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The sale of the National Post would reverberate in political circles

LAWRENCE MARTIN

From Thursday's Globe and Mail

Latest comment posted at 4:07 PM EST 10/08/08

If Liberals get their hands on it, down would go the Conservative Party's ideological promo sheet ...Read the full article

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  1. Norman Farrell from Canada writes: That the 'increasingly Toronto-centric Post' has trouble attracting an audience outside TO is hardly surprising. A decade ago, the concept of a national newspaper was brave but unlikely. Now, as the industry withers rapidly, a journal that appeals across the country is impossible. I have been an avid newspaper buyer for more than 50 years but recently, I stopped permanently. Instead, I start my day at the computer. My iGoogle homepage has 11 tabs for different topics, each with numerous RSS links to information sites that I chose. I can scan stories and read features at news sites around the world, visit opinion blogs that I value, transfer podcasts to my mp3 player, check sports and finance developments and even learn a few words of french. This happens at my pace, without interruptions for commercials. Also, I no longer cart hundreds of pounds of old newspapers to the recyclers. So, if Mr. Grafstein wants to realize a small fortune from publishing the Post, may he start with a large one.
  2. pete peters from Independent, Alberta, Canada writes: One can imagine ageing lefty opinionator Lawrence Martin rubbing his hands in glee at the prospect of the only really independent-minded newspaper in Canada getting an ideological make-over. Sure, what this country really needs is yet more politically-correct leftist pap to wrap our fish in. Let's go back to stiffling all opinions that might threaten the liberal monoculture.

    I don't share Martin's plainly insincere regard for Conrad Black's jailhouse columns - let the old motormouth put a sock in it already. Yet I do think the country owes Black some gratitude for creating the National Post, and thus opening a window on the world of ideas. Lawrence Martin and the Globe and Mail - fonts of received wisdom - don't have a clue what that is.

    If most of the world regards Canadians as nice, but boring, people, I think we can thank all the grey columnists writing their bland thoughts for all our grey newspapers for it. It surprises me that people like Martin bother to get out of bed in the morning.
  3. Final Spin from Ottawa, Canada writes: More than the political leanings of prospective new owners, it would be interesting to see how they would try to make the newspaper profitable.

    http://finalspin.wordpress.com/
  4. Billiam Smith from Montreal, Canada writes: 'The colourful war-boosting paper attacks Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion on a daily basis and gives the Harper government the benefit of the doubt on every issue imaginable.'

    As opposed to being a colourful anti-interventionist paper that attacks the Harper government on a daily basis and give Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion the benefit of the doubt on every issue imaginable like the Globe and Star?
  5. Martha K. from Canada writes: Julie Wellington from Canada writes: Ah the national post, there is a saying in media circles in Canada, it goes like this ' Don't print bull like the National Post '

    Wow is that unfair. The Toronto Star and G&M have made mistakes of their own, oftentimes blatant distortions of issues.

    Unfortunately with the National Post sold to a left-leaning conservative, we lose several moderate voices on the right. As a centrist, that saddens me. The G&M is hopelessly partisan and they are outright Liberal supporters - the NDP and Conservatives (not to mention the Greens) don't even have a chance on these pages. And the Toronto Star is so left leaning that I laugh every time they do their darts and laurels section - every Liberal good. every conservative bad. Sheesh.
  6. Thomas Toronto from toronto, Canada writes: Selling the Post to a ' Louis Liberal' would be a national tradegy, for no other reason than the Post offers intelligent insight and a national balance to the dribble offered by the likes of Torstar. Our country gets the politics it deserves and unless there is a voice of balance and thought and opinions other than those of the 'natural ruling party' we will continually be infested by characters like Dion, Justin Trudeau and Joe Volpe!
    West of Winnipeg is ruling Canada economically today and may very well continue for the foreseeable future. A 'national newspaper' with an exclusive Ontario/Quebec centric perspective will only be more devisive.
  7. D walters from Canada writes: The Posts demise is simply the first taste for the other newspapers in our country. Print is dying plain and simple. Why buy a paper when the Internet has more interesting reading available and is free. Not to mention there are more voices with a more accurate picture of the news than what comes out the predigested Liberal news mill. It's sad but its evolution and this is painting the future for all the large newspapers unless they can figure out a better business model.
  8. Shawn W from Toronto, Canada writes: Coyne finally bailed too? Who does that leave writing for the Post? I guess that crusty uptight Barbara Kay is still there - hardly much of a draw to mainstream Canada.
  9. pete peters from Independent Alberta, Canada writes: Julie Wellington ... if that's the best you can do - trotting out a canard the National Post disavowed almost as soon as it was published - it's pretty lame.

    You must be an avid consumer of the politically-correct, lefty pap published daily by this, Canada's self-proclaimed 'national' newspaper. The trouble with consuming a steady diet of bilge is that it rots your brain and gets you voting Liberal.
  10. David Simon from Canada writes: How much do the Globe and the Star lose for their parent companies?
  11. Martha K. from Canada writes: I don't think Coyne 'bailed'. Nor did Mark Steyn. I think the issue was the Post couldn't afford them. To make it sound like there were editorial or ideological differences is jumping to conclusions.
  12. David any from Rico!, Canada writes: Anything that is a' final indignity' for Conrad Black is fine with me. Lord Stuffy from Crossdressing is enjoying his days in sunny Florida after many of his shareholders were jumping off bridges and bemoaning the loss of their life savings.
  13. Milburn McLean from Toronto, Canada writes: The newspaper is a relic of the the past. I get the Globe two days a week, mostly for the Book section. I'll read parts of the paper for most of the week while I eat my breakfast. The Star is too full of advertisements and the Saturday addition is just to heavy to pick up!

    The Post like Conrad Black has nothing good to say about Canada and Canadians. I check all their sites on the Net, it's easier, faster and I don't have to drag the papers to the curb every other week.
  14. Kilgore Trout from So it goes, Canada writes: So the Libs (Dems) are finally doing what the Cons (Reps) have been doing for along time, by the media to control it: re Sun papers, re Fox News, etc... Do I hear sour grapes from the Cons (Reps) as the Libs (Dems) dare to join them in their own game plan?

    Martha: Your claim of the G&M being a Lib rag is kind of hard to swallow. Why, well after a year or two of them slagging Dion as a non-leader and for their support of Harper in the last election I don't see how they are Liberal friendly? The G&M is likely the most balanced rag we have. Why, well they also slag Harper and the Cons when they muck up. Hmm, maybe that's your problem, you've fallen hook line and sinker for the 'if your not with us your against us' canard; that is, you somehow believe that if you point out the failings in Harper, your somehow automatically a Liberal...failing to realize that the G&M points out the failing of all politicians, which is what a balanced rag does, and which most Canadians agree to, as only 13% of Canadians trust politicians...and rightly so.
  15. lary waldman from Qualicum Beach, Canada writes: Dear Editor;

    I for one shall not miss the departure from the National scene of the National Post. A cut and paste Newspaper, from beginning to end, I cannot think of any issue it championed in all the days it existed. Now a new paper, with a spine, something sadly lacking in the Post, would probably be a good thing for Canada, especially if it published daily in French and English. I can also see developing a strong Sunday readership, if the right contributors and interesting features emerge from the editorial bowl. But my optimism is clouded by the hard rock reality of the Newspaper Publishers in Canada, where it seems that people are less and less interested in the broad sheet. It would be a fantastic challenge, but at the moment, I can't think of anybody capable of accepting same (maybe a Richler spawn). But good luck to the Asper's, I am sure they would like to unload this albatross, and go on to bigger and better US sitcoms and reality shows, coming to a station near you, really soon.

    Lary Waldman
  16. Jim Q from Halifax, Canada writes: The National Post had a good article by Mr. Kay yesterday. The decline of newspapers is nothing to celebrate. We're losing our ability, as a public, to have access to researches of new information. The blogosphere offers commentary, but that's not what news is about.

    We need newspapers that actually send people to interview the bike gangs, the political activists, that investigate illicit funding in political parties, that look into the murky corporate world.

    Think of all the scandals that newspapers have uncovered regarding plots against our very democratic fabric. In America Watergate, the intentional massacre of civilians in Vietnam, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Gharib's worst abuses...in Canada, all of the Access to Information on Khader, on Arar, on Liberal sponsorship and on Conservative in and out.

    The decline of national newspapers, even one as goofy as the Post, is reason for great concern.
  17. Andrew Bisson from Ottawa, Canada writes: Martha - Please give your head a shake. The Globe and Mail supported both Stephen Harper in the federal election and Mike Harris in the Ontario collection. Not exactly Liberals in my book. It also supported the war in Iraq.
    It is sad to see Martha and others so influenced by the train of thought that every news outlet is either left or right. I happen to think the Globe does a pretty good job at being the middle. Why else are you Globe-haters on the site then?
  18. Mike M from Toronto, Canada writes: It would be a shame if the Post were to change its editorial tone. Despite the loss of several star performers over the past few years (Coyne, Wells, Steyn), it still offers refreshing, right of center views that you simply can't find in any other mainstream media outlet.

    We are already without a small 'c' conservative party in this country, and it would be a shame if we didn't have a conservative media voice either.
  19. john shantz from Canada writes: The biggest achievement on the Post was the dumbing down of the G&M in a competitive struggle. The continual trashing of the Liberal views and leadership by the NP is more than matched by the reverse at the G&M. After being a G&M subscriber for 15 years, I only now catch snippets on their website.
  20. Andrew Bisson from Ottawa, Canada writes: One more thing - The Globe broke the sponsorship scandal story, a story that had more to do with bringing down the Liberal government than anything else. Wow, what a Liberal rag the Globe is?!
  21. Conservatives Lie from Canada writes: Did someone honestly refer to the Post as 'independently minded'? That's hilarious. The Post is the biggest right-wing rag in the country. Good riddance to this piece of garbage.

    As for it going left because people like Grafstein are involved in it, worry not. Grafstein isn't all that professive, and the Post has been unflinching in its support of Isreal's terrorist and genocidal attacks on the Palestinians and Lebanese people's. It is unlikely that Grafstein will separate his religious affiliation from the political realities here were he to be involved with the Post.
  22. Comments closed, censored, deleted or made to disappear from Mini Bushland, Canada writes: Who would want to have anything to do with that ... type of object ... let alone be at all associated with its name?
  23. C. O. from Toronto, Canada writes: What a laugh-all the usual partisan jokes on these pages again. Wow you mean 'Conservatives Lie from Canada' is not a fan of the post???

    For me, as someone who really enjoys READING a REAL newspaper on a Saturday morning (not chained to a computer) I would be really sad to see the Post disappear or worse become a 'Globe Light'. I hope they find a way to keep going!
  24. Estee Tabernac from writes: At times the Post sounded logical, reasonable and imparital. Unfortunately those times were few and far between. They can be a hate-filled rag, spewing bile at anyone that dares disagree with what they believe in. I can understand if your paper has a platform, but to immediately declare that the other side is 'wrong' and leave it at that is just poor journalism. I wont miss the Post if it fails, but it does leave this country leaning far too much to the left. If anything the Post gives balance.
  25. J. Anderson from Canada writes: John Shantz, you are absolutely correct about the dumbing down effect. I vividly recall how the Globe and Mail transformed itself within months of the launch of the Post. Fluff pieces suddenly filled the pages, written by inept 'journalists' whose concept of reporting was to write about what their friends do. (Leah MacLaren and Heather Mallick, among others.) Sensationalistic and misleading headlines that I had previously associated only with the Star and Sun glared from every page. Editorial standards fell precipitously as the push to have the most information first, however questionable and pointless, became relentless. Triumph was proclaimed when writers were snatched from other papers, even when it is precisely those writers who are the epitome of sensationalism and dreck. (Christie Blatchford is the prime example.) And in a most recent trend, articles have become barely distinguishable from columns, with the reporters' opinions interspersed with facts, supposedly the better to 'reach out' to the audience. Sadly, the competition between 'national' newspapers to capture the dwindling attention of readers has been a race to the bottom. No doubt the Globe feels these changes were needed to survive the past decade. Well, perhaps I'm idealistic, but I'd like to believe that a newspaper that had taken the high ground - i.e., that had been willing to explore new ways of engaging readers, but not at the expense of its standards - would have come out the real winner.
  26. Will Hoaccio from Canada writes: Well, I can hardly say I will miss the Post, rag that it is. Today it isn't even so much a conservative rag as just an angry-white person rag. Someone needs to give Barbara Kay an nitrazepam. Johnathan Kay is intelligent and well written, but his incessant boosting of the War on Terror seems myopic. Colby Cosh is just about the only good writer the Post has.

    The Post needs to get with the times. Conservatism has changed, if the paper can't do anything but sell pages decrying abortion like it is the 1980s and have some paleo conservative windbag go on about the great ideological battle between evil-baby-killing-dope-smoking-terrorist-boosting-Liberals and people stuck in a time warp from the Reagen days it doesn't deserve to survive.

    My real beef with the Post? It's Letters to the editor section. From just looking @ that, you would think the post only has distribution among white-trash and millitant zionists. Even on issues I agree with them, it gets repetitive. You don't need every letter to be focused on the plight of Israel, the Eco-Nazis and abortion. Every now and then? Sure. But it is constant. They don't talk about anything else. There is more to the world than abortion, National Post.
  27. Richard E. Gower from Ottawa, Canada writes: I've never been a fan of Lawrence Martin, but this piece is reasonably well balanced. If the Post is sold and its current voice silenced, it will be a shame as it has its place as a legitimate counter-point. I fear equally however for the almost certain demise of the printed daily newspaper as we know it, probably within a decade. The freebies now being printed by the big chains to drive younger readers to their advertiser's web sites just don't hold up as serious purveyors of news.
  28. Martha K. from Canada writes: Andrew Bisson from Ottawa, Canada writes: Martha - Please give your head a shake. The Globe and Mail supported both Stephen Harper in the federal election and Mike Harris in the Ontario collection. Not exactly Liberals in my book. It also supported the war in Iraq. It is sad to see Martha and others so influenced by the train of thought that every news outlet is either left or right.'

    Give MY head a shake? I've been reading the G&M for 25 years, daily, and the blip that was the endorsement of Mr. Harper over 2 years ago was quickly reversed by the G&M. Did you not see that? Do you not see how many columnists deride the conservative party - ad nauseum?

    Unfortunately, it is true and sad to see you and others (reiterating your stance) not realizing that every paper has an editorial slant or POV. I read about 15 papers online (yes both left and right and centrist as well). The G&M is without a doubt Liberal leaning.

    Now if you want a great non-partisan site (okay it's American), go to realpolitics.com and there you will find articles from around the world and all spectrums of opinion.
  29. Martha K. from Canada writes: Ooops. Sorry. The site is realclearpolitics.com

    My apologies.
  30. Political Junkie from Canada writes: For those who defend the Globe's 'objectivity' on matters political, go back and read the article. Why should you question Lawrence Martin when even he recognizes that the left dominates our Canada's Editorial boards and newsrooms:

    'With the purchase of the Southam newspaper chain and the creation in 1998 of the National Post, Conrad Black single-handedly changed the tenor of the debate in the country.

    Before this time, right-side views tended to be marginalized in our liberal-leaning media culture.'
  31. David Gehring from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada writes: Leave it to a newspaper journalist to overstate the importance of newspapers in politics. The sale of the National Post would reverberate in political circles? Reverberate? Yeah, I'm sure the Conservatives and Liberals are holding long strategy sessions to react to the fall of this icon of Canadian contemporary thought. Like there aren't a hundred other sources for right-leaning news articles on politics.
  32. Tom Robinson from Not Toronto, that's for sure!!!, Canada writes: What I find truly disturbing is how Conservatives with millions of dollars can't group together to come up with 30 million to buy the newspaper.

    We all know Liberals are poor, but Conservatives are hard working and most millionaires in Canada must be Conservative.

    How is it possible that rich Conservatives in Canada cannot come up with a little money to but a great newspaper that counters the garbage that the Toronto Star offers.

    Come on Conservatives, get together, pool your millions, and buy the damn post.
  33. Ron Sinclair from Canada writes: I' m with Martha K. Have read the Globe daily for many years and so far continue to, but now prefer the Post since the Globe has become so Liberal.
  34. Barry Pither from White Rock, Canada writes: I can't stand the National Post, and that's why I read it every day.
  35. pete peters from Alberta-state-of-mind, Canada writes: Judging by the addled and puerile comments I see here from National Post haters, my point about brains getting rotted by reading too much lefty GM bilge is proven many times over.

    It would be a tragedy for Canada to lose an independent voice like the National Post.
  36. David Gibson from Hamilton, Canada writes: The Ontario Teachers Union gets the Globe and Mail and CTV, and now a Liberal senator wants the Post. There would be the Star [and its satellites in Hamilton, Cambridge, & Kitchener] , CBC, National Post, the G&M, & CTV, all under ownership of Liberal Party surrogates. National partition would be the only way to save some part of the country. Seriously.
  37. Martha K. from Canada writes: David Gibson you are absolutely right. The liberal network would dominate the airways and print. Thank goodness for the internet. But still, my worry is that people get a lot of their news from soundbites and that only ends up favouring the Liberal party under the circumstances you put forth.

    I'm an avowed centrist (voted mostly Liberal all my life and only lately - Conservative) so I'm always looking for balanced reporting. Alas, the G&M which was once a bi-partisan newsaper, has not been such for the last 2 years. What I miss most are the pro and con columns where you had a liberal, conservative and perhaps NDP columnist/guest side by side debating the issues in the paper. No more.

    And with the Post potentially being sold to a liberal - I'm not even sure what kind of readership they will get since most Liberal supporters already have several papers to choose from.
  38. Steve Turner from Canada writes: The National Post gone?

    Oh great....now where will get cheap toilet paper from?

    Regardless, I'm not sweet on any of the newspapers out there now as they all spin every story, or their printing of straight 'facts' misses out on the full flavour behind most stories.

    Added to that, every story written usually provides quotes from the hotheads at the furthest and opposite ends of the political spectrum, ignoring those who try to work through the hyperbole, and inflaming the passions of readers who usually fall prey to the limitless half-truths we encounter every day.

    However, the one thing I like about the Globe that sets it apart from other rags are these comment threads. That's where we get to see what is really on the minds of rank and file Canadians (well, at least the ones with computers and internet access). The Star just started doing the same thing, but I don't like their format, and the funny thing about the Post is that it's reader commentary is far more censored than the Globe's, which I found somewhat amusing given the tenets the paper supposedly operates on.

    THen again, I have always preferred Cottonelle over the Post anyway.
  39. A S from Toronto, Canada writes: The National Post is a joke - full of spelling mistakes, inaccurate info, and useless info. This week, it posted a list detailing the richest female athletes and the world's female billionaires. Very helpful. We do need another national paper in this country to keep the G&M on its toes, but so far, The Post isn't cutting it - including the online site, which is consistently behind the G&M in breaking news.
  40. Paul, Bytown, from Canada writes: Jim Q from Halifax, Canada writes: The decline of newspapers is nothing to celebrate. We're losing our ability, as a public, to have access to researches of new information. We need newspapers that actually send people to interview the bike gangs, the political activists, that investigate illicit funding in political parties, that look into the murky corporate world. Think of all the scandals that newspapers have uncovered regarding plots against our very democratic fabric.
    -------------------------------------------------
    While I agree with you, the problem today is that there is very little investigating reporting. All they seem to do is print news releases by interested parties with no fact checking. Copy and paste.
  41. A S from Toronto, Canada writes: Steve Turner - you're right about the Comments section of the G&M. This has to be the best part of the online site (as evidenced by the other papers playing catch up). Love it. I don't like the Star's format either and the Post is ironically quite censored. I'm sure the Globe's staff checks in, to get a feel on what its readers are thinking/feeling.
  42. Tom Paine from Every Tory Is a Coward, Canada writes: Oh the sweet, sweet joy this subject brings! The Post has been a blot on Canada since its inception. The Aspers (who couldn't manage their way out of a paper bag) have finally noticed they are bleeding $$$ at a fantastic rate supporting the rag, and at last have stirred themselves (much to the relief of their shareholders, no doubt) to deal with the matter.

    If potential new owners do the sensible thing and remake the Post as a newspaper rather than a daily polemical grab-bag, they may have a chance of success.
  43. John Hynde from Montreal, Canada writes: It's interesting to see that the Post will be 'bought' by another 'pro-Israel' figure. The same happened when Black lost the Daily Telegraph in the UK which is still as pro-Israel as ever. Coincidence or is it just too important to keep on manipulating Canadian (and British) public opinion with regards to the Middle East.
  44. Frank Godfrey from Canada writes: Geez, I read all the papers, except the Sun - a good advertising sheet that carries some news. This left/right nonsense is an excuse for mental laziness. If a paper is read across the land, by all sorts, then I guess you might call it a ' national newspaper '. The G&M fits the bill for me. And as something of a foil to the Globe, I hope the ( National ) Post can continue. The Toronto Star serves the large southern Ontario market.
  45. Will Hoaccio from Canada writes: IMO, The Post needs to think more like Maclean's. People don't ignore the National Post because of some omnipresent Liberal conspiracy theory to ban all handguns and force everyone to become gay. People ignore The Post because they are a bad newspaper. It's Toronto section is actually decent, although I don't think it can beat the Star anytime soon in that regard.

    Maclean's is doing fine, despite a conservative message. Canadians want conservatism. They don't want Sun quality tabloids about abortion 24/7. I would read The Post, if not for the fact it can't seem to move beyond this angry white person paradigm.
  46. Tom Paine from Every Tory Is a Coward, Canada writes: Martha K. from Canada writes: ... The G&M is hopelessly partisan and they are outright Liberal supporters - ...

    ==================================

    This and similar comments about the Globe are, frankly, ludicrous.

    The Globe and Mail has been a tory rag for generations, and remains so.
  47. Tom Paine from Every Tory Is a Coward, Canada writes: pete peters from Independent Alberta, Canada writes: ...- trotting out a canard [i.e. the false story of Iranian Jews forced to wear identifying armbands] the National Post disavowed almost as soon as it was published - it's pretty lame.

    ====================================

    Their speed in disavowing it tells me they knew or ought to have known it was a lie in the first place.
  48. Fran Irwin from Medicine Hat, Canada writes: Diversity is important and slipping in Canada's 'Fifth Estate.' That said, I usually place the National Post at the bottom of my reading list (not unlike the Sun Papers or the now defunct Alberta Standard). If the Post morphs or dies another will take it's place for that 20 -25% of Canadians who worship the ideology of the market place, the black and white thinking of the Bush/McCain Republicans and Reform Libetarian and Canadian Religious Right (read Harper) world view - where there's demand there will certainly be product.
  49. Tom Paine from Every Tory Is a Coward, Canada writes: David Gibson from Hamilton, Canada writes: The Ontario Teachers Union gets the Globe and Mail and CTV, ...

    =====================================

    It is the teachers' pension plan, not one of the unions, that is buying Bell Canada.

    If I recall the corporate structures correctly, BellGlobeMedia, is no longer controlled by Bell Canada so it won't be controlled by the OTPP.
  50. dave ross from Canada writes: Why is everyone so focused on the National Post, originally a vanity project for Black. The real sea change in print media was Black's purchase of the Southam chain, and those currents have not changed. The Aspers have made the chain more uniformly right of centre. The right wing moans about the Globe and the Star being all but commie rags while ignoring the fact that the majority of circulation in English Canada is right-oriented. Such sore winners.
  51. Steve Turner from Canada writes: Tom Paine:

    re: Martha K's statement 'The G&M is hopelessly partisan and they are outright Liberal supporters'

    'This and similar comments about the Globe are, frankly, ludicrous.'

    Couldn't agree more. This paper has always been farther to the right than the Star, especially in the GTA. I think what the problem is is that the Globe has always seemed to promote the Conservative stance, while some erstwhile readers of the rightist ilk want a paper that is more in line with the Reform perspective. If anything, the difference between the Globe and Post mirrors the difference between the Conservative party and the Reform party...and to some people, anything 'left' of their perspective is little better than Pravda or 'Now' magazine.

    We see this attitude come the the fore quite often on these threads, as anytime a poster writes something that doesn't jive with rightest dogma, they are immediately assumed to be gay communist liberals who support all manner of vice and don't like killing furry animals or criminals.

    ...or something like that.
  52. David Gibson from Canada writes: My bet is that once the teachers get control of BCE, you will never again see the G&M endorse anyone but a Liberal for PM, period. [I don't think newspapers should endorse anyone at all, but that is another debate.]
  53. Tom Paine from Every Tory Is a Coward, Canada writes: Mike M from Toronto, Canada writes: It would be a shame if the Post were to change its editorial tone. Despite the loss of several star performers over the past few years (Coyne, Wells, Steyn), it still offers refreshing, right of center views that you simply can't find in any other mainstream media outlet.

    We are already without a small 'c' conservative party in this country, and it would be a shame if we didn't have a conservative media voice either.

    ================================

    The problem is that people who run small 'c' conservative outlets have all been liars.
  54. David Gibson from Canada writes: I can't stand the Star, but its forums are better than this one, for the simple reason that it is more moderated so that you don't see half a thread taken up with pointless insults and schoolyard name calling like you do here. Also, the people posting to the Star forums are definitely to the right of the Star's editorial position, which is the same as its 'news' position since editorial and news are blended at the Star. I was taken aback when I realized this. There are more lefties on this forum than on the Star forum. Go figure.
  55. David Winter from Peachland BC, writes:
    Globe and Mail liberal?

    I started reading the G&M during Canada's centennial year when I could pick it up at a local grocery store for 25 cents and I've read it every day since (apart from tours in England, the US and Australia) and I always thought of it a leaning to the conservative side of the fence.

    It still reads 'conservative' on every page what with it's bias towards the Harperites and Israel etc but it's still a great layout and I can always expect the truth. Not propaganda.

    Sadly though it did 'dumb down' and get more like USA Today simply to reflect the education levels of today's 20 to 40 year old readership. These people grew up on cartoons, pap and black and white thought so that's all they know.

    The NP won't be missed.
  56. dave ross from Canada writes: David Gibson from Canada writes: I can't stand the Star, but its forums are better than this one, for the simple reason that it is more moderated so that you don't see half a thread taken up with pointless insults and schoolyard name calling like you do here. Also, the people posting to the Star forums are definitely to the right of the Star's editorial position, which is the same as its 'news' position since editorial and news are blended at the Star. I was taken aback when I realized this. There are more lefties on this forum than on the Star forum. Go figure.

    David, I figure the Star forums are being deliberately targetted by right-wing advocates with their standard talking points, much as they have been doing to many other sites in Canada. The point is to make non-aligned or soft liberal people think that the harder right view is the majority, when it is anything but. This tactic was developed in the United States.
  57. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: David Gibson:-- Why would that surprise you? The same thing happens on these fora. If the National Post had enjoyed either the fortitude or the money to allow posting fora, you would have seen many a 'lefty' - not to mention the odd admirer of the truth - challenge its content. While I'm no fan of the true-believer organized disruption one regularly sees on these fora, lengthy lists of fully-moderated comment does not a conversation or debate make.
  58. Andrew E from Canada writes: The best part of this article was having a journalist admit that the Toronto Star is the official mouthpiece for the Liberal party. Thanks, Mr. Martin!
  59. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Oops, sorry, 'not a conversation nor a debate make'.
  60. Brian Dell from Stockholm, Sweden writes: The biggest loss would be the Financial Post section of the National Post. Nobody else seemed much interested in printing a full op-ed by a professional economist or tax expert like Jack Mintz on a regular basis.

    Papers like the Star don't print those guys because, of course, left wing populists were never much interested in what economists have to say.
  61. jimmie rabbit from toronto, Canada writes: who would pay 10c for the national post???
  62. Edward Mulcare from Canada writes: If sold they should just change the name to the Jerusalem Post.
  63. diane marie from calgary, Canada writes: Brian Dell:-- If that is true - that left-wing populists are not interested in what economists have to say - then it might also be true that right-wing populists show little interest in what science (or any other perceived academic study-area) has to say.
  64. Arec Bardwin from Canada writes: Martin, at least get it right....
    The red star is the NDP paper.
    The Globe is the Liberal paper.

    Q) What lengths do you think the Liberals would go to to silent any dissent?

    A) Get their stupendiously rich sentators to buy up opposing views. Then re-educate.
  65. Peter The Not Quite Great from Edmonton, Canada writes: 'The Post's Texas-styled ideology has been a nice fit for Alberta,...'

    Gee thanks for the drive-by regional smear Lawrence. Nice to see you putting in a real effort to understand the country you comment on.

    The Post is a big a failure in Alberta as anywhere else. Lack of in-depth news content (what else do newspapers have to offer that separates them from TV news, internet sites, radio, etc?) and perennial problems with delivery are what killed the Post. It's ideological slant and obvious bias made as big a joke to most Albertans as anyone else. And why buy a paper that includes all the same articles as my daily local CanWest paper (The Edmonton Journal) but without any local content?

    As for the G&M I find it about as balanced a paper as there is in Canada. The anti-G&M comments from left and right-wing nutbars on this comment board give proof. If you're offending both sides of the spectrum you've probably struck the right balance.
  66. Kathryn Flynn from Toronto, Canada writes: I appreciate the scope of articles that the Post offers in the back pages of their front section, including the always enjoyable, if not sometimes infuriating, Christopher Hitchens.

    That being said, I could better champion the Post's Conservatism if they stopped giving a platform to every vitriolic letter-writer who wears the mantle of social conservatism that makes 'moderate consevatives' (or small-c conservatives, if you will) difficult to imagine.

    My favourite politics professor once wrote a letter to the Post, a vigorous defense of the sex club on Queen West, as a father, academic, and cultural champion. He told his class that he wrote it because the Post will print anyone with impressive letters following their name, and that the angry responses to his lack of morals would populate the letter pages for days to come.
  67. Blaque Jacque Shallaque from Canada writes: I would find the National Post a huge loss if it was to go leftie.

    We need a countervoice to the constant anti-CPC drumbeat of the G&M, CBC and CTV.

    And the most disgraceful thing about the G&M has been their wilfull ignoring of the corruption-riddled Human Rights Commission scandal of 2007 and 2008. The National Post was the only major paper that gave this issue its full worth.

    And yesterday, after 900 days and millions of wasted taxpayer dollars, Ezra Levant was "set free" by the Human Rights Commission of Alberta - does the G&M say a word about it? No. But it's front page material in the National Post.

    THAT'S WHY WE NEED THE NATIONAL POST.
  68. John Connor from Around Town, Canada writes: Arec Bardwin from Canada writes: Martin, at least get it right....
    The red star is the NDP paper.
    The Globe is the Liberal paper.

    Q) What lengths do you think the Liberals would go to to silent any dissent?

    A) Get their stupendiously rich sentators to buy up opposing views. Then re-educate.

    That would give them credit for being able to educate anyone, highly unlikely. Just look at Dion's inability to educate his own caucus about his "Green Shift". Even they have trouble getting his drift, then multiply it by 32 million or so. You'll get the point quickly.

    The Post has always presented the other point of view in Canadian politics and I for one would be sorry to see it fall to a pro-Liberal buyer. IMHO, the Post would be Better Off Dead than Red.
  69. Antonio San from Canada writes: Lawrence Martin's disingenous stance would almost makes us forget that other Liberal rag called the Globe and Mail, but a rag that knows how to bite its tongue and even serve its masters when Conservatives are in Ottawa. But hey it claims to be above the parties... reading it and this columnist I thought it was just beside them.
  70. The Globe and Mail editors censor free speech from Canada writes: Please Lawrence, give your head a shake! A newspaper tries to provide balance and you call it right wing?! Check out today's Post. It features an article written by the one and only John McCallum, Liberal Party Finance critic. You think this is right wing? I'd hate to see what you call left wing.
    Name a time when the G&M allowed an article written by a sitting Conservative MP.
  71. The Globe and Mail editors censor free speech from Canada writes: Defending the right of people to exist peacefully in their own country is a right-wing stance?! If true, I'll never ever vote LPC or NDP. Lawrence, your tripping over yourself trying to appease your Liberal masters.
  72. The Religious Left from Canada writes:
    Maybe those of you who love the post should examine why your views are becoming so marginalized that they are unable to support a single newspaper. Maybe people in Canada simply have less tolerance for the 'truthiness' of right wing reporting.
  73. Michele K from Ottawa, Canada writes: Name the time the Post would allow someone to continually post, 'The Globe and Mail censors free speech'.

    I mean, come on now, G&M Censors - do you never make it to the last page of the front section of the Globe (no, not the fullpage ad on the back, but the last page of content)?

    If you did, you would see that the Globe gives the full page to a huge range of view, many of them nutso conservative, MP and non-elected reps alike. Even Gyn Morgan gets a regular column, as do Marcus Gee and Neil what's-his-name in the business section (the guy who started Canada's libertarian party) - ardent conservatives all.

    In fact, if there's one thing that drives me absolutely crazy about the G&M is that it gives over way too much of its letters page over to vested interests - at least writers are identified as per those interests, but I see a letter from Stockwell Day or the head of one lobby group or another, and I just skip over it - that space is supposed to be the place for otherwise-unconnected readers to have their say. It is not about giving lobbyists and politicians yet another place to be heard.
  74. L F from Canada writes: dave ross you are suggesting that Liberals believe in things only because the majority does? If all people have brains then one would hope that is what they use to develop opinion not what comments others post on websites. If conservatives are posting comments on a left leaning rag then perhaps more people will start checking information from other sources rather then just accepting another opinion as fact. Being forced to read a dissenting view might very well be the beginning of a new way of looking at things. Its called thinking for yourself.
  75. john chuckman from Canada writes: Nothing, absolutely nothing, that could happen to the National Post is a loss.

    That rag is like reading a newspaper stuffed with nothing but Margaret Wente and Marcus Gee columns.
  76. Michael Tripper from Vancouver, Canada writes: well all the Asper papers are in the red because they are in a narrow right-wing straight jacket that does not appeal to most Canadians.

    I have seen actual sales numbers for a local paper - the Province - and it was all down down a couple of years ago.

    And I not it is the Post that tries to shove the infotainment on it's covers not the other papers. It feels like you are being manipulated right from the cover - I'm a designer - and so it has a ring of falseness that is ill-advised for something that wants to be considered a serious news source.
  77. kel fitz from Canada writes: It's bad enough that the Globe has been hijacked by the liberals (but thank God for Rex Murphy). But the Post? This must not happen! Rally, my fellow centrists, and stop the madness! "...and the band played on..."
  78. Michele K from Ottawa, Canada writes: john chuckman wrote: "That rag is like reading a newspaper stuffed with nothing but Margaret Wente and Marcus Gee columns. "

    Oh man, how could I have forgotten Margaret Wente - she goes on and on and on about all the usual con things - how what we need is privatized insurance, how she needs to drive her huge SUV around TO and to the cottage, preferrably on roadways subsidized by those who can't afford cottages, etc. - all opinions formed on the basis of her own selfishly myopic anectdotal experiences, yet she was the first in line for 2 'free' new hips. In fact, not in line at all, having used her connections to move ahead of others in line.

    Well, at least she's got a political viewpoint, unlike say, Leah MacLaren, who is too busy eating live monkey brains and shopping around her 'fascinating' tale of what it's like to commute between London and Toronto.

    Here's hoping a few of those Post writers move over to the Globe as a result of this upheaval.
  79. Inmate #18330-424 from Coleman Federal Prison, United States writes: I will say one thing for the Post where it beats the Glob & Maul hands-down -- the writing in basic reporting situations is much crisper. With the Globe, for some reason they insist on making readers slog through many many inches of the writers' fake-o scene-setting, hooks, and in-jokes before you ever get to the information forming the subject of the articles.

    I'm not sure if this is something the doltish editors ask for, or if it's something the self-indulgent writers tack on for their own reasons. Whichever, it sucks. Get to the facts!

  80. Inmate #18330-424 from Coleman Federal Prison, United States writes: Peter The Not Quite Great from Edmonton, Canada writes: 'The Post's Texas-styled ideology has been a nice fit for Alberta,...'

    Gee thanks for the drive-by regional smear Lawrence. ...

    =======================================

    Is it really a smear to be compared to Texas?
  81. Inmate #18330-424 from Coleman Federal Prison, United States writes: Antonio San from Canada writes: Lawrence Martin's disingenous stance would almost makes us forget that other Liberal rag called the Globe and Mail, ...

    ========================================

    Crapola. As has already been mentioned, the Globe is True Blue Tory.
  82. Inmate #18330-424 from Coleman Federal Prison, United States writes: The Globe and Mail editors censor free speech from Canada writes: ...
    Name a time when the G&M allowed an article written by a sitting Conservative MP.

    ===============================

    I'm pretty sure we have seen such columns.
  83. B I from Toronto, Canada writes: I wish individual columnists could also go out of business. If the likes of Margaret Wente and Marcus Gee were pay-as-you-read columns, Gee would be out of business within a month, Wente would take longer but she too would eventually go.

    I just have a sinking suspicion that G&M will hire scum of the earth like David Frum to move over and write here instead of NP. I hope that doesn't happen, but if it does, I will have to reconsider ever purchasing or subscribing to a paper that lines the pocketbook of someone as disgusting as that little warmongering and deceitful piece of, well, you know.
  84. Inmate #18330-424 from Coleman Federal Prison, United States writes: I'd just be happy if the papers (whichever papers) would stop publishing lies and falsehoods.
  85. Michael Sharp from Victoria, Canada writes:

    Oh my.

    The Globe is NOT a left-leaning newspaper?

    Har har har.
    It goes on, day in, day out.
    Headlines biased.
    Anti-LPC threads shut down.
    The Dion thread is shut down now as I speak. 450 posts, 425 against dion. Shut it down.
    The GTA votes Liberal.
    The Globe is in the GTA.

    Absolutely then, the Globe is going to go all "Texas" so that will increase readership in the GTA?

    Good grief.

    If the Globe passes for right-wing in the GTA, I shudder to think what passes for left-wing.

    I buy the Post.
    I post on the Globe.
  86. Michael Sharp from Victoria, Canada writes:

    Ultimately I look for objectivity.

    Rex Murphy is my boy for that.
  87. John Ishmael from Brampton ON, Canada writes: Same difference:

    --- "While some see Mr. Grafstein as more of a conservative-oriented liberal in that, like the Aspers, he is heavily pro-American and pro-Israel,..."

    No change from the Aspers. BUT - the NP has a more open talkback forum than any of the other media in Canada [of which I am aware]
    ---- but, again, its opinions, columnists and contributors are often Islamophobic, pro-Zionist, pro-occupation of Palestine and much that is ill.
  88. B I from Toronto, Canada writes: Michael Sharp from Victoria, Canada writes: If the Globe passes for right-wing in the GTA, I shudder to think what passes for left-wing.

    Most Globe readers don't worry about "wings" that's usually a Western Canadian obsession, like with war and privatization. As a few posters pointed out, the problem with the National Post isn't what "wing" they support, but that they lie. They lied about Iraq, they still like about Iran, they lie about Israel/Palestine, they lied about the so-called "brain drain" in Canada and they still lie about Canadian "support" for privatized public institutions. So while Western Canadians obsess with wing this and wing that, we here mostly care about truth and objective reporting - the National Post doesn't.
  89. Terry F from Edmonton, Canada writes: Liberal-owned National Post = Pravda.
  90. Terry F from Edmonton, Canada writes: I've never watched Fox news, but I think it's high time that a Canadian version is launched. The news balance in this country is pathetic.
  91. B I from Toronto, Canada writes: Terry F from Edmonton, Canada writes: I've never watched Fox news, but I think it's high time that a Canadian version is launched. The news balance in this country is pathetic.

    What's pathetic is that people from Alberta consistently seem to think that most Canadians have the appetite for their brainless angry white man routine. Go ahead, launch your Canadian version of Fox News. It will be as successful as the National Post has proved to be.