players watch his column closely.
Halifax Chronicle-Herald Ottawa bureau chief Stephen Maher
As the bureau chief for a regional paper, Stephen Maher has been successful at breaking original and exclusive national stories which are later followed by other Parliament Hill media.
CTV Power Play host Don Martin
Don Martin only recently started hosting CTV’s influential political show, Power Play, but is an influential media personality on his own. For years, he’s written thought-provoking insider columns with significant scoops that every politico follows intimately. Apparently, the government’s recent decision on BHP came partly to prove Mr. Martin wrong. He had written a column suggesting the government would allow the takeover. That’s some influence [see here].
Globe and Mail columnist Lawrence Martin
Anybody who follows the federal political scene also follows Lawrence Martin, The Globe and Mail’s influential columnist. Not only is his latest book, Harperland, an insider’s account of the Prime Minister’s control on Ottawa, a must-read, but so are Mr. Martin’s columns [see here].
Political satirist Rick Mercer
Through seven seasons of the Rick Mercer Report, Rick Mercer has not only entertained Canadians by poking fun at politicians, but he’s also influenced public opinion through his political satire. Federal political players and insiders always want to hear what he’s saying, unless of course he’s ranting about them.
National Newswatch founder Will LeRoy
Every morning, it’s almost guaranteed that the first website politicos visit is Will LeRoy’s nationalnewswatch.com news aggregator. Mr. LeRoy’s aggregator is so popular, that he’s attracting top advertising dollars, and is often breaking his own stories with inside scoops and tidbits of information that reporters take note of to follow-up on. He’s hot.
CTV Question Period host Craig Oliver
Craig Oliver has been covering federal politics for more than 50 years, and continues to be an influential journalist. He’s seen as a thoughtful and respected journalist who political players can trust. He often shapes the news agenda [see here, and second comment here--which raises a theme I often raise].
CBC blogger Kady O’Malley
Kady O’Malley is the mother of live blogging and continues to do it best. She has a large following as people tune in to her blog postings to get real time coverage of the most important issues of the day, coupled with insightful commentary [see here].
Corriere Canadese, The Hill Times and The Toronto Star columnist Angelo Persichilli
Angelo Persichilli’s influence comes from the platforms that he has to give his insider’s perspective of the top daily stories. He writes for Canada’s largest circulation daily, The Toronto Star, and Parliament Hill’s influential weekly, The Hill Times, as well as the daily Italian-language paper Corriere Canadese. He has close sources and he breaks news in his insightful columns.
Canadian Press bureau chief Rob Russo
Rob Russo recently won the prestigious Charles Lynch Award for best coverage of national issues at the 2010 Parliamentary Press Gallery Dinner, a testament to not only his outstanding reputation as a newsmaker, but also the respect his peers have for him. Through leading a top-notch bureau, Mr. Russo’s team is often the first to break the day’s news, as a result influencing the federal political scene. The Canadian Press Ottawa bureau is trusted and influential.
Globe and Mail senior reporter and CTV Question Period host Jane Taber
Jane Taber’s stories are a must-read for the exclusive insider perspective of life on the Hill. As the senior political reporter for one of Canada’s national newspapers and the lead on a widely-read blog, Ms. Taber is an influential must-read [see here].
CBC pundit Greg Weston
Greg Weston left his years of writing for Sun Media during the Kory Teneycke fiasco, but has landed well at the CBC. Insiders say he’s responsible for heightening CBC’s profile with the scoops he has and the stories he breaks. He remains a key player among the Hill media, and is an influential player when it comes to shaping the federal political agenda. He’s an old fashioned journalist who breaks stories [see here, more on others too]…
Via David Akin at his blog.
Predate: Word sketches of mine from 2006 (in last link in quote):
English Canadian TV Pundits: 10 words or less
Jane Taber: Katie Couric without looks, brains or money
Jim Travers: Punching above his cranial capacity
Don Martin: Hunter S. Thompson without serious drugs or brains
Susan Riley: The class struggling
Rex Murphy: Only in Canada you say? Pity
Susan Delacourt: Hair punching above its weight
John Ibbitson: A conflicted but intelligent pixie
Gilles Paquet: The real and delightfully cynical deal
Don Newman: The chuckling fog (I like Mel)
Mike Duffy: The chortling tummy that showed a backbone a few months ago
Greg Weston: Something stinks and it couldn’t possibly be my judgement…
Mark
Ottawa
Mickey I. upsucking to the deadly Dragon
Now from David Akin:
Canada caves on China
Harper, Ignatieff both change their tune on taking a tough line with the Chinese
Upchuck.
Mr Akin is newly of the Sun papers, along with another good man. Foxy fellows–more from Adrian.
Update: One reason for a new news network:
…
One case involved a report filed by Neil Macdonald, a senior TV reporter for CBC’s flagship news program The National. The story aired early in September 2008 and was a backgrounder piece on Sarah Palin, the evangelical politician who had just been named the Republican Party’s vice-presidential candidate. Macdonald’s report was supposed to reveal to the Canadian public who Palin really was and what she was all about. What it seemed to reveal was Macdonald’s own biases.
At one point in his story, Macdonald ran a snippet from a speech Palin had delivered to a local church earlier that year. It showed her telling those in the pews that she believed America’s war against Iraq was endorsed by God. The interview clip was meant to convince viewers that, as a staunch evangelical, Palin was dangerously jingoistic. The problem was Macdonald had edited off the beginning of the clip and in doing so had changed the meaning completely.
A posting on YouTube where Palin’s complete speech can be viewed lets one compare Macdonald’s version to the real McCoy. The portion of interview that Macdonald included in his report began with Palin saying, “Our leaders, our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God.”
However, what Palin had actually said was this: “Pray for our military men and women who are striving to do what is right. Also, for this country [pray] that our leaders, our national leaders are sending them out on a task that is from God.”
Someone watching or reading the full quote in its true context could see that Palin was not raising a war cry, she was raising a question. A question steeped in humility with no hint of jingoism; she asked: “Is this war a task from God?” It’s a question to which she does not have an answer and advises praying for divine guidance in the hope of finding the right path…
Mark
Ottawa
And really, can anyone blame them? All that private money from Quebec billionaire Pierre Karl Péladeau funding a competing media enterprise must make them sick to their stomachs.
Although this story has already been distorted and misrepresented, this is not an expansion of Fox News into Canada, nor would the station necessarily copy the same style that causes fits for the left.
Let’s face it. CBC and CTV have been given free reign over the news message for years in English speaking Canada. And whether the left would like to admit it or not, there are plenty of viewers who don’t want to tune into CBC news specials on the perpetual “tipping point” of the climate change cliff while the network is busy ignoring Mount Climategate.
The objections I’ve heard to a conservative news network have ranged from the fearful to the absurd. The primary concern is that the channel would “lie like Fox News”, and mislead people about important issues which apparently aren’t misled on stations like CTV and CBC.
The left are nothing if not insecure about the whole idea. When former Conservative Party spokesman, Kory Teneycke, was hired by the CBC to provide a balancing counterpoint to the multitude of leftwing pundits and commentators on the network, some people were so upset by the idea of having any infusion of conservatism into the CBC that they actually complained to the CBC ombudsman about it.
Some people can handle free speech up to a certain point, and it’s usually a point at which their pre-conceived opinions are no longer validated.
Quebecor media has since snatched up Kory Teneycke to become a vice-president of business development, while today David Akin quit Canwest to become a TV personality for the news show.
The application to the CRTC involves a “must-carry” licence, which would guarantee the channel would be on every basic cable package like CBC and CTV, but it’s unlikely that would succeed, meaning that Don Newman can lay off the heart medication for now.
Don’s main objection to the new news channel seems to be that because he believes Fox News is conservative “propaganda” in the United States, it will provide the same fodder for the Conservative Party in Canada. But since it’ll likely be a subscription channel, I don’t see what the problem is. Nobody will be forcing Don to watch it any more than they force him to read Adrian MacNair.
The problem as I see it, is that Don’s simply looking out for his own neck. The show would likely be hugely popular in Canada, and I completely agree with Kory’s assessment of the market potential. As the new channel siphons droves of viewers from the CBC, it would inevitably decrease the market share of the taxpayer-funded giant. Decreased viewership would mean decreased revenues, and more whining for more cash. And when it finally dawns on the public that there isn’t a need to publicly fund a broadcaster that loses $1.1 billion a year, there could be some heavy cutting going on.
The amazing thing is that the CRTC approved the licence for al-Jazeera, and nobody batted an eyelash.
ALSO SEE
Photo: Globe and Mail
People across Canada were understandably angry yesterday when former Conservative MP Rahim Jaffer, caught speeding in Ontario last fall while under the influence and in possession of cocaine, was handed down a relatively lenient sentence of $500 by Judge Doug Maund. Immediate reaction ranged from disbelief, to accusations of Conservative influence peddling. Many actually attested to their belief that there are some rules for regular citizens, and then others for members of the Conservative Party.
The truth couldn’t farther from this fiction. The fact is that most Conservatives have been shrinking away from this unpleasantness, and disassociating themselves from Mr.Jaffer as much as they possibly can. If anything, many Conservatives have, if not publicly, then in private, expressed concerns of a political backlash over seeing Rahim Jaffer get away with what amounts to a rather serious charge.
The Conservatives were particularly irked yesterday, when in the House of Commons, Liberal MP Anita Neville stood and demanded to know what the party thought about the light sentence. Rather than respond to the question, Justice Minister Rob Nicholson demanded an apology, twice, before the floor moved on to other matters.
The controversy was compounded yesterday by a blog entry by journalist David Akin, who in responding to federal Conservative MP Vic Toews’ observation that it was a Liberal administration in Ontario responsible for the case, pointed out that the judge presiding over the case has Conservative roots. Mr.Akin later said that he hadn’t intended to cast aspersions on the judge; only that he was responding to Mr.Toews’ observation with one of his own.
Well, that may be so, but the fact of the matter is that Vic Toews wasn’t accusing the Liberals of having influence over the case. He was making a comment about the fact that the Conservatives not only do not have any influence on the case, but that the jurisdiction is a province governed by a Liberal party.
Would it have been best if he hadn’t said anything at all? Well, yes, it probably would. But that would hardly have stopped the accusations of Conservative influence over the decision, which have precipitated as a result of the “observation” of the judge’s conservative background anyway. In layman’s terms, we call these kinds of things “smears”. When you make an observation that is largely irrelevant to a proceeding, and then follow it up with a disclaimer ["I'm not suggesting that politics were a factor in the disposition of the case"], you can’t expect people not to infer the meaning anyway.
Vic Toews took exception to David Akin’s observation, reposted by Mr.Akin himself on the National Post today. Kady O’Malley calls his response an over-reaction [without a hint of self-irony]. She’s right in a way. It might have been better advised to simply let this matter die. But it would appear that, if anything, the story is gathering traction.
The fact is that a lot of conservatives are upset with the verdict. Tim powers writes in the the Globe today that an explanation is owed in order to pacify “perplexed and infuriated” observers. NDP MP for Windsor–Tecumseh, Joe Comartin, also demanded answers, but was quite clear that he wasn’t making this a partisan issue:
“I’m inclined to think that there is no reason to be suspicious that there was political interference or anything of that sort but I think it behooves the prosecutor … or Ontario’s Attorney-General to tell the Canadian people why this happened.”
Adam Rawanski may finally be the sole voice of reason. Saying he can’t quite believe he is defending a Conservative, from all people, Tim Powers, he suggests “it might be a good time for the rest of us – including former political opponents scoring cheap points – to move on. “
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