Comments on Crawl Across the Ocean: Media Bias Stole My Lunch Money

Yes, the more I think about it, the more it all se...

2006-05-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, the more I think about it, the more it all seems pretty scripted.

I guess I am projecting my own reaction "what a baby!" onto the population, thinking that everyone will have the same reaction, which may not be true.

Still, I'm not sure it will be such an effective tactic. This isn't the U.S. (at least I hope not, Harper & Co. seem pretty convinced it is so I guess we'll see).

It's hard for me not to see it as tactical, and th...

2006-05-25T08:33:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me not to see it as tactical, and that this crisis was manufactured.

I should also mention that I don't think this is a dark conspiracy, but just an example of the same kind of communications strategies governments and corporations use to influence the public all the time.

Let me put it this way - given the cone of silence around Conservative MPs and Cabinet ministers, would we really expect the PM himself to lose it and say something unscripted?

And given the fact that he's still on this, I suspect it's going the way they want it to.

aLT - It may be a minority view, but it is the one...

2006-05-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

aLT - It may be a minority view, but it is the one I lean to as well.

Trudeau was before my time, but certainly I've seen the 'media bypass technique' before and not just in politics.

But Harper has shown enough signs of paranoia that I decided to just leave the question open in my post whether this latest outburst was tactical or not.

I know this is a minority view, but I can't help b...

2006-05-25T06:04:00.000-07:00

I know this is a minority view, but I can't help but think that this whole thing is part of a broader communications strategy on the part of the Conservatives.

Compare it with Stockwell Day's attempts to "bring decorum" to press briefings by holding them in a room - how long did that last?

We're seeing a much more coordinated attempt to let the media frame itself in a particular way. Whether or not it will backfire on him is hard to say, but it certainly isn't hurting him right now.

I don't know whether or not Harper really believes the media's biased against him, but playing the role of the guy who's trying to take his message right to the people, bypassing the fat cats et al. sounds pretty familiar - anyone recall Trudeau's speeches during the repatriation talks?