Gary Mason from the Globe and Mail provides some sad, sad tales for the NDP and the low profile leadership contenders suddenly banished to the Siberia of political coverage, seems that Premier Christy is stealing all their sunshine.
My favourite line of the story:
Instead, the spotlight has remained firmly on the province’s shiny new premier, Christy Clark. No wonder she can’t stop smiling. She is the first celebrity-style premier the province has had since Bill Vander Zalm, who also rode a big, toothy grin and buckets of charm into office.
The media can’t get enough of Christy Clark. (Tough questions in short supply.) Television adores her megawatt visage.
How are Adrian Dix, Mike Farnworth and John Horgan, three pasty-faced white guys, going to compete with that? They are the only three NDP leadership candidates with a hope of winning, and yet people in B.C. don’t know much about them or their policies.
There will be some coverage of the NDP race in the next paper. I had an interview with NDP candidate Adrian Dix when he was in town today, so there’s that at least.
You did take the time to read the article didn’t you? As it seems pretty balanced and in fact his closing summation explains the oversight of what you describe as the main stream media.
Just because you may not like the fellow is no reason to discard his article which points out a rather obvious thing at the moment, the NDP’s race isn’t exactly setting the world on fire.
[quote=“CharlesMHays”]
Just because you may not like the fellow is no reason to discard his article which points out a rather obvious thing at the moment, the NDP’s race isn’t exactly setting the world on fire.[/quote]
Gary Mason said
[quote]The media can’t get enough of Christy Clark. (Tough questions in short supply.) Television adores her megawatt visage.
How are Adrian Dix, Mike Farnworth and John Horgan, three pasty-faced white guys, going to compete with that? They are the only three NDP leadership candidates with a hope of winning, and yet people in B.C. don’t know much about them or their policies.
I’m not sure who’s to blame here, my colleagues for gravitating to the glitzier, easier story in the BC Liberals, or the NDP for not working hard enough to get the media’s attention.[/quote]
There are a few things I didn’t like about the article. For one, he does know who is to blame. But rather than actually go out and attack it, he implies that the race is boring with pasty faced white guys.
Secondly, so what if the leadership race is boring. The Liberal race was hardly edge of the seat entertainment. The real entertainment will occur when the election is called.
Thirdly, he mentions the short supply of tough questions for Christy Clark. Where are his tough questions? Where were his tough questions during the last 10 years? He throws a soft jab at his follow journalists, but it could be self-directed.
Maybe I am just hyper sensitive to anything political columnists from the MSM have to say. I don’t trust their motivation even when the appear to be balanced.
You did take the time to read the article didn’t you? As it seems pretty balanced and in fact his closing summation explains the oversight of what you describe as the main stream media.
Just because you may not like the fellow is no reason to discard his article which points out a rather obvious thing at the moment, the NDP’s race isn’t exactly setting the world on fire.[/quote]
It’s not an ‘article’, it’s an editorial opinion. A not very flattering one if they think we’re all enchanted with a shiny new face on a sorry-ass same old. Yes, there’s some fact in that VDZ fooled us all before, in that the NDP has no charismatic contender.
Charisma only matters to those people who can be fooled ALL THE TIME.
[quote=“herbie_popnecker”]
It’s not an ‘article’, it’s an editorial opinion. A not very flattering one if they think we’re all enchanted with a shiny new face on a sorry-ass same old. Yes, there’s some fact in that VDZ fooled us all before, in that the NDP has no charismatic contender. Charisma only matters to those people who can be fooled ALL THE TIME.[/quote]
Yep. I’ll be voting at some point to elect the new leader of the NDP. Interesting times ahead.
I am not saying that these guys are right or even that I am right about Gary Mason, but I came across this blog and comments about the Mason article that began this thread. I feel better in knowing that I am not alone.
What I found even more disturbing than the puff piece itself was the fact that it appeared in the very same edition of the Globe and (nolonger) Empire Mail that had the glutenous pile of obviousness from Gary Mason that really, really wanted to know (honest!) why the Lotuslandian pro-media was so busy fawning over Ms. Clark while they were simultaneously ignoring the NDP Leadership race.
Seriously.[/quote]
[quote]You are correct about the ghastly work of Gary Mason. I suspect his column is actually intended as an inside joke (wink/wink, nudge/nudge) among his journalist colleagues. It no doubt results in smirks among them when Mason’s garbage is put beside the Hunter/Bailey piece.
These are reasonably sophisticated people too and they will know exactly what they are doing and why. It demonstrates they owe no allegiance to the true principles of journalism. [/quote]
I have this vision, I would really like to see Rick Mercer as Prime Minister of our Country. This would get people interested in politics and the running of the country again, and increase the entertainment value of the whole process.
Over on the fringes of political coverage these days, the BC NDP continue on with their leadership campaign.
And while they’re lost at the moment among the tide of federal happenings and the afterglow of the Christy Clark coronation they still hope to introduce a new leader.
We will elect a new leader of the NDP on April 17th. I am hopeful that Farnworth is the leader as he will give Clark a run for her money. I love how the right wing so easily writes off the NDP.
