Crappy moments in journalism, CTV powns the odium edition

In a "news story" today covering Stephen Harper's pre-budget smoke-blowing, the "journalists" at CTV slip in this ricidulous and unfounded partisan shot at Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff:

And taking advantage over the euphoria surrounding Canada's record-setting gold medal count in Vancouver, Ignatieff told reporters that he wants Harper to extend funding for the "Own the Podium" initiative for Canadian athletes.

The Liberal leader may be trying to make up for his lack of presence during the broadcast of Canada's thrilling 3-2 win over the United States in men's hockey Sunday.

If you're wondering at home the answer is no, inserting dickish commentary into news reports isn't something they encourage in journalism school. Particularly when it's completely full of crap. All that's missing is the insinuation is hates Canada, is just visiting, and was secretly cheering for Russia the United States.

Because last week, well before Ignatieff decided not to bring his personal photographer to yesterday's game, or bat womens' arms out of the way to maximize his camera time, he had this to say to the Globe and Mail's Gary Mason:

To that end, Mr. Ignatieff told The Globe and Mail that a federal Liberal government would contribute $22-million a year towards OTP - the level of funding it has now - and then challenge the private sector to match that amount. He'd like to see funding top $40-million soon.

"This is bigger than just sports," he said. "One in 10 Canadians is obese. One in four is overweight. Our children are doing less sports now than they did in the 90s. So if you think of this as a pyramid, you have to invest in the elite athletes at the top to get a broad base of people who are turning to sport.

"There are huge health benefits here. You have to make this part of your health policy. I'm not just breathing in the Kool-Aid during an excitable time in Vancouver. I do believe this is a strategic investment we should be making."

So yes, the Liberal proposal to extend OTP funding predates his decision not to crassly exploit yesterday's hockey game. And if you're not current on our present media ownership conglomerates yes, CTV and the Globe are both owned by the same company. So maybe they could give CTV a deal on a subscription or something.

Really though, far be it from me to give lectures on journalism to the network that gave us such investigative features as "which country's athletes are hotter?", "hot tub body shots at the base" and "intern waits in line for seven hours."

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