VOCM has adopted a policy during elections that a candidate can only call each program once a week. On Randy's show - ordinary callers are restricted to once a week plus free for all Friday' - ordinary callers on Bill's Back-Talk are limited to once a week unless there is an emerging issue with moving and new information. Linda's Night-Line is open to all ordinary callers every night.
These are the general rules and relatively speaking they are fair.
Four times a year for approximately two weeks each time a political poll is conducted. During this time Government abuses the time open to all of them on the programs for unpaid political messages or information which can be presented at a News Conference or by a News Release. It would then be up to each news agency to determine whether or not the story makes the line-up.
Polling periods should be curtailed in the same way as an election with this exception. Calls to the shows should be limited to one government member a week - with of course open access at all times for the Premier.
The Ministers have an ability and the resources to distribute News Releases and hold News Conference. They can attempt to sway political polls that way.
The government with inordinate amounts of taxpayer dollars - human resources - and political volunteers - does not need to "hog" open-lines as well.
This attempt to alter public opinion in two week "extreme" doses four times a year - is not warranted and takes away from the free and open "public" debate. Ordinary people have only these programs to regularly put out their points of view. To have that time diminished by any government - bent on "good" polling results - with millions in public resources for public relations is wrong. They will not stop themselves - so perhaps we should ask they respect the "peoples" time for discussion.
That's fair - right Premier?
1 comment:
Sue - it is certainly slimey and reprehensible that the govenment does this, but surely the "nozzle" is controlled by the producers of the shows... they allow this to go on by letting Danny's crowd onto the air.
And the Liberal caucus is seemingly unable to mount any couter-attack by calling, themselves.
The far greater threat at the moment is the Premier's bullying tactics and attempts to shut down democratic criticism... these lawyerly, arrogant threats delivered by the dour little man with the shiny Toronto suit and the Florida sun tan. This is profoundly objectionable.
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