Canadians want American-style cable news

By Robert Jump

The following rebuttal to Is American-style cable news coming to Canada? Is by Robert Jump, editor of Coquille-Today.com, a fellow journalist and friend of MorinvilleNews.com.

As my esteemed colleague has so astutely observed, there are always other opinions.

It appears that Mr. Dafoe’s argument has missed the mark entirely in regard to Quebecor Inc.’s license request by placing blame for something that hasn’t yet taken place, somewhere other than where it will squarely belong if it does: with Canadian television viewers.

Regardless of the content of FOX News, MSNBC, or any other television network news program, the sad truth is the only reason any television programming exists is because viewers will sit through the advertising to watch it.

Television news has found itself in the position of having to tread water to stay relevant in a vast sea of media sources that did not or were in limited existence 20 years ago. With viewers clamoring away from television, network executives are doing what they can to retain viewers and generate revenue.

“It’s the same old song and dance.”

Television news executives, south of the Canadian border or not, do not decide what type of content will be broadcast or how that content will be presented. Ultimately those choices are made by viewers and their respective governments.

Nice try, but there’s no reason to make an international incident out of what Mr. Dafoe perceives as a “problem” that is obviously local, or provincial in nature.

– Robert Jump