Dear Editor:
RE: Ironic criticism, July 18.
I request John Liss to reread my letter (Media money, July 11) carefully. I did not say that I want traditional media to wither away. I said that failed traditional media and the CBC should not be supported by tax dollars; we need separation of government and media.
The Advertiser is an example of traditional media that has not failed. I am assuming the Advertiser has not accepted any funds from Trudeau’s media bail-out fund. This paper remains philosophically free to follow its own editorial stance with no obligation to spew government propaganda.
Whether or not a story is reliable and honest is not dependent on the method of delivery.
Traditional media stories have always been slanted toward the opinion of the owner. Papers have always been referred to as conservative or liberal or from a certain religious viewpoint.
The usual selling point for tax support for the CBC is that Canadians need it to tell our own stories. Well, now we can tell our own stories on the internet.
The CBC is reliably and honestly anti-Christian in their editorial stance, as is the government. We can learn about each other’s beliefs through civilized debate but don’t use tax dollars to insult other citizens’ core beliefs.
There are excellent news sites on the internet. An intelligent person can easily discern which sites are legitimate as well as discern what their editorial philosophy is. Also, it is important to read multiple news sites to see who is twisting the truth or not. Just like there are junk newspapers, there are junk websites.
Mr. Liss is fear mongering when he implies democracy is at risk because of the internet. Democracy is more at risk from government leaders who want to control the internet than from some people who try to influence public opinions.
Taxing the internet will not save traditional media, nor will propping them up with our hard earned tax dollars.
Another thing we should consider is that through the internet we hear the full range of public opinion. Traditional media always filters out the voices of those they think are too extreme or not within their world view.
More voices heard is better than less.
Jane Vandervliet,
Erin
*Editor’s note: It is currently unclear who will receive a portion of the federal government’s $595-million, five-year funding commitment for journalism. The Journalism and Written Media Independent Panel of Experts released its final report and recommendations to the federal government last week.