Peter Menzies

Plus! CBC’s “Intifada Evan” shows the Ombudsman who’s boss and Rebel News puts another tick in the debates win column

Will media go along with the language shell game the government prefers or serve their readers with transparency and the Truth?

The nation’s media and its choice of words will be put to the test when Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government unveils its first budget three weeks from now.

The PM and his Finance Minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne have made it clear that they intend to recategorize capital spending as “investment” and perhaps view their deficit primarily only in terms of any financial shortfall in operational spending. The simplest way to explain the difference between capital and operational is that the former is the money a government would spend to buy or build new ships and aircraft and the latter is what you need every year to keep them afloat, in the air and staffed. If you don’t have enough cashflow to pay the costs of both of those and you have to borrow money to do so, that’s a deficit. Or at least it used to be.

Going forward – and to be fair we won’t know exactly what is coming until we see the budget – it appears Carney and company only intend to speak of the deficit in terms of operational budgets. All other spending, no matter its volume, is likely to be termed capital “investment.” They also appear to be moving subsidies into that category. Hopefully, if this plays out as it appears it will, media will still acknowledge how much the government is borrowing to cover the shortfall between revenue and expenses as at least one prominent analyst anticipates this year’s deficit will hit $100 billion – more than twice the $42 billion forecast by Carney’s predecessor, Justin Trudeau.

The test for media will be to see whether – as so far appears to be the case – they will comply and comfortably go along with the language shell game the government prefers or the language that best serves their readers with transparency and the Truth.

The Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) has already raised concerns about the government’s creative accounting proposal.

“Finance Canada’s definition and categories expand the scope of capital investment beyond the current treatment of capital spending in the Public Accounts of Canada,” the PBO stated. “Based on our initial assessment, we find that the scope is overly expansive and exceeds international practice.”

The media’s decisions regarding whose language it uses – its readers’ or its government’s – will tell us a lot about newsroom cultures and priorities.

The CBC’s Evan Dyer is one of those reporters who has refused to take the advice of the Mother Corp’s Ombudsman. Last year, Jack Nagler, now retired, had reviewed complaints about a social media post by Samira Modyeddin concerning the arrest of a Palestinian activist who had threatened to kill Jews and drink their blood.

“This is a healthy reminder for those journalists who feel compelled to weigh in on controversial news stories,” Nagler wrote in his July, 2024 report, before concluding that, “It might be helpful to think about social media the way you would about cutting a piece of wood.

“Measure twice and post once.”

Dyer, who’s too clever by half on X and has been nicknamed “Intifada Evan” by critics, apparently disagrees. In my view, earning noms de plume for bias is not something to which journalists should aspire. Many news organizations agree, which is why they expect their reporters to restrict social media activity to the posting of their own and related work. That way, they aren’t broadcasting their personal biases to the world and damaging public trust in their employer.

Dismissive of Nagler’s advice and oblivious to the fact a Radio-Canada journo, Elisa Serret, had recently been suspended for an antisemitic rant, Dyer had this to say about the news that Bari Weiss had sold her The Free Press to Paramount and been appointed head of CBS News:

“Bari Weiss will be editor-in-chief of CBS News and report directly to David Ellison, son of Larry Ellison, the world’s top private donor to the IDF (Israel Defence Force). Kenneth Weinstein, former CEO of the Hudson Institute, will monitor for “bias” as demanded by FCC commissioner Brendan Carr.”

Or, as some might have read it, “one Jew reports to another Jew, son of a Jew who donates to defend Israel while another Jew monitors the Jews.”

Whether Dyer was told to delete this post or chose on his own to remove it is unknown. But it didn’t disappear fast enough to prevent several critics who took frame grabs that were shared widely and with a powerful blend of enthusiasm and condemnation. The comment of Vivian Bercovici, former Canadian ambassador to Israel, provided a good summary:

“Darn Jooz, eh Evan? They control everything. Banks. Weather. All of it. Qatar? An innocent bystander engaged in good works the world over.”

Sue-Ann Levy added “Hey @EvanDyerCBC … is there a place at CBC HQ where I should pick up my yellow star?”

There was no word at the time of writing whether Dyer had been disciplined but as I write this (he has blocked me) he is still Tweeting away.

In so doing. he has certainly shown that the office of the CBC Ombudsman can be ignored at will and without consequence. Perhaps other of his colleagues will similarly assert themselves.

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Readers will recall that Rebel News caused quite a stir at the leaders’ debates during last spring’s federal election – so much so that media were not allowed to ask questions following the English version. That was due to the ruckus that had ensued within the press corps when Rebel staked out the front of the queue after the French debate and asked questions that shocked legacy media, the CBC in particular. The most notorious exchange involved CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault and Rosemary Barton, who accused the Rebel representative of spreading far right misinformation. CBC later issued a correction after Barton stated “yes, there have been remains of Indigenous children found at various places around the country.”

Well, it looks like there’s going to be a sequel. According to Blacklock’s Reporter, the Leaders’ Debate Commission has thrown in the towel when it comes to defining a journalist. As Blacklock’s reported:

“The Debates Commission said it consulted numerous media on methods of accreditation including the Canadian Association of Journalists, CBC, CPAC, Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery and the Independent Press Gallery that accredits Rebel News. “There was no consensus,” it wrote.

“Nor was there a consensus on what constitutes a media organization, what defines journalism or who is a journalist,” said the report. “Stakeholders noted journalism is not a regulated profession like law or medicine and there is no legal definition of journalism that could be upheld in court.”

Last week I promised to bring forward more on the responses of media that refuse to take government subsidies. Turns out other events took priority and I had columns to write for both The Hub and The Line. I will try to find time to squeeze in an extra column. Readers will also notice a new DONATE button has been added. This allows you to buy The Rewrite a cup of coffee or, if you are feeling generous, a beer, but doesn’t constitute a subscription. Please consider making use of it and help us save journalism from bad journalism. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours and my thanks to you for your support and encouragement.

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(Peter Menzies is a commentator and consultant on media, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Senior Fellow, a past publisher of the Calgary Herald, a former vice chair of the CRTC and a National Newspaper Award winner.)