The Canadian media in the year 1983, to an astonishing extent, has become the message. Instead of acting merely as transmitters of news, the media has now claimed the power to shape events and to mould public opinion. In no way is this more obvious than with the abortion issue. As has been so often stated, in Morgentaler’s trial in Quebec, the media was used by him as a propaganda tool. The public was given only one side – his side. Again, recently in Winnipeg with the date of Morgentaler’s illegal abortion clinic drawing near, the media has worked itself into a frenzy of support for him. In Toronto, the coverage given the abortion issue since Morgentaler announced his decision to establish a clinic there, has led to mostly one-sided, inadequate coverage.
Who are these media people who are trying to mould our opinions? They clearly are not a representative group of Canadians. However, they wield great power over us. There are, of course, exceptions to the general tide, as there are women and men in the media who are analytical and objective in their news stories, but they are the exception rather than the rule.
Goebbels, Hitler’s propagandist, stated that there are three steps in manipulating public opinion:
Appeal to the common masses, not to the intellectuals.
Appeal to the emotions, not to the intellect.
Repeat simple ideas over and over again.
We are all too familiar with the application of these three steps in Canada with regard to the abortion issue. The profound implications of the issue are swept aside and replaced with simplistic emotional generalizations and misrepresentations.
We who are involved in the pro-life movement know the tremendous power of the media to shape events and mould public opinion.
We can well ask on what other issues has the media also shaped events and molded public opinion? It is frightening to think of the ramifications to our society of the apparent power of the media today.
It points out above all that:
We cannot remain silent but must speak out against the manipulation of events by the media when we see it. We have an obligation to do so, not only to ourselves and the unborn, but also to Canadian society.
The so-called profession of journalism must be made subject to strict guidelines. There must not only be internal controls, but also external control by way of a monitoring public body to ensure that the public is protected. It is not enough to say that provincial press councils are competent to handle this. They are obviously not doing the job.
The public can no longer be held hostage to the unrepresentative views of those few who control the media. c.g.l.
