NESTRUCK: Disingenuous Media (Wpg. Railway Relocation . . .
Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2015 8:15 amNESTRUCK: COMMENT: Disingenuous Media (Wpg. Railway Relocation . . . )
From: shane Nestruck
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2015 8:36 AM
Subject: Disingenuous Media
The Editors
Winnipeg Free Press
Dear sirs:
RE: Todays editorial ‘Railway relocation isn’t blowing smoke’...[ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... -top-image ] … is seriously disingenuous!
Letters suggest politicians from Juba to Martin have tried to raise this issue, that there is a need for ‘long-term vision’ at the political level, and that this should have been an issue in the mayoralty race.
Unfortunately the WFP and every other media concern in Winnipeg proved to be a huge part of this problem, refusing to acknowledge the many attempts to raise this issue during the past campaign and before.
FYI: I entered the Council race specifically to raise this issue in June of 2014 with this article submitted to a large number of Winnipeg media...[ https://shanednblog.wordpress.com/2014/ ... -winnipeg/ ] … only to receive insults (from Bartley Kives calling this “my” idea - as if a journalist should not be aware that this issue has been discussed for generations in Wpg.
And the blatantly vacuous response from so many WFP reporters and other media “We only cover the mayoralty race”.
However, most disturbing is the WFP and the other media’s total inability to connect the dots. Just about every major issue in Winnipeg is affected disastrously by the existence of the rails:
- Public Safety and Health are threatened every day…Think Lac Megantic and Eastern Saskatchewan (during the election no less)
- Traffic problems are exacerbated and actually created by the existence of the rails.
- The $1Billion BRT continuation to the university, an irrational boondoggle of exorbitant misallocation of funds is directly the result of not addressing of the rail relocation necessity.
- Huge portions of city budgets are funnelled off into underpasses etc. ($70 Million each) and other ‘band aid’ infrastructure projects.
- Everything in the Active Transportation field is affected negatively by the rails
The whole concept that this continuing short-term thinking and the ominously inappropriate budgeting makes any discussion of costs or our ability to pay for ‘infrastructure’ a complete farce.
Has nobody in the media or the WFP heard of ‘Throwing good money after bad’ or ‘Follow the money’ ??
When is the WFP going to hire a journalist to cover the reality that Winnipeg has been in the pockets of myopic, visionless Provincial politicians for decades (with the temporary exception of a bit of the Murray years)?
When is the WFP going to find a journalist with the courage to ‘follow the money’? ...meaning it is the PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT that foists these abominations on us… the 70% of the population of this province that gets fleeced for taxes.
When is the WFP going to recognize that NOTHING progressive happens in Winnipeg while the provincial government continues to hoard its funds for its short-term political goals…Waverley West and umpteen sops to their construction industry and bus industry handlers. etc etc.
Or is the job of your reporters to find and highlight every possible impediment to progress in this town?
The pessimistic, leading the myopic, leading the blind… Now that’s great journalism.
Better: Vision, Rational thought and Real Cost Accounting!
No hope from the politicians… Only hope the Third Estate.
Shane Nestruck
shanedn@shaw.ca
381 Arnold Ave.
Winnipeg, MB R3l 0W8
h 204-474-2588
c 204-510-8828
Democracy Winnipeg:
[ https://shanednblog.wordpress.com/2014/ ... -winnipeg/ ]
From: shane Nestruck
Sent: Tuesday, March 31, 2015 8:36 AM
Subject: Disingenuous Media
The Editors
Winnipeg Free Press
Dear sirs:
RE: Todays editorial ‘Railway relocation isn’t blowing smoke’...[ http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinio ... -top-image ] … is seriously disingenuous!
Letters suggest politicians from Juba to Martin have tried to raise this issue, that there is a need for ‘long-term vision’ at the political level, and that this should have been an issue in the mayoralty race.
Unfortunately the WFP and every other media concern in Winnipeg proved to be a huge part of this problem, refusing to acknowledge the many attempts to raise this issue during the past campaign and before.
FYI: I entered the Council race specifically to raise this issue in June of 2014 with this article submitted to a large number of Winnipeg media...[ https://shanednblog.wordpress.com/2014/ ... -winnipeg/ ] … only to receive insults (from Bartley Kives calling this “my” idea - as if a journalist should not be aware that this issue has been discussed for generations in Wpg.
And the blatantly vacuous response from so many WFP reporters and other media “We only cover the mayoralty race”.
However, most disturbing is the WFP and the other media’s total inability to connect the dots. Just about every major issue in Winnipeg is affected disastrously by the existence of the rails:
- Public Safety and Health are threatened every day…Think Lac Megantic and Eastern Saskatchewan (during the election no less)
- Traffic problems are exacerbated and actually created by the existence of the rails.
- The $1Billion BRT continuation to the university, an irrational boondoggle of exorbitant misallocation of funds is directly the result of not addressing of the rail relocation necessity.
- Huge portions of city budgets are funnelled off into underpasses etc. ($70 Million each) and other ‘band aid’ infrastructure projects.
- Everything in the Active Transportation field is affected negatively by the rails
The whole concept that this continuing short-term thinking and the ominously inappropriate budgeting makes any discussion of costs or our ability to pay for ‘infrastructure’ a complete farce.
Has nobody in the media or the WFP heard of ‘Throwing good money after bad’ or ‘Follow the money’ ??
When is the WFP going to hire a journalist to cover the reality that Winnipeg has been in the pockets of myopic, visionless Provincial politicians for decades (with the temporary exception of a bit of the Murray years)?
When is the WFP going to find a journalist with the courage to ‘follow the money’? ...meaning it is the PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT that foists these abominations on us… the 70% of the population of this province that gets fleeced for taxes.
When is the WFP going to recognize that NOTHING progressive happens in Winnipeg while the provincial government continues to hoard its funds for its short-term political goals…Waverley West and umpteen sops to their construction industry and bus industry handlers. etc etc.
Or is the job of your reporters to find and highlight every possible impediment to progress in this town?
The pessimistic, leading the myopic, leading the blind… Now that’s great journalism.
Better: Vision, Rational thought and Real Cost Accounting!
No hope from the politicians… Only hope the Third Estate.
Shane Nestruck
shanedn@shaw.ca
381 Arnold Ave.
Winnipeg, MB R3l 0W8
h 204-474-2588
c 204-510-8828
Democracy Winnipeg:
[ https://shanednblog.wordpress.com/2014/ ... -winnipeg/ ]