The following article was distributed in the Moncton area as an Occupy Moncton initiative to attack the impediments to democracy in New Brunswick. The biggest impediment is the Irving Family and their newspapers.
The Moncton Free Press est. 2011
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead
Why we need a Free Press
Public knowledge is the foundation of democracy. Is the media in New Brunswick giving us the unbiased information that we require? J.K. Irving owns virtually all of the English language newspapers in New Brunswick. On the way to building this monopoly, Ken Langdon, owner of the Carleton Free Press, became the latest victim of the Irving machine.
Acadie Nouvelle, a French language daily is now under siege. The Irving owned L’Etoile is distributed for free to destabilize their finances. How can an ordinary business compete against free?
Rod Allen’s T&T column of Oct 29 was a recent volley in the fight against L’Acadie Nouvelle. Both English and French New Brunswickers will be the losers if this monopoly becomes absolute. Where is the federal competition bureau?
Why does the Irving family want control of the media in New Brunswick?
- To control the message – Irving promotes stories that help Irving businesses. Do you remember the sale of NB Power and the volume of promotion to try to close that deal? That sale would have provided ~$60M a year to Irving companies by lowering power rates. Unpleasant stories about the family avoiding taxes or pollution issues just don’t see the light of day.
- To control the political agenda – better control of politicians means laws can be changed, contracts awarded, or subsidies to the Irving Family remain intact.
- To influence you to accept their behaviour as normal – To promote the fiction that they are good corporate citizens.
What can you do? Stop supporting Irving businesses. Complain to advertisers who use the Irving newspapers. Read more about the issue of media concentration. Let your local politician know that you want change.
http://journals.hil.unb.ca/index.php/JNBS/article/view/18192/19610
http://www.dominionpaper.ca/features/2003/11/10/freedom_of.html
Resources on facebook: New Brunswick is NOT for sale Occupy New Brunswick Protesting the Times & Transcript’s Biased Views Occupy Moncton
