Well kids, we knew this day would come.  As I’m sure you’ve noticed, the posts have been few and far between over the last year or so, largely as work got in the way. I clung to the hope that I would find the motivation and time to post regularly again but it never materialized.

And now, I’m moving on to a new job and it’s time to formally retire from Megalomedia.

As of February 12, I will be the new communications officer for the Canadian Boreal Initiative and given that I would certainly rail against any PR flack commenting on media coverage as an objective pundit, I can’t really justify carrying this blog on while actively working in public/media relations.

And with the bloggal retirement, I think I can finally put the last nail in the coffin of the fledgling Society. I still think it’s a worthy cause (and one I hope to pick up again one day) but it’s just not happening right now. Thanks to everyone who supported me and kept on my case about getting off the ground; it wasn’t for lack of supporters that the initiative flopped.

The site will stay active for awhile, hopefully Dekes, JK and the KOB can find something to post about.  But I won’t be posting after today.

To steal from the poignant parting words of the now-former Managing Editor of Maisonneuve Magazine (and creator of MediaScout) Phil Todd, so long and thanks for all the fish.

So, those of you who aren’t paid to know what’s going on in Ottawa may not be as up on the details as those of us who are, but Finance Minister Jim Flaherty released his “Economic Update” today.

His big ticket promise is to eliminate the net national debt by 2021.

Early media reports screamed this in their headlines: “Tories to eliminate debt by 2021″ etc.

Then Flaherty, who delivered the update in front of the finance committee, faced questions from the opposition, starting with Liberal John McCallum, a noted economist.

He basically yanked Flaherty’s pants down on the whole eradication of the debt thing. Turns out “net” is the operative word there. The “net” national debt is a lesser-known economic measure that factors in government assets. And by government, I mean all the levels of government, including them there provinces.

You know that $480-some-old-billion national debt that most of us consider our national debt? Yea, that won’t be eradicated by 2021.

The web media caught on pretty quickly but I was shocked to hear the World At Six (CBC radio) open with the news that the Tories plan to eradicate the national debt by 2021.

I’ll be interested to see what the papers say tomorrow.

Net. It aint just a Sandra Bullock flick.

Let’s engage in a “compare and contrast” exercise.

Compare and contrast the following coverage of yesterday’s announcement of transit security funding:

“Ottawa doles out anti-terror funds” (CanWest’s canada.com site)
“Ottawa pledges security cash, again and again” (Globe and Mail, A6)

Now one issue does not a bias reveal but it sure is interesting, isn’t it?

Oh, and for those who don’t know, I’ve stepped down from my post at Maisonneuve’s MediaScout, largely because I want to recommit myself to this site and the Society itself.  In the short term, that hopefully means more updates.  In the medium to long term, I hope that means much, much more.

So, I open my Globe and Mail today and what do I see on A3?

The great military mastermind Colonel Sanders staring up at me from the Nevada desert.

The Globe doesn’t have the story online that I can see but a Reuters report on the latest ad gimmick can be found here. In a nutshell, KFC has placed a hectare-sized Sanders in the Nevada desert so it can be seen by aliens and Google Earth users.

The article does have some business section credibility, in that it explores the branding strategy of the fast-food franchise, but the headline and first few graphs deal only with the appeal of the southern gentleman’s visage to aliens everywhere. There’s even quotes from a KFC official saying things like “if there are extraterrestrials in outer space, KFC wants to become their restaurant of choice.”
Hardy har har, Globe and Mail,  KFC certainly looks the fool!

Oh wait, except that you just gave away the prime real estate above the fold on A3 to an unpaid advertiser.

“Is the new face of chicken a secret recipe for success?” asks the Globe in its headline.

It would seem the answer is yes.

Remember the big Harper vs. The Press Gallery battle royale of a few months ago?  Our PM decided he didn’t like the way the Ottawa journos were doing their jobs so he said he’d take his message to the people himself.  You remember, right?

The media were indignant. They weren’t going to be bullied! They weren’t going to play Harper’s game!

This arrived in my email inbox at  3:52 pm. I was so amused by it I actually sent it to my boss.  Harper’s been saying these things for the last two days in the House of Commons, as have his lackeys ministers. How is this news, exactly?

Apparently, the PM saying something to the Oakville Chamber of Commerce that he’s said several times in the House is news.

At least, the Globe and CBC thought so.

Evidently, the “new” in “news” is purely cosmetic. Maybe Harper should start issuing press releases every day after Question Period too.