A critique has to be made of the latest political cartoon in Nanaimo’s local daily paper. On Thursday, October 31, 2013 there was a syndicated cartoon from the Alabama Media Group of President Obama with a bubble, “if I like your healthcare plan, you can keep it.” This was printed in the same week that the Canadian Senate is having the largest scandal in its history.
In comparison here is a political cartoon from December 12, 1970 in the Vancouver Sun by Len Norris, regarding the release of Davey Report on Canadian Media.
Len Norris was a talented cartoonist and widely regarded in all journalism circles; his regular cast of characters included Rodney from West Vancouver. His cartoons were insightful and piqued people’s interest in Canadian political events.
Some background on the ‘Davey Report’: The Special Senate Committee on Mass Media was constituted on March 18, 1969 chaired by Honourable Keith Davey. Committee members were appointed to consider and report upon the ownership and control of the major means of mass public communication in Canada. The report was completed on October 8, 1970. The Davey Committee recommended the creation of a Press Ownership Review Board empowered to prevent mergers or takeovers of newspapers, and periodicals as well.
It has been 43 years since that report was published when over 500 companies were consulted; not many are left. It appears that the mass media of today is doing a great job of keeping Canadians uninformed.