Had to laugh yesterday when I saw this: A Globe and Mail subscriber-pitch suggesting the putative reader would be supporting ‘independent journalism.’Independent of what, exactly?The Government of Canada?Woodbridge?The pack?.The Glub receives untendered contracts from the Government of Canada and since January 1st 2000 has qualified for funding through the government’s media bail out program. Hard to find out how much of course. All top secret. It would depend upon voluntary admission or third-party disclosure, the latter unlikely in the Globe’s case. To be as fair as possible, all newspapers have received in the past government advertising, at the government’s discretion and for which the government paid the full card rate. In a way, that was a subsidy in itself, going back decades. However, let’s not pretend that these contracts aren’t important.Independent of the Woodbridge Company then, the Thomson family’s investment arm?Well, no.Or, independent of the pack?This is what matters more.What the Globe receives from the Liberal government goes no doubt, straight to the bottom line. But while a federal freebie is always welcome, the paper’s future doesn’t depend on it. The amounts involved are just too large. However when it comes to worldview, it would be hard to find evidence in the files to demonstrate that the Globe’s newsroom departs much from what they think at the Toronto Star or the CBC.This is not to say the Globe doesn’t have good writers, or doesn’t recognize news when it sees it.But from what I observed over six years in the Harper PMO, it’s not much of an overstatement to say the press gallery in those days decided what their story was going to be, and then all took the same tack. There is a general agreement on big things which reporters will tell you is the consequence of considered judgment, but which is very much reinforced by fear of being the odd man out. (And if you go too far against the grain, losing your government access...)Which in a way brings us back to our friends at Rebel News. (Who, like ourselves receive no grants-in-aid from any level of government.) Some people — Warren Kinsella springs to mind — have unkindly said that the Rebel News’ David Menzies isn't a real reporter. He is, of course: Menzies graduated from Ryerson as a journalist more than 25 years ago and has worked in the profession since. But for the sake of the argument, let's say he's just a citizen at large, exercising a citizen’s right to question a politician. Is this what citizens should expect if we try to talk to a Liberal? (Maybe. It's happened twice to Menzies. I would refer you to my colleague Linda Slobodian’s column on the subject.)One thing is for sure, it is enterprises such as the Western Standard, Rebel News, True North and a handful of others who struggle along on subscriptions, advertising and goodwill — and who view the world with a wider angle lens — that are truly ‘independent’ media. They will cover the stories the heritage media doesn't think are stories, speak for people whose voices don't fit the mainstream consensus and ask the questions the legacy media won't think to enquire after...Like the one Menzies was asking Minister Freeland: "Why isn't the Iranian Revolutionary Guard [that shot down a Ukrainian airliner and killed more than 80 Canadian citizens and permanent residents in the process] a terrorist group?" Seems like a fair question to me and we're still waiting on an answer.Nice try, Globe. I guess, to use a political phrase, we perceive things differently.
