 |
|
No Press Is Bad Press - Christian Media Takes Aim At No Apologies
Friday, May 18, 2007
No one likes being on the receiving end of criticism, especially when it's from the Press. Of course it is important, when evaluating criticism to remember that it is a very difficult thing to measure, which is why one should take it with a grain of salt.
It is a little like beauty in the eye of the beholder: it generally says as much about the critic, than about the person being criticized.
Besides, there is a maxim that says: No press is bad press.
|
|
|
I mention all this because No Apologies, the radio show, has been in the media spot light as of late. And while I generally don't kick up a fuss about my own press, there is one particular review that caught my attention and it merits a response.
Robert White, writing for Christian Week, reviewed No Apologies recently. It was a rather short piece and, for the most part, it was pretty bland. In it, he referred to an interview he had with me over the phone, and briefly discussed our unapologetic approach. Thankfully, he did point his readers to our website: www.ecpcentre.org so they could listen to the show for themselves.
What took me by surprise - at least to some degree - was his editorial angle. Although I wasn't expecting an endorsement, I would have thought that a Christian publication would have, at the very least, discussed the unique nature of the show, given the current Canadian broadcast climate. But instead of that, White framed his short review around one aspect - the show's approach.
White starts his review with this quote: "No Apologies radio is unabashedly polemic and risqué."
Now, No Apologies is a lot of things. But risqué, it is not. (Well. Given the current leftwing monopoly in Canadian broadcasting, perhaps it is.)
To characterize No Apologies as "risqué" is hardly the angle one would expect from a Christian journalist. And since criticism invariably tells you as much about the critic, is it does about the criticized, it is worth exploring White's political bias a bit.
I mean, doesn't it seem strange that a fellow Christian would characterize an unabashedly conservative show, one that champions conservative values and principles, and actually believes in the superiority of the Judeo-Christian meta-narrative, as "risqué"?
Unapologetic.
Bold.
Assertive.
Hard-hitting.
Gravitas.
It's about time!
All legitimate descriptions.
But risqué!?!
Hardly!
Perhaps, White is one of those Canadian evangelicals who feels it is important for Christians to nuance their perspective. After all Christians need to be "winsome". They need to be inviting. And that means Christians shouldn't come across too assertive (all points he addressed in the interview).
But as I pointed out to him, No Apologies is not an evangelistic ministry--something that apparently "got lost in translation."
No Apologies is a current affairs conservative talk-show that is attempting to punch a hole, rhetorically speaking, in the otherwise monotonous politically correct world of Canadian broadcasting.
Obviously, White is free to disagree with me, as he clearly does. And White makes sure to let his readers know that he's not alone. Don Millar, program director of JOY1250, a Christian AM radio station out of Oakville chimes in with White on this point.
Millar, referring to the Canadian Radio and Telecommunication Commission's (CRTC's) rules says that as a Christian broadcaster he has to be concerned about "balance". No Apologies, says Millar, "certainly - in many regards - [is] inflammatory. No matter how well intentioned, it precludes a balanced approach."
Now, I am happy for the press. As the saying goes, "No press is bad press." No Apologies is creating waves; at the very least, it's being noticed.
But I can't help but wonder about Millar's perspective too. After all, isn't it odd that a fellow worker in the field of Christian broadcasting would characterize No Apologies as "inflammatory", or even raise a concern about "balance" when the left has such a stranglehold on the Canadian media?
While we're on the subject, wouldn't it be more honest to characterize the partisan nature of most conservative bashing in mainstream media as "inflammatory", especially given that they present themselves as prophets of "tolerance"? But many of Canada's tame Christian broadcasters would be very reticent of using such labels against this liberal media juggernaut.
The irony about all of this is that while White and Millar took aim at No Apologies, the CRTC (you know, that group that oversees and enforces "balance" in Canadian media) finalized a deal with a station to start broadcasting explicit and exclusive "gay" radio in the Toronto area.
Now that is risqué.
But is it "inflammatory"?
I guess White and Millar will have to be the judges of that.
On a positive note, however, both men have reinforced to me that the one thing Canada needs most of all is a show like No Apologies. In fact, many more shows like No Apologies would be a welcome change because there is a market for it - a market represented by a very important constituency that for too long has been marginalized and ignored by the media elite in this Country.
And if that means we need to get a little bit of bad press, in order to get to our market, so be it. At the very least we're not being ignored. We're the first show--this side of the 49th parallel--that has decided that enough is enough.
No holds-barred conservative talk-radio. It's about time!
| Yours for our culture, |
Tristan Emmanuel |
| ECP Centre President |
Hardcover
$39.95 cdn, $28.95 us
 |
|
Softcover
$23.95 cdn, $18.95 us
|
|
WARNED
Canada's Revolution Against Faith, Family and Freedom Threatens America by Tristan Emmanuel
This book is essential reading for both Americans and Canadians even though it is more particularly directed to our American friends. Both countries face a serious challenge to their cultures. This book exposes the radical exploitation of Canada at the hands of extremist activists, leftwing politicians and a plethora of crusading activist judges, who are using their status in Canada to get at America. Their aim is marriage. But the prize is America. They want to use marriage as a weapon to systematically destroy the Judeo-Christian civilization of North America, but to do that they need America to "go gay". Gay "marriage" will open up America to the rest of the demands of the homosexual political movement. Everything from school curriculum to parental rights, adoption, the age of consent and religious freedoms will be up for grabs once gay "marriage" is made legal in America. Unless socons in both countries unite and work to resist these political opponents, we can kiss our continent good-bye.
|
|
|
|
|