Expect media coverage of Election 41 to liven up when Sun TV News launches later this month. We’re getting a sneak preview into the guiding ethos of the new network from its head, Luc Lavoie, who was interviewed by the Canadian Journalism Project (j-source.ca).
To the Ottawa press corps., Lavoie needs no introduction. He was a former press aide to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and an advisor to QMI Media’s proprietor, Pierre-Karl Peladeau. His voice scares me.
In one of his responses to J-source, Lavoie seems to suggest that his organization wouldn’t have considered the controversy over Afghan detainees that dogged the Harper government such a big deal. Why, because its polling said so:
“Soldiers in battle took people who were attacking them as prisoners and then brought them to the local authorities,” he said.
“And it appears that the soldiers weren’t very nice to these prisoners. We did some surveys and asked people what they thought of this issue and 95% had never heard about it.
“Just because the media is scandalized by sometime doesn’t mean it’s a scandal to the rest of the population.”