The Liberal Party Has Made Media Manipulation a Fine Art

As if it weren’t bad enough that many Canadians receive their news and political insight through the CBC, a crown corporation beholding to the government for the bread on its table, now we’re beginning to see ever more blatant manipulation of supposedly independent news agencies by the federal Liberal government.

Most people are fully aware that the spin doctors inside the Liberal party can make a warthog look like a prize pony, but many people don’t realize just how much power these people really have when it comes to getting their side of the story out for consumption and in manipulating public opinion.

Have you ever noticed how there are always rumors and “insider” leaks of information available to news agencies a day or two prior to any major policy statement or official new release by the Liberal government? Have you noticed how accurate these supposed rumors always are? Why is that? Just how do the reporters and analysts for the major newspapers, television and radio services get this information?

According to those on the inside, the answer is simple really. The Liberal spin doctors quietly slip the information to selected reporters who get the story out, often days before it’s officially announced. This is exactly what the government wants because it allows the public to digest the announcement and make peace with it before the official release. It also allows the government to guage reaction and tweak the policy prior to the official announcement in order to limit any negative impact to themselves.

Since the opposition parties would look like fools responding to rumors, by the time they can respond to the official release the story is already old news and nobody cares anymore. The benefit to the governing Liberal party is clear in this scenario, but why do supposedly impartial reporters play along with this game?

Again the answer is quite simple. If a reporter were to decide not to run a piece on the “rumor” he or she would be creamed by their editors for allowing others to scoop them on the story. These reporters also keep their sources, who they know is the government itself, a closely guarded secret because if they were to confess to the collusion they would be black balled by the Liberal government’s information offices and wouldn’t get anything more than a glaring look from them going forward.

Not playing along means losing either your job or your contacts and either way you lose your value in the press. This game isn’t a new one by governments, but it is one the Liberal government has raised to a high art. It’s just too bad our nation’s mainstream news services don’t have the strength of character to band together and take a stand for true freedom of the press rather than playing the Liberal public manipulation game.