by B. H. Link (local professional writing under a pseudonym)

Some of us grew up in homes where grownups faithfully watched the evening news, read the daily city newspaper, and never thought to doubt how much was true. My dear mum spoke admiringly of “Peter” (Mansbridge, a former CBC news anchor) on a first-name basis; he was her trusted source for all things political. We later scoffed at those who would believe the ‘crazy talk’ on sources like U.S. Fox News. We felt informed about news events. Occasionally we’d come across people with ‘out there’ ideas, and an offhand dismissal seemed reasonable.

Little did we know.

Onward we venture into 2025 amid news from almost-endless sources worldwide. Strangely, free speech doesn’t feel very free anymore and we are too-often careful, even fearful, about voicing independent thoughts. Paradoxically it’s both easier and harder to find information AND to discern what appears to be true. With humility and courage we might question: What seems to be true? Who benefits from this message? Who funded this source? What kind of evidence is offered to support these ideas? Is it biased opinion, or an attempt to present more than one side for balance? What perspectives are being withheld, disparaged or dismissed, and why?

Media influence on our lives is HUGE; we can think we hold independent beliefs without realizing how some have been carefully fed to us over time. Simple slogans repeated strategically is a proven psychological manipulation technique. Accompanied by fear, even more powerful. Our attention is drawn to the ‘latest thing’; meanwhile far-reaching events occur behind the scenes and few notice.

The media was long considered an important check against those who might abuse power. Yet today reporters, announcers, editors and more from conventional media now cooperate with, and are generously funded by, governments and big corporations. Particularly Big Pharma. So a new term was coined: “censorship industrial complex”.

Rodney Palmer (now at Talk Nation Radio) is one of several whistleblowing journalists who testified at the National Citizens Inquiry (NCI). Referring to CBC misrepresentation of the Ottawa Freedom Convoy, he stated, “They took an exceptional moment to decide they would not be journalists, that instead they would be public health messengers … and the result is that Canada’s national broadcaster has morphed into a state broadcaster. And I worked in countries where there were state broadcasters – China, Syria, Malawi, North Korea – it’s promoting government policy without question, while censoring, belittling and shaming learned Canadians who dare to object and inform us of the truth. Bad journalism is incompetence but propaganda is a betrayal. And that’s what CBC has done, it betrayed us all.”   

Strong words. It’s worth questioning why we see no mention of the NCI on TV news, in the Sun or Province, or even in the BRLN. It was only an unprecedented citizen-funded, volunteer-organized inquiry with hundreds of witnesses exposing harmful and ongoing impacts of the Canadian Covid 19 response. Significant and relevant are understatements. And the MSM silence is deafening.

See for yourself: nationalcitizensinquiry.ca    

 (article courtesy of Connecting the Dots newsletter, January 2025)