I heard a little of the so called press conference from Alaska Hall. Seems like our freedom of speech is about to be cut. The PLP are tired of web blogs and the like critical of their leadership. They want to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!

This island is going down the drain so fast, Drano is NOT required!

just wait till this guy hoodwinks this country into independance...the proverbial Substance Heavy In Trash will hit the fan then won't it...i'm on the first flight out when he gets his way, trust me.

CC

Bermuda is no paradise when it comes to freedom of the media. But other countries including Canada have similar problems.

CanWest is often cited as an example of how the ownership of Canadian media has become concentrated in the hands of a few individuals and large corporations. CanWest founder Izzy Asper was known as a strong supporter of both Canada's Liberal Party and Israel's right-wing Likud party. Observers have suggested that Asper's political views have had a significant impact on news coverage at CanWest media outlets.

CanWest power in the marketplace is reflected in a new contract that freelance contributors must sign. Until recently, standard industry practise was that freelancers sold the rights for one time use and only in Canada. CanWest now requires that freelancers sign over all rights "throughout the universe in perpetuity".

Since the 2000 acquisition of the major former Canadian newspaper holdings of Conrad Black's Hollinger International, including CanWest News Service, significant concerns have been raised by journalists, labour, legislators and commentators about CanWest's enforcement of its corporate editorial positions. A 2001 decision to run regular uniform national editorials in all metropolitan dailies (except National Post), whereby local editorial boards could not take local positions on subjects of national editorials, ignited major national controversy and was subsequently withdrawn.

Since Israel Asper's leadership of the Manitoba Liberal Party, the Asper family has been identified with Liberal politics and politicians. In July 2001, Southam national affairs columnist Lawrence Martin, was fired after a column of his critical Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chr?tien was not published. Russell Mills, longtime publisher of The Ottawa Citizen, was fired in June 2002 after the newspaper called on Chr?tien to resign.

Veteran Montreal Gazette reporter Bill Marsden has said that the Aspers "do not want any criticism of Israel. We do not run in our newspaper op-ed pieces that express criticism of Israel and what it is doing." In 2004, the Reuters news agency protested after CanWest altered newswire stories about the Iraq war and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, such that Reuters felt it had inserted CanWest's own bias under Reuters bylines. The changes were apparently made in accordance with a CanWest policy to label certain groups as terrorists.

In December 2001, 77 staff at The Montreal Gazette signed a letter and launched a web page opposing the national editorial policy, and the reporters among them participated in a byline strike, refusing to sign their names to their stories in the newspaper in protest. Management responded with a gag order. The next year, several journalists left The Halifax Daily News over similar conflicts, and ten journalists at The Regina Leader-Post were reprimanded or suspended after a byline strike to protest censorship of coverage of a speech in Regina by Toronto Star columnist and CanWest critic Haroon Siddiqui.

The "power of the press" belongs to the owner of the press.  We try to wield that power fairly, mostly by letting what would be objectionable, or taboo, or just stupid, posts stand as submitted, (see the archives).

Other than Premier Scott describing BermudaSucks.com as "divisive", we have had no formal reaction from the Government to our, ah, "little free speech project".

Emily, thanks for the insight into Canadian media.  I'm sceptical of most media, but if you don't know what they are leaving out because of their agenda, its hard to form a valid opinion.  Karma point to you.

Hey I.L. - Mike please don't be offended as I talk about Limey in Bermuda for a second...
Interesting that this thread has been revived shortly after Phil has taken a step back from LIB.  In understand his difficulty keeping up with that monster of a site, but is there possibly another force pressing down on him?

No Government can hope to STOP we the vocal from voicing our opinions, but they sure can exert pressure on the Owners &/or Moderators of sites where the political views are not jibing.

You will notice that I won't mention a party acronym because I'm sure that there are many cases, in previous Governments, where the outspoken were 'encouraged' to shut the f up!!

I.L. Bermudians don't have much of a choice, but to rely on the anonymity benefactors like Phil & Mike give us online.  Non-Bermudians certainly have little or no platform to use without drawing attention from paranoid Governments.

Wow, I think I set fore to my fur typing so much...
Wookie out

Not Taboo in my book...... I think its a scary thing, and we need to take note of all the people 'benefitting' from this 'relationship' and tell me there is not something foul afoot....  Rum anyone?

Why worry about having a good woman - far better to have a baaaad woman...

Seriously, keep up the good work.