Back in the 1960s Canadian communications guru Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase, and wrote a book titled, “The Medium is the Message.”
Given it was the topic of an entire book and reams of discussion papers for years, I’m not looking to initiate a debate on the merits of McLuhanism. However, if we accept there’s some merit to his theory that the medium through which a message is delivered impacts the information to the point it becomes integral to the “message” itself, we have to ask ourselves what message is Ontario Premier Doug Ford sending through his new personal medium, Ontario News Now? That Ontarians are a bunch of rubes who can’t tell Newsclips from propaganda? The July 30 launch of the television-News-style video under the banner of Ontario News Now has been decried by critics as a genuine example of “fake News” and an attempt to circumvent the scrutiny of the legitimate media.
The partisan information service launched via social media with a video featuring “highlights” of Ford’s first month in power and the premier reciting a questionable list of election campaign promises “kept” (the list includes a 10 per cent reduction in gasoline prices, which don’t appear to have dropped at all since Ford took office).
Pitching partisan public relations using tax dollars (the program is funded through PC Caucus Services, a taxpayer-funded arm of Ontario’s Legislative Assembly) is bad enough. Labelling it as “News” is worse, particularly if many people were likely to swallow this hokum without question. Most will recognize the effort for what it is: an attempt by Ford’s Conservatives to lend authenticity to obvious spin.
The new government also came under fire for the practice of sending staffers, also paid at least partially through tax dollars, to press conferences to clap like trained seals after announcements, which had the bonus effect of cutting off follow-up questions shouted by journalists as government ministers fled the room.
All of this was widely documented in media reports and it appears, at least in the case of the press conference clappers, to have resulted in a reduction in the questionable behaviour.
However, what we’re seeing here is likely just the tip of the iceberg. We have a premier with a historically antagonistic relationship with the media and one whose policies and pronouncements often don’t stand up to much scrutiny. It was common through the recent election campaign, and has continued since he came into office, for Ford to limit questions from journalists, or avoid them altogether, when he makes public statements. The media will no doubt continue undeterred in efforts to perform its traditional role of holding the government to account and shining light into dark corners.
It will be up to Ontarians to sift through the spin and remember to consider the source, while contemplating the message, whatever the medium.
