The Radio Act in Canada declares that "a licenser may not broadcast....any false or misleading news." This ensures that Canadians enjoy much less biased and rational news coverage than our brothers and sisters to the south. In Canada many see Fox News as notoriously biased and dishonest in its coverage. Of course, many Canadians see much of our coverage as biased and somewhat misleading as well... but indeed it stays much truer to the facts than does much of the coverage in the United States.
According to Mr. Kennedy:
"When Stephen Harper moved to abolish the anti-lying provision of the Radio Act, Canadians rose up to oppose him fearing that their tradition of honest non partisan news would be replaced by the toxic, overtly partisan, biased and dishonest news coverage familiar to American citizens who listen to Fox News and talk radio."
Now, as a Canadian citizen, I did not notice this public outcry referred to by Mr. Kennedy, but surely it warrants some attention given that he seems to regard Canadian broadcasting with some esteem. For Rogers (TSE: RCI.B) , Bell (TSE: BCE), and our nation's other media conglomerates, the blockage of any northward expansion of media is a helpful way to maintain a near monopoly on the airwaves.
To read Robert Kennedy's article, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/fox-news-will-not-be-moving-into-canada-after-all_b_829473.html
I saw an online petition, if that can be called a rising up. I like the wording of the existing regulation, that to abolish it requires essentially admitting that you want to allow news programs to make shit up.
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