Partisans, Politics and Poker Games: My Thoughts After my CBC Interview

I’m going to just come out and say it. I’m a fan of partisan media. Even if taken to its logical extreme (Fox News) I’m still a fan of it. As a matter of fact I’m a fan of Fox News. I mean seriously have you ever watched it? Its insane! And in all honesty, its much, much funnier than the Comedy Network. As well, I have no problem with people watching junk like Fox if that’s where they want to go to get their news. Really, it’s a free country. If that’s what they want then who am I to stop them.

Moreover on the flip side of right-wing pundits shows like the O’Reilly Factor, we get liberal-tinged comedy shows like the Daily Show or the Colbert Report or to a much lesser extent CNN or MSNBC (so the right wingnuts say…I happen to think they’re pretty balanced but then again I’m a looney lefty). Nonetheless, all of these shows are American and I recently stopped to scratch my head and wonder why I follow what’s going on in the US more than in what’s going on in Canada. Its pretty sad that I can name more American politicians than Canadian ones (probably close to a scale of 5-to-1).

So what is it about American politics that’s so interesting? It can’t be that their politicians are any more interesting than our own, I mean rather than two parties, we’ve actually got at least 5 parties competing in our upcoming election, and if anything it should be much more gripping. So what’s the problem? My answer is media in Canada is boooooorrrriiinnggg. Fox News, CNN, the Daily Show are all glitz and glam and news is a spectacle down in the states, and man I eat it up readily and willingly. And I have no problems with that and as a matter of fact, if anything else, turning news into a circus show could only attract more people to watch it. Imagine, more people watching the news. It’s the stuff of dreams man.

Moreover, could you imagine if we had a Canadian version of Jon Stewart (and don’t say Rick Mercer, because for this idea to work we need someone funny)? I’m convinced that with a charismatic, funny and most importantly, entertaining news outlet that’s biting and satirical more Canadian youth would actually want to follow Canadian politics. And in my mind that’s the ultimate goal, to get more Canadians interest in their own politics regardless of where they stand politically. And my (albeit simple) answer to this is partisan media.

This idea really hit home for me when I was sitting in the CBC building a few days ago on a panel about undecided voters. The problem with Canadian media is that it’s not okay to take sides or to expose your bias. While we all know that the various Canadian media outlets do lean in one direction or another, its kept much more hush-hush than down South. And this illusion of neutrality tricks people who are unaware about the politics of their media and believe that what they read may indeed be unbiased.

Moreover this illusion of neutrality has convinced many people to remain very reserved about issues of the utmost importance. I’ll give you an example from my experience on the CBC. When talking to the first two people on the panel, each spoke about ‘the parties I’m considering’ or ‘my potential candidate.’ When it came to me I came out and blatantly said ‘I’m thinking about the NDP or the Liberals depending on who I think can fight back a Conservative majority.’ And man, the look on their faces was hilarious. They were shocked and amazed that I had actually said who I was thinking about voting for instead of a vague obscure reference to ‘the parties I’m considering.’ It was like I had exposed my hand after the first round of betting at a poker table. And even after I did dropped the bomb, the two still spoke in veiled jargon because it seemed ‘improper’ to speak frankly about the issues. While yes, I understand some people like to keep that kind of information to themselves (totally fine, it’s a free country), this is a radio show panel and if I come onto a show to do a bit about undecided voters, then it’s important to look at what’s going on in the head of undecided voters. And if we’re looking at what undecided voters are thinking about, then we need to look at their options concretely.

Coming back to my poker analogy, I actually think the news media have the whole thing backwards. Politics and political coverage should not be a hidden poker hand, it should be fully exposed so everyone can see who holds what cards so we, as voters, can make an informed decision. If we cling our cards to our chest then we run the risk of tossing our chips in on a bluff. And while that might be suitable at a poker table, it is NOT the way we should be selecting our political leaders.