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I think it all has to do with instilling fear in people, and it's all about propaganda. I think there'd be a lot less violence in the States if the media didn't make the people fearful of others. The propaganda is, of course. political stuff. The media only presents the "American" side of things, or what the president wants the masses to know! One never gets the full story.

Try watching the news here in Canada. You'd be pleasantly surprised! I live in the murder capital of Canada (I think...I know it has been in the not-so-distant past), yet the news still puts emphasis on good stories like medical breakthroughs, pillars of the community, and local entertainment. It's definitely refreshing!

Several years ago (late 80's-early 90's), we carried two American network affiliates from Detroit. Our cable company got complaints from people here because the news was so violent, that they took them off. They were subsequently replaced by two stations from Minneapolis. Unfortunately, though, now we have American FOX channels, and they're really bad for sensationalist stories. I prefer our local news. :)

Absolutely Vile
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Did you ever see the movie "Bowling for Columbine"? The movie really shows the difference between the U.S. and Canada in terms of the fear factor. I do think you are right that the news does contribute to that.



Cat

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Did you ever see the movie "Bowling for Columbine"? The movie really shows the difference between the U.S. and Canada in terms of the fear factor. I do think you are right that the news does contribute to that.



Cat
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YES!!! I was trying to make my point without mentioning the film. It's an excellent film and what Michael Moore does say with respect to American vs. Canadian news is absolutely correct. Our newscasters do talk differently. Calmer, softer, less sensationalist. We focus more on real issues rather than blowing things out of proportion to get people all riled up. We probably have less things of that nature (murders, etc.) to report anyway. Canada has a much lower murder rate than the States. Remember I said I lived in the "murder capital of Canada?"* We might get 20 murders a year at the most. I don't recall it being higher than that. (Although anyone willing to look up statistics can correct me if I'm wrong. :D)

Absolutely Vile

*Winnipeg, Manitoba

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sensationalism, shock value.
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Yeah but that's not right. News should be for information. It shouldn't be like a reality TV programme.

Absolutely Vile

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Did you ever see the movie "Bowling for Columbine"? The movie really shows the difference between the U.S. and Canada in terms of the fear factor. I do think you are right that the news does contribute to that.



Cat
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Exactly my thoughts.  My 15 year old daughter has to watch that movie at school today for Soc. Ed.  I'm looking forward to discussing it with her.

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Exactly my thoughts.  My 15 year old daughter has to watch that movie at school today for Soc. Ed.  I'm looking forward to discussing it with her.
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"Bowling for Columbine" is rife with inaccuracies and fabricated "stories".  In other words, typical Michael Moore drivel for the masses.

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"Bowling for Columbine" is rife with inaccuracies and fabricated "stories".  In other words, typical Michael Moore drivel for the masses.
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We are constantly bombarded with George W. Bush's drivel for the masses - so why not listen to other ideas ???

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I think it all has to do with instilling fear in people, and it's all about propaganda. I think there'd be a lot less violence in the States if the media didn't make the people fearful of others. The propaganda is, of course. political stuff. The media only presents the "American" side of things, or what the president wants the masses to know! One never gets the full story.

Try watching the news here in Canada.
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Of course, never mind that the #1 news anchor in the US is a Canadian citizen.

Personally, I think it is more of a case of the fact that Canada is a state owned and controlled media, unlike here in the US where it is all privately owned.

Here, we have no form of censorship at all, and the news media can put on whatever it wants.  In Canda, it is state owned, so even if not public, there is some censorship, even if unconscious.

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Did you ever see the movie "Bowling for Columbine"? The movie really shows the difference between the U.S. and Canada in terms of the fear factor. I do think you are right that the news does contribute to that.
Cat
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Well, if you accept that a propaganda movie with tons of made-up facts as a "documentary".  Personally, I think I would rather watch "Spinal Tap" again, it was more accurate.  :P

What scares me though even more is that a school is requiring students to watch it!  Might as well have them watch "Birth Of A Nation" to understand southerners during reconstruction, or "Triumph Of The Will" to understand why Nazi Germany did what they did.  Propaganda aimed at students is just plain wrong.

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Of course, never mind that the #1 news anchor in the US is a Canadian citizen.

Personally, I think it is more of a case of the fact that Canada is a state owned and controlled media, unlike here in the US where it is all privately owned.

Here, we have no form of censorship at all, and the news media can put on whatever it wants.  In Canda, it is state owned, so even if not public, there is some censorship, even if unconscious.
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Private media coporations have censorship too, and they put out their own propaganda.

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Private media coporations have censorship too, and they put out their own propaganda.
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Yes, that is so true also.

There are a great many things I find from other sources, that I never even hear mentioned on the "Big 3" networks.  The biggest one recently is the "Oil for food" scandal that is going through the UN.

I read about it on the internet and through newspaper web sites, but not a mention so far on CBS, NBC or ABC.  I think this is because they do not want to talk bad about the UN.

FOr over 2 years now, they have been preaching "Unilateralism" in reguards to dealing with Iraq.  And this only goes to show that the UN was full of corruption, and only looking for money in the pocket, not the best interests of the international community.  The fact that the UN is corrupt would only show how foolish their stance on multilateralism was.

But then again, most people don't seem to care.  I think they are to happy being sheep.

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Well, if you accept that a propaganda movie with tons of made-up facts as a "documentary".  Personally, I think I would rather watch "Spinal Tap" again, it was more accurate.  :P

What scares me though even more is that a school is requiring students to watch it!  Might as well have them watch "Birth Of A Nation" to understand southerners during reconstruction, or "Triumph Of The Will" to understand why Nazi Germany did what they did.  Propaganda aimed at students is just plain wrong.
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You don't think that what you watch for "news" isn't propaganda? The fact is that the news in the U.S. is ALL propaganda. And YES, it IS sensored! It is ALL bias in one slant or another. "Bowling for Columbine" is just one person's (Micheal Moore) view on the sitution. It may be right, it may not be. Have you seen it or are you just dissing it because it is a Micheal Moore film without viewing it?



Cat