News 6 Fesruary 11, 2004 : Photo by Becky Booth On Thursday February 5, at the skat- ing show, this little girt proved that even though jumps = and twirlies are pretty cool, the only way to steal the show is to fall down. She was part of the CanSkate group. This is a national skating program, for children CBC correspondent blasts media Call for media to question authority well received by student journalists By ira Dubinsky, The McGill Daily MONTREAL (QUP) — Western journalists are increasingly compla- cent and docile, says veteran CBC correspondent Neil Macdonald. Macdonald, who is CBC Television’s Washington correspon- dent and previously worked in the Middle East, made the remarks dur- ing a speech at the 66th annual Canadian University Press national conference in St. John’s last Sunday. “Never have I seen a Western press corps so anxious to please authority, so prepared to pander to popular prejudices, so beholden to big busi- ness, and so seemingly incapable of critical thought,” he said. “Reasoned analysis, or an unblinking, even uncomfortable examination of facts has in many parts given way to dem- agoguery.” Macdonald went on to criticize the media for failing in its time-honoured practice of questioning authority and ensuring government accountability, He referred to a trend of “patriotic correctness” whereby journalists appease the government and corpo- rate interests with their silence about important issues. “The shock troops of patriotic cor- rectness are all those angry middle- aged white guys yelling at one anoth- er on all-news channels. They aren’t subtle, they aren’t even particularly well-informed, but they are there, and they matter.” Although Macdonald said both Canadian and US. journalism has deteriorated, he focused on his U.S. “counterparts and spoke specifically about their coverage of the Iraq war and the so-called war on terror, “They [the US media] accept American pre-eminence, morally and militarily, as a natural fact. They almost seem guided by U.S. foreign policy.” Macdonald spoke about the ten- deney of U.S. reporters to..use the saing terms of reference put forth by the government, even when the words are biased or inaccurate. He recounted segments from U.S. news broadcasts in which reporters used terms with little regard for their implications. According to Macdonald, while the US. government and US. reporters refer to the “U.S.-backed governing council in Iraq,” a similar “Never have | seen a Western press corps so anxious to please authority, so prepared to pander to popular preju- dices, so beholden to big business, and so seemingly inca- pable of critical thought,” scheme set up by the Soviet Union 20 years ago would have been described as a “puppet regime.” “What I have just related was only journalism in the loosest sense,” he said. “A better description would be ‘compliance’ ... Retreading slogans is not our job.” Recent controversy about per- eeived bias in the media prompted Macdonald to comment on accusa- tions that the CBC and the media in general carries a deep left-wing bias. Although he claimed no bias exists, he said he would welcome such a slant. “T don’t think a little liberal bias would he such a bad thing, given the conservative tendencies of the power and institutions wé cover,” he said. Last year, pro-Israel interest groups voiced concern about Macdonald's coverage of the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, claiming his reports were overly supportive of the Palestinian cause. An editorial by the late Izzy Asper that appeared in many newspapers across the country openly accused the CBC of being anti-Semitic, citing Macdonald’s work as evidence. Macdonald defended his work on Sunday and commended the CBC for standing by him. The speech, which elicited two enthusiastic standing ovations from the room of 200 student journalists; capped off four days of seminars and workshops on a variety of topics related to journalism and the media. Macdonald ended his speech with an impassioned call for journalists to be more critical of authority. He accused the media of sensationaliz- ing the news and of failing to get to the bottom of important issues. We seldom challenge the concept of authority, and its many frivolous’ applications by the people in charge.... We are expected to hold up a mirror to our audience. We are sup- posed to tear away at hypocrisy, not practice it. We are supposed to make powerful people uncomfortable, and we are supposed to relentlessly shine the glare of critical thought into all the places where our rulers hide and disguise and simply lock up the truth, We are supposed to question author- ity. And I tell you we are not doing ” so. NUGSS Holds Annual EGM Yet Again, Apathy Runs Rampant By Josh H. The NUGSS Extraordinary General Meeting drew few students on Tuesday the 3rd. The meeting was: very routine; most of it was spent hearing the annual reports from each member of the society, and voting on whether or not to accept them. The reports all passed with no trouble. The rest of the EGM was spent making changes to the NUGSS consti- tution. These were mostly grammar changes, however there were two poli- cy changes. One was a change to hon- orarium distribution for NUGSS board members. The biggest change was thé remod- elling of the ombudsperson from an elected member to a hired employee. This was done to make the position “more impartial,” according to Director of University Affairs Ericka Stephens. This is the one change that generated confusion in the audience, generating more abstentions than any other motion in the meeting. “It’s hard to imagine a paid employee being more impartial to their employ- ers than an elected representative,” said one student who attended the meeting; “you’d think an elected ombudsman would have less trouble keeping NUGSS in line, since they wouldn't have a whole paycheck to lose.” Despite this confusion, the motion was passed. An EGM only happens when NUGSS fails to achieve quorum for their Annual General Meeting, which can only happen if 3% of the student body (currently about 100 people) is present. Since this many students never show up, decisions are consis- tently made at EGMs instead. This year’s AGM was supposed to be on January 27th. Honorary Degree Recipients Announced UNBC to present awards during May convocation ceremony By Stephanie Wilson Dr. Kwadwo Asante and Robert Davidson will receive honorary degrees from UNBC at the May Convocation Ceremony, Dr. Kwadwo Asante is recognized as a Canadian expert on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. He is currently a pediatri- cian at The Asante Centre for Fetal Alcohol Syndrome in Maple Ridge, BC, founded by diagnostic and sup- port services for family, Between 1970 and 1990, he provided pediatric ser- vices to four hospitals in northern BC and the Yukon. From 1973 - 1990,-he \also served as the Medical Director at the Kitimat Child Development Centre. Between 1997 and 2002, Dr. Asante was a member of the BC Children’s Commission. He received the honour of Friend of UNBC is 1994, Robert Davidson is a Haida artist who is a master carver of totem poles and masks. He is considered one of Ganada’s most important contempo- rary artists. In addition to carving, he is known for his works in other media as a printmaker, painter, and jeweler, as well has his achievements as a dancer. Mr. Davidson apprenticed under Bill Reid and taught at the ‘Ksan school in Hazleton. He has been commissioned to create major pieces in Canada and the US. Previous awards include four hon- orary degrees, a national aboriginal achievement award, the Order of British Columbia, and the Order of Canada. Previous UNBC honorary degree recipients include Bill Reid (1994), Ray Willistom (1997), Iona Campagnolo (1999), and Audrey McLaughlin (2003).