Essay by Eric Worrall
Prime Minister Trudeau’s follow up to distressing media images of police horses trampling old ladies appears to be a Communist Chinese style social credit system for news reporters, presumably to discourage publication of stories which embarrass the government.
Of course, Trudeau is not alone in doing this. Biden has also raised the introduction of incentives which provide government assistance to media outlets which produce content which his regulators approve.
Biden’s tax breaks for local media an effort to turn them into ‘versions of leftist NPR or PBS,’ critic says
Published November 15
The tax break allows eligible local media organizations to take a credit of up to $25,000 per journalist they employ
President Biden is proposing to give a major tax break to local media outlets as part of the $1.85 trillion reconciliation being considered by Congress.
The tax break would allow eligible local media organizations, including newspapers, digital news websites and television stations to receive a tax credit of $25,000 per journalist they employ, and $15,000 for the following four years. The tax break can be claimed for up to 1,500 journalists.
…
Read more: https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/biden-media-tax-breaks
In my opinion a funded social credit system for journalists is a dangerous attack on free speech and independent journalism, a consolidation of the preeminence of the government point of view on mass media, just a short step from outright government ownership of media outlets – defacto control without explicitly restricting free speech.
Obviously this unfortunate development is not directly related to climate change. But I wonder how many media outlets which play the game and accept the subsidies would risk their government handouts by giving airtime to climate skeptics, or to anyone who has a story to tell which politicians would not like? Paying someone’s mortgage is a powerful incentive to toe the line, to the detriment of everyone other than the political sponsors of these reprehensible media control schemes.
Sliding down the slippery slope.
ThIs has all the drawbacks of State funded religion, or State funded political campaigns. Who constitutes a “journalist”? Print newspapers? Broadcast TV or radio? Internet only magazines or websites?
Should MSNBC be funded? Fox? The Epoch Times? Infowars? CounterPunch?
Where is the flaw in Canadian Law or its Constitution which allows this to happen? A most serious development.
If the governments ban misinformation, Trudeau and Biden will be legally banned from ever speaking again.
But I wonder how many media outlets which play the game and accept the subsidies would risk their government handouts by giving airtime to climate skeptics…
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Not the government, but there’s this:
Covering Climate Now
Ten Best Practices
10. For God’s sake, do not platform climate denialists.
Here’s a LINK to the the Canadian government webpage from June 2021.
Nationalised Journalism? Will there be a government department tasked with employing them?
Hang on a minute.
It says the money can be given to local media organisations including “digital news web sites.”
Does that include WUWT? It is certainly a digital news web site.
And it says the tax credit of $25,000 per journalist can be used for up to 1,500 journalists.
So is everyone who posts here a journalist? After all, over here a charity I am involved with uses volunteers who provide their services free but their activities are still governed by employment law.
Anthony, Charles, you need to look into this.
This is as dangerous as anything we have seen.
Commies never quit. They only seek more.
Trudeau is a slime-ball. He has always harassed independent media especially Rebel News.
There is no chance that independent media will be silenced in the USA. This is stupid paranoid hyperbole.
Nothing really surprising or new about government censorship. Back in 1934, the FCC, one of St. FDR’s shiny new toys, reduced the term of a radio license from 3 years to 6 months. Editorial content at the networks quickly fell into line with the administration’s.
“Of course, Trudeau is not alone in doing this. Biden has also raised the introduction of incentives which provide government assistance to media outlets which produce content which his regulators approve.
………
………
The tax break would allow eligible local media organizations, including newspapers, digital news websites and television stations to receive a tax credit of $25,000 per journalist they employ, and $15,000 for the following four years. The tax break can be claimed for up to 1,500 journalists.”
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As I have said before, I have no legal or constitutional background or expertise. I however cannot help but wonder if all of this could be something that can be constitutionally challenged. If the U.S. Constitution guarantees a free press, are the tax breaks not a means to assert some degree of control or influence over the mass media?
What exactly would happen to an outlet’s qualification for the tax break if they publish or broadcast one or more news stories that are critical of Biden and his administration on the issues? One might see this as a form of bribery that provides incentives for the MSM to toe the administration’s party line on the issues, true?
In California, I read where legislation is (or was) being proposed to strip a licensed doctor of his/her license to practice if he/she does not toe the “required” party line on medical issues like the coronavirus and the vaccines for it. If that is not an attack on free speech, then nothing is. Such a proposal demonstrates an extraordinarily high degree of arrogance and egotism.
I say again folks: There is a real world Orwellian Big Brother out there. Between what govt is doing and the silencing of dissent on social media like Twitter and Facebook, we are starting to see an America which my generation (the baby boomers) never thought would be coming forty or fifty years ago.
The need for control of free speech and the mass media is certainly a requisite for keeping the climate alarmist narrative alive, among other things. It is also the only way to sell the masses wind and solar energy as a viable commercial alternative to fossil fuels despite the former’s shortcomings.
Thought control is one of the most important tools for political power (just ask Putin), and the warnings George Orwell left behind for us are a stark reminder of that Loss of that control is very upsetting to those who crave it. Can the Thought Police be far behind?
In the UK, the Misleadia version of the truth is force-fed to the plebs.
Putin styled his media laws based on the BBC’s coverage
Here in the US with all the Kings horses and all the Kings men (media, academics, big business, entertainment, Wall Street, and academia) they cannot convince the people that Brandon does not suck!
This from CNN of all sources: Nolte: CNN Admits Joe Biden’s Approval Rating Worst in Elected History (breitbart.com)
Now subtract the 6-7 points from Brandon’s score for the normal bias.
Can’t help but notice that with the mid-terms approaching Brandon is not out on the stump with the democrat candidates despite the fact that they are likely to loose the house by large numbers and probably will lose the Senate?
Set aside the fact that he would probably forget the state he is in and the name of the candidate he is campaigning for and be sniffing the hair of the girl child of the candidate, the simple fact is the guy is total poison.
And based on what this truck driver is experiencing it is only going to get worse because it sure is looking like the forecasted economic downturn is here!
I depart at 03:00 tomorrow morning to do that KC run I described earlier on the Electric vr, hydrogen truck thread. But this time they have no back haul set up because they haven’t found one yet. My buddy is at Toyota there right now and as I write this is parking his truck because they had no back haul and he has to wait.
This is not normal at all! We have always gotten good back hauls to return from that run.
First, that “Big Oil” payment has never materialized. Now, a grant I will never get.
It’s understandable that there is a desire to make up for the horrible economics today of journalism, and that in fact such a desire is grounded in an effort to promote a free press. Just as the government promotes subsidies of a great many other professions thought to be in short supply, including public school teachers, doctors, STEM graduates, aircraft pilots (see – GI Bill benefits), and to college and trade school students in general (GI Bill, subsidized college student loans, etc. etc.).
This is a slope that is no slipperier than any other that involves government expenditures, libertarianism notwithstanding. And it can certainly be argued quite successfully that professional journalism provides a net benefit to the republic given the extreme importance of a viable free press, even if you don’t like what the press is reporting. If we are only left with social media, owned mostly by massive media companies as the only source of the nation’s news, then nobody will ever have access to anything but propaganda and bullshit, and the electorate will indeed be bereft of some kind of factual basis on which to judge the performance of our government.
This particular subsidy is aimed solely at local news organizations, not the major media.
The key is what is written in the eligibility criteria. If there is any hint that the proposed benefits are in any way shaded towards content, or shaded towards publishing companies that are pro-government, then not only is that improper but it would easily and quickly be struct down by our Federal courts system up to and including SCOTUS.
This stuff is late to the party. Giving away money for good behavior may be “nice” but is not a necessary step at all.
The first two steps for total control of all media and all information have already been taken.
1) Anything the Govt. does not like is “misinformation” and “disinformation”. (We have seen this very clearly and multiple times with COVID.)
2) Declare “misinformation” and “disinformation” as Dangerous and Harmful.
(We have seen this especially with COVID.)
The last step is clear. The ground pas been prepared, the last step is ready.
3) The Government reserves the right to control and especially ban things deemed to be “Dangerous” and “Harmful”.
Up to and including criminal penalties. To keep people safe. For the Greater Good.
If you have been around, you already know how this goes.
Change the title to “USA and Canada’s Plan to Silence Independent Researchers” and you have the current system used to award research grants. And how often is the desired outcome of the research even implied in the title of the request for proposals?
I will argue that much of MSM today is based on religion: faith in what the President states to be true, faith in climate change™ as preached by the Church of the IPCC, faith in the preachings of the Federal Reserve, etc., etc.
Therefore, appealing to the long-standing US practice of separation between state and religion, it should be Constitutionally unlawful for the US Government to transfer taxpayer monies in any manner to “media organizations”.
The Seattle Times has devoted multiple ‘opinion pieces’ per week by one of its best editorial writers, loudly proclaiming that the hopes for ‘independent journalism’ by your local paper must be supported by gummint subsidies or tax excuses. Biden’s proposed ‘tax breaks’ are exactly according to that line of thinking, and the ST is already locked into the uber-progressive party line. Its front-page ‘news’, when not pursuing its two-decade crusade against local policing, is all just reprints from NYT, LAT or the AP.
What do the Putin, Xi & Biden regimes (along with all the lessor players like Justin Castreau) have in common?
They are ALL doing the “Digital ID” (formerly known as the Vaccine Passport). There are NO safeguards possible in that system. If you give them the ability to shut your life off they will. Only complete 100% obedient compliance to EVERYTHING they say is acceptable.
Here are 9 serious fact checks on what we’ve been told for 2 years.
https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/-coffee-and-covid-monday-april-18?s=r
And people thought Trump was fascist??
Although the Constitution protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances, using the tax code for incentives is using the law as a means of silencing free speech. Incentives like this used for political purposes is illegal and dastardly.