Sun Media Has Gone Too Far. Cancel Your Papers Everyone

This is the front page of the Toronto Sun today. Just when you thought that Sun Media couldn't stoop any lower, they outdo themselves. I almost wish I was still getting my Sun Media Kingston Whig Standard so I could cancel it.

But I ended my 35 year subscription when they started running columns by Ezra Levant.

I'm told it's worse now. They should be ashamed. Fox News has more class.

I Just Cancelled my Sun Media Newspaper and I Feel so Empowered

After complaining every day about the content of the Kingston Whig Standard, after being taken over by Sun Media, I decided to finally do something about it.

I called them this morning and cancelled my subscription.

After buying the paper for 38 years, I simply can no longer justify giving them any more of my money.

I'm too techno-challenged to do any hacking for WikiLeaks, but in my own small way, I feel like I'm part of the army, even if just a humble messenger.

A revolution against corporate media and secretive governments. Ironically, it used to be the media who exposed government secrets. Now they simply help to keep them.

I've had it. I'm done.

It's not bad enough that the Whig via Sun is bringing the likes of Ezra Levant and Peter Worthington into my home, but they are now complicit in an assault on CBC. Canadians only voice.

And the horrible Dean Del Mastro, the man I call Shrek's evil twin, is now musing about completely defunding our only chance at any semblance of unbiased reporting.

AVAAZ has a petition to save WikiLeaks. Please sign it.

WE CAN DO THIS. A change is coming.

Take a stand. Cancel your corporate newspaper.

Margaret Atwood Kicks Some Fox News North Butt

On Friday, Ezra Levant had another column published in our local paper (Kingston Whig Standard), now part of the Sun group, whose writers compete weekly in a dumbest column contest. Part of the criteria is that they must show their undying devotion to the Reform movement and destroy anyone with differing political views.

Ezra usually wins and with Kory Teneycke gone, his competition has been all but eliminated.

Under the heading Atwood's flip-flop on free speech Levant made the following accusations:

Canadian author Margaret Atwood is a free-speech activist. She is the vice-president of International PEN, the advocacy group for imprisoned writers.

As a civil libertarian, Atwood defends freedom, even for odious people. Like Al Jazeera, the satellite network owned by an Arab sheik. Al Jazeera helps publicize terrorists like al-Qaida, who send snuff videos to the channel, knowing they will be obediently aired as propaganda.

Did I mention that the contest was for the dumbest remarks?

Well Atwood has fired back, and surprise, the Sun Media has published her rebuttal. The first intelligent thing I've read in the Sun for a very long time. Of course their heading did vindicate them. They are not attempting to be a legitimate newspaper. They only published it so their readers could continue their viscous attacks.

Margaret Atwood in the Sun?!?! Canadian author and (Scotch-swilling) icon fires back at us over Sun TV News (and we’re so scared!)

"And we're so scared"? Welcome to Fox News North. Only complete morons welcome.

One comment made by Atwood, when she was "accused" of supporting the Green Party, was: "I’d vote for a turnip if it was accountable, transparent, a parliamentary democrat, and listened to people."

So someone has started a group supporting the turnip's bid for prime minister, since he would definitely out perform our current one.

Vote Margaret Atwood's Turnip for Prime Minister of Canada

It's just a fun tongue in cheek response to Sun's nonsense. Though if it came down to voting for Stephen Harper or a turnip, I'd pick the turnip.

How Desperate is Kory Teneycke and Sun Media?

I have been subscribing to the Kingston Whig Standard for 38 years. I delivered it for 5 years when I was young and my parents got the paper for as long as I can remember.

But I now rarely ever read it.

The National section used to be my favourite part, and their columnists covered a wide range of interesting and relevant topics.

But since Sun Media took it over, it's little more than a Reform Party attack ad. Greg Weston, the only fair and balanced writer they had left, was fired for exposing "fake lake".

Now we get the likes of Ezra Levant, long time supporter of the Reform movement. Monte Solberg, long time Reform Party MP. Peter Worthington, one of the most right-wing journalists on the planet, and father-in-law of David Frum. Gerry Nicholls, VP of the National Citizens Coalition when Stephen Harper was their president. John Snobolen, the high school drop out who became Mike Harris's education (?) minister. Michael Den Tandt, who defies all reason.

But the paper hit a new low yesterday. Under the headline 'Ignatieff's former chief of staff takes 'cheap shot' at Sun readers', they wasted three columns on this non-issue. The key word was 'former'. Ian Davey was fired a year ago by Ignatieff. But that didn't stop Sun Media from making this 'newsworthy'.

Davey suggested that the Toronto Sun was for people who can't read. I couldn't agree more. It always a reputation for being a cheap tabloid. But under Kory Teneycke's guidance, they made this about attacking the 6.5 million readers across the country of papers in the Sun Media chain.

First off, that Sun Media chain now includes the many local papers they bought up, so people don't subscribe because of the Sun, but in spite of them. It's often their only choice.

I attended a Save the Prison Farms event several weeks ago and was speaking with a woman who stated that she was surprised that the Whig was giving this so much press. But they did it in their local section, the only thing they have any control over.

The conversation then turned to the demise of a paper that used to be so well respected as one of Canada's oldest. I told her that I had noticed that since Sun took it over, it had gone so far to the right that you could find more balanced reporting in the National Enquirer.

She had no idea that we were now part of Sun Media. "That explains it" she said.

But clearly this story was published to create an "us against them" mentality. It became about 'Ignatieff ... cheap shot ... readers'. "He" was attacking "us".

How this will resonate with local readers is any one's guess, but it may just make readers, sitting at their breakfast table, learning for the first time that their newspaper is now part of Sun Media, mutter "that explains it".

But this is the kind of crap we will get from Fox News North. Contrived news 24/7. I can hardly wait.

A Little Less Anger and a Lot More Journalism From Sun Media? Can't Be Done

I can't help but notice that Sun Media has begun to test the waters. How mush racism will we endure? How many attacks on women, minorities and non-neoconservative politicians will infest the newspapers and eventually the airwaves, before we just shut it off?

What passes for journalism with Sun these days is barely more intelligent than a schoolyard spitting contest.

Journalists are supposed to chronicle history, not fabricate it. But if this is the chronicling of our history, what will future generations of Canadians think of us? I shudder to think.

David McGuinty responded to a scathing attack on Michael Ignatieff, but I could have told him not to bother. As my mother used to say: "save your breath to cool your soup."

They are not media now, they are entertainment of the worst kind.

The best progressives can do is ignore them. As David says:

Where the Conservatives want to build more prisons, Liberals want to help more kids go to college.

Where the current government wants to add another $6 billion in corporate tax cuts to their record $54-billion deficit, a future Liberal government wants to reduce the deficit and help caregivers care for loved ones at home.

Where Stephen Harper’s foreign policy amounts to a billion-dollar G20 photo-op, Ignatieff is building relationships with new markets so we can sell Canadian goods and ideas to the world.

Harper has done everything in his power to bring politics to its lowest common denominator. Canadians don’t like his style of government, with its manipulation, secrecy and disrespect for Parliament. Compared to them, Ignatieff is presenting a progressive, compassionate and responsible alternative.

But Sun media doesn't have to endorse the bus tour. In fact, I'd be worried if they did. Their job is just to remind Canadians where Stephen Harper comes from and so far they are doing that in spades.

For me ... I've got a bus to catch. Lunch with Michael Ignatieff tomorrow.

And to Sun Media. This is what real journalism is: