The Media and Politicians
by Angelo Persichilli
TORONTO SUN

This question has popped up frequently in the media since the Jan. 23 federal election.

But I believe it is an intellectually dishonest one because it compares an individual to a category.

It would be more appropriate to ask if "politicians" hate the "media," comparing the two professions. The answer would be more complex. Some do, some don't.

We in the media criticize politicians by name every day.

 

But can you imagine the reaction of the media if a politician, and heaven forbid, the prime minister, ever singled out a journalist for criticism by name?

We would make that journalist a martyr.

We would start a crusade, warning about intimidation, the threat to freedom of expression and a free press and the looming death of democracy.

We in the media like to criticize politicians as a pack, shoot them as a pack and, immediately after, retreat as a pack.

The fact is, it's not just Harper who "hates" us. So do many other politicians.

If they don't react to us even when we bully them, it's not because they believe we are always right. We have all heard politicians telling us, off the record: "We don't fight back because we never win with you guys."

The problem is that, instead of being concerned about this statement, we boast about it.

Don Martin wrote in the National Post this week about the ongoing war between Harper and the media in a column headlined: "Harper's hatred of messenger hurts strategy."

I agree with Martin's point. But the opposite is also true. Many of the media messengers "hate" Harper as well.

Former Conservative PM Brian Mulroney loved the media, but only history will bring justice to his political career.

CONSTANTLY DEMONIZED

The media constantly demonized him, even if his major "sins," the GST and free trade, were attacked by the Liberals when they were in opposition and then, absurdly, supported by them when they became the government.

We in the media never asked ourselves about this political inconsistency.

Perhaps this was because we were too busy demonizing Mulroney's successors to realize that Mulroney's terrible "mistakes," free trade and the GST, were in fact the economic tools that were pumping money into the Liberal government's coffers.

Mulroney had to wait almost 15 years to be declared the most environment-friendly prime minister of Canada by environmentalists themselves.

This recognition came as a total shock to the media.

Which is not to say we haven't been tough on other politicians as well.

I'm sure if we asked Preston Manning, Stockwell Day and Paul Martin and his handlers their opinions, they wouldn't have a lot of good things to say about us.

I'm also sure we wouldn't get many good references from most of the folks who worked in the office of former prime minister Jean Chretien, even though they loved us when they were in opposition.

TOTAL CONTEMPT

Ironically, the only prime minister who was worshiped by media, Pierre Trudeau, was also the only PM who had an almost total contempt for journalists.

He used to tell his advisers to remember that "we in government control the agenda, not (the) media."

So yes, I agree with the Post's Martin that Harper's "hatred of (the) messenger," doesn't help to promote his strategy.

But we also have to ask ourselves if we in the media are ready to concede the point he is making and, if necessary, accept some of the blame for the current state of poor relations between the PMO and the press.