by G. Tod Slone (July 2025)
“Contempt for journalism.” Why? That’s the key question opinion columnist Pamela Frampton does not really examine in “Trump’s media tactics should ring alarm bells in Canada.” And what about Trudeau’s media tactics regarding, for example, Rebel News? Silence. Well, Trudeau has since been replaced by another hack.
As a writer/editor, I have general contempt for journalism. Why? Personally, my viewpoints especially those critical of editors and journalists here in the US (and in Canada) have essentially been banned … strictly prohibited … excluded … in the name of DEI … of course. Not very democratic! Rather than attempt to point out precisely where my criticisms are wrong or inaccurate, silence tends to be the general response of those criticized … and that includes not just journalists and editors, but also poets, artists, professors, cultural curators, etc. Might that be indicative that the criticisms were not wrong or inaccurate?
Now, over the years, I have tested the waters of democracy at, for example, Le Journal de Montréal, Cape Cod Times, Boston Globe, Le Nouvelliste, Le Devoir, CBC, etc. Those waters have proven to be quite murky! CBC’s James Grudic had even interviewed me in Corner Brook, Newfoundland a few years ago, but then decided not to publish the interview… and wouldn’t even give me a copy of the interview, which lasted a good hour. Why not? Well, I certainly know why. I wrote to Grudic: “Now, you’ve got me thinking that your interview with me was not aired due to my criticism of CBC Radio-Canada being essentially a Trudeau-government news outlet similar to Pravda of the former Soviet Union.”
As for The Telegram, it published a few of my letters to the editor. Just the same, those letters were not critical of editors and journalists. The media has certainly become corrupt in its lessening of objectivity and increasing of advocacy, which is why Trump labeled it Fake News. Perhaps those critical of the term ought to at least mention that! When journalists veer to opining, as opposed to fact gathering, they inevitably veer into the realm of so-called Fake News.
As for “trying to inflict damage on the media,” does that somehow not work both ways? If a reporter is trying to inflict damage on Trump, why is that somehow OK? Extreme left-wing advocacy journalists have certainly been trying to do that on him. Are they not? Trump has become their punching bag to the extent that anything he does must be denigrated. Is it good journalism to call Trump a Nazi, autocrat, dictator, instead of reporting facts?
Le Journal de Montréal, for example, has become so bad that it is mostly comprised of journalists who write hate-Trump opinions. As for the Associated Press, has it been fair to Trump or has it been advocating against him? According to the New York Post, “In both its journalism and its stylistic edicts, the AP is neither independent nor nonpartisan. Indeed, its product bears a closer resemblance to those of other left-wing infotainment companies like MSNBC and CNN than the buttoned-up wire service it presents itself as.” True or false? No matter. The press should NOT be banned. BUT it sure as hell ought to be openly criticized!
And what about former President Biden? Didn’t he restrict access? Was there an uproar with that regard? Consult, for example, “Why is the Biden White House Kicking Reporters Out?” and “FLASHBACK: Biden also changed White House press pool, cutting off more than 440 reporters’ credentials.” As for Orwell (Frampton quotes him), in his proposed preface to Animal Farm, he noted: “Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban.” Perhaps far too many media editors abide by that thought. Opinion columnists like Frampton should perhaps avoid ad hominem (e.g., “Easily bruised ego” and “all about tit for tat”) and stick to the facts. Well, Frampton kindly sent me an email response, a rarity indeed:
I was surprised to see you criticize my lack of objectivity, though—as a columnist, I am expected to express my opinion, which is, if course, subjective. I am not a reporter.
And so, I take a step back and humbly agree with her on that point. She is right; I was wrong. Frampton notes regarding the AP: “Speaking as someone who’s spent a career in journalism, news outlets prefer to report news rather than be the subject of it themselves, but this is headline-worthy stuff.” And yet bias has become the crux of the journalism problem today. The Hunter Biden lap-top news was scorned/ignored by many journalists to the point where they themselves labeled it fake news. What it did more than anything else was highlight that bias. And why did the bulk of journalists back Hillary Clinton’s Russia collusion scheme? Bias!
Talk about “Lies travel farther than facts,” eh Dan Perry?! And so Frampton cites Perry: “The journalistic media — with its standards and ethics and mission to seek the truth—is the enemy. Once the free media is muzzled and all you have is social media, you can get away with aggressively presented lies.” And yet advocacy journalism does not “seek the truth,” but rather seeks to push the narrative.
Frampton states: “Now, you’d think Americans would be taking to the streets to decry the erosion of press freedoms, wouldn’t you?” The erosion of press freedoms or rather the refusal of the press to address criticisms with its regard? The press certainly still has the freedom to ignore common citizens like me. And in vain, I did take to the streets to decry the refusal of the Cape Cod Times, for example, to publish an account about the local Cape Cod library’s permanent banning of me for the crime of criticizing its director in writing.
“Or would we even notice if the process was insidious, starting with, say, politicians threatening to shut down the public broadcaster at some point in the future, or refusing to take questions from certain legacy media outlets, or just refusing to answer questions, period,” argues Frampton. Well, Biden of course did that when he didn’t like the questions. Was Frampton up in arms with that regard? Trump on the other hand has taken many, many questions from hate-Trump advocacy journalists. Think about it. Report on it.
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NB: Kudos to Frampton for not telling her editor not to publish one of my past counter op-eds in The Telegram (St. John’s, Newfoundland). This counter op-ed, however, was ignored and not published in that newspaper.
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G. Tod Slone, PhD, lives on Cape Cod, where he was permanently banned in 2012 without warning or due process from Sturgis Library, one of the very oldest in the country. His civil rights were being denied because he was not permitted to attend any cultural or political events held at his neighborhood library. The only stated reason for the banning was “for the safety of the staff and public,” yet he has no criminal record and has never made a threat. His real crime was that he challenged, in writing, the library’s “collection development” mission that stated “libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view.” His point of view was somehow not part of “all points of view.” In November 2022, he requested the library rescind its banning decree, which it finally did. He is a dissident poet/writer/cartoonist and editor of The American Dissident.
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2 Responses
You went too easy on Pam Frampton. Her column was nothing more than one sided tripe. She mentions Fox News as being in Trump’s corner but no mention of CNN, MSNBC, and the majors being in the opposite corner. They carried all the lies about Russian collusion, laptop, Steele Dossier etc, without any evidence or any fact checking. Still doing it today. In Canada, Carney, Singh, Trudeau refused to take questions from indedpendent media and all have tried to have them blocked from attending conferences. Worst thing I saw this year was the CBC’s David Cochrane begging the debate commissioner to ban Rebel News from participating. I know free speech, he said, and then went on to beg to ban Rebel from the same free speech. When the so called MSM has to rely on tax payer handouts to survive it may give Pam Frampton an idea on which side of the political spectrum they lean. The conservatives would stop it. Think about it Pam.
Thanks for the critique of my critique, Mike. Still, I give credit to Pam for keeping her doors open to opposing viewpoints like mine. From my personal experience, that in itself is a rarity… on both the left AND right. I certainly agree with your take on Rebel News.