Canadian Association of Journalists says “We had a sense a lot of decisions had already been made.”
With the backlash growing towards Trudeau’s clearly biased panel for the corrupt media bailout, one group is already considering quitting the panel.
The Canadian Association of Journalists was announced as one of the eight panelists who would help pick who got the bailout money.
Now, as reported by Blacklocks Reporter, they say they may not participate:
“The Journalists’ Pugliese said her group only learned of its invitation to the expert panel through a late phone call, and questioned the entire process. “We even had a hard time finding out who we should speak to,” said Pugliese. “We had a sense a lot of decisions had already been made.”
“We got a call from the Department of Heritage on Tuesday saying they would be letting us know we’d get an invitation,” said Pugliese. “We just found out. Our participation is not a given. We have a lot of questions.”
“We consulted our members and this is very controversial,” said Pugliese, director of news for APTN of Winnipeg. “There are concerns the government should not even be appointing this panel.”
Those in the media who truly value independence, freedom of thought, and freedom of speech, must reject any government bailout funds and quit the panel. Otherwise, they become corrupt government stooges.
So, this backlash is good to see.
However, the fact is that the Trudeau government will still be giving the over $600 MILLION in bailout money, and Unifor – who are actively trying to defeat the Conservatives – are still part of the panel and will have significant influence and control over where the money goes.
Even if the Canadian Association of Journalists quits the panel, the reality is that our media is still being totally corrupted, and freedom of the press is on life support.
These are dangerous and disturbing times.
Spencer Fernando
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