MAKING TRUDEAU DISAPPEAR
The Prime Minister speaks, but Canadian broadcasters get distracted.
Donald Trump is definitely more powerful than Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. But does that power stretch all the way to Canadian airwaves too?
Last Tuesday morning, Trudeau held a news conference in the National Press Theatre in Ottawa, which was broadcast live on the two all-news TV channels for CBC and CTV. Well, it was broadcast live for a minute or two.
At about the same time Trudeau was getting ready to take his first question, Trump strode on to the stage at the United Nations in New York. That development bumped the Canadian Prime Minister right off the air.
Was that the correct call by the broadcasters? Judging by the debate on social media this week, politicswatchers in Canada have some fervent opinions — on both sides.
My own Twitter post (in protest) gathered nearly 300 “likes” during the week, and lots of comments, for and against.
A lot of the dissent seemed to spring from patriotism or nationalism. “In news, Canada first,” one commenter said. “Freakin’ ridiculous! Fifty-first state or what?” another said.
Others were more about Trump fatigue. “That’s why he got elected in the first place,” said one tweet reply. “Every time he blabbers, everybody drops what they’re doing to give him coverage.” Another person, in the same vein, offered this insight: “The guy has a stranglehold on free airtime. Somebody give him an invoice.”
Some people who approved of the decision to cut away from Trudeau saw the protests as parochial or a sign of that perennial Canadian insecurity against the American elephant. Practically speaking, many pointed out, Trump’s UN speech had more potential to change the world — including Canada’s world — than Trudeau’s news conference.
“Well he is at the UN threatening to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea,” one pointed out. A few noted that Trudeau had known the timing of Trump’s speech and could have scheduled his press conference accordingly. That’s not a bad point. Trudeau does seem hyperaware of Trump’s every move; was he hoping to fly under the radar with his news conference?
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Canadians are necessarily insecure about Trump elbowing his way on to our airwaves. In my case, it’s the opposite actually. I’d argue that we’re a strong, independent country — one that doesn’t need to keep hovering in the U.S. shadow. Sure, what Trump does can affect Canadian lives, but Trudeau was taking questions on everything from tax policy to climate change — not inconsequential issues to our citizens too.
Besides, it’s not entirely clear whether this was a news or an entertainment decision by the Canadian broadcasters. Did they switch to Trump because he was more newsworthy or because they were afraid they would lose audience share among those Canadian politics-watchers who are Trump-obsessed?
I will admit — I am one of those Canadians, as likely to be watching CNN as CBC on any given evening. Actually, in my house, CNN has even pulled us away from Netflix during particularly newsworthy days south of the border over this past year. Why watch a thriller or a disaster movie when all that and more is unfolding at the White House in real life?
Compelling as Trump is, however, I still think we need our Canadian news networks to keep an eye on what’s happening here. Faced with a hard decision about watching the U.S. president or a Canadian prime minister, I’d opt to hear from the person who is accountable to this country’s citizens.
That’s going to be a relevant discussion again next week too, when Heritage Minister Melanie Joly finally unveils what she’s calling a “new vision” for media, broadcasting and “creative” industry. The minister has been fielding all kinds of suggestions about that future since consultations were launched a year ago, including an argument by CBC itself to go entirely ad free.
Anyone who has sat through the ads long enough to view a CBC news clip online might be sympathetic to that view. I’ve also been arguing for some time that CBC Radio turns out great journalism — and broadcasting in general, most of the time — because it doesn’t distract listeners with advertising.
The point of having a state-financed CBC, it seems, is to give Canadians what the market can’t or won’t provide. Trump, to say the least, has saturated the political-airwaves market.
In his speech to the UN on Tuesday, the U.S. president made no apologies for his “America first” approach to everything. I do not think that was meant as a suggestion to Canadian broadcasters, however.
It’s also, obviously, not a suggestion to the heritage minister as she thinks about the future of the CBC, either.
“Canada First,” however, has not a bad ring to it. sdelacourt@bell.net